Another Crume’s Eagle Scout Project Beautifies Heritage Elem. 

Donovan’s work crew (All photos provided by Jean Josephson)

Heritage Elementary is grateful to Donovan Crume and the New Tampa Scouting America Troop 148, which meets at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church, for their accomplishment at Heritage Elementary.

(l.-r.) Davis, Donovan & Dylan Crume are all now Eagle Scouts whose Eagle projects have helped beautify Heritage Elementary.

On Aug. 2, Donovan completed another Eagle Scout project at Heritage Elementary off Cross Creek Blvd. He is now the third member of the Crume family who chose a Heritage Elementary beautification project as his Eagle Scout project!

Donovan took the initiative and coordinated the meeting times to assess the scope of the project and to make a supply list. He also confirmed project days and times, put together a fund-raising event to secure the funds needed and then purchased all of the materials he needed.

Donovan’s project consisted of spreading 10 cubic yards of mulch throughout the school’s learning butterfly garden and pressure washing and painting 16 concrete benches that are used both in the parent pickup area and as seating at the learning garden.

Members of the crew paint the benches (above) for the school’s new Butterfly Waystation (left).

The week prior to the project’s execution, Donovan and his brothers (Davis and Dylan) loaded the extremely heavy benches into their Dad’s truck to transport them home to do the pressuring washing and prepare for painting the following week.

On the day of the event, Donovan and his family arrived at 7:30 a.m. to set up a comfort tent with food and drink for their crew and soon, about 20 scouts, leaders and parents from Troop 148 arrived, ready to work!

Donovan showed great character and leadership skills in all his communications, not only with me, but also with his fellow scouts. He made sure everyone was hydrated throughout the day and suggested cooling off breaks, especially for the younger scouts. He made sure everyone knew their tasks and had the supplies to complete it. Even the 100-degree heat did not keep these scouts from completing the project and the transformation is amazing!

Heritage is a designated Monarch Way Station, so we take our butterfly, bird and insect habitats seriously, as well as our learning gardens for our students, families and staff. — Submitted by Jean Josephson,Gifted Elementary Teacher, Heritage Elementary.

New Tampa’s Kids Are Back At School!

 As you’re receiving this issue, the 2025-26 school year is about a week old, but because our deadline to finish this issue was the day before school started, we couldn’t get photos from the actual opening day of school onto these pages, so our amazing photographer Charmaine George went to as many “Meet the Teacher” events at as many of our area schools as she could. 

Charmaine included shots from each of these events not only in the beautiful collage on this page, but also put together the best of the best photos she took and gave us dozens of options to fit on these pages. 

A few things to note: 

1) Neither Freedom nor Wharton high schools held their own “Meet the Teacher” events, so we have no photos from those schools on these pages. 

2) Charmaine was careful to ask permission at each school, so the faces of children who are not allowed to be photographed were not included. 


Charmaine was able to get photos at Clark, Heritage, Hunter’s Green, Pride and Tampa Palms elementaries and at Turner Bartels K-8 School. We apologize that she was not able to get pictures at Chiles Elementary, Benito or Liberty middle schools or Freedom or Wharton high schools. — GN

Almost All Wesley Chapel Schools Earn Outstanding 2024-25 Grades 

School letter grades in Wesley Chapel are up overall this year, according to a report released by the Florida Department of Education in July. 

Four of Wesley Chapel’s nine elementary schools improved by a letter grade, including Sand Pine, which moved from a “B” to an “A.” 

“We are thrilled,” says Sand Pine principal Angie Shauger. “For me, this A grade is more than a letter. It’s a celebration of what’s possible when a school unites around a shared mission to do what’s best for our students. I could not be prouder of our students, staff, and school community that has led us here.” 

The other three elementary schools that improved their letter grades from the 2023-24 school year to 2024-25 are Double Branch, Quail Hollow and Veterans, all of which moved from a “C” to a “B.” 

At Quail Hollow, both principal Norman Graham and assistant principal Nicole Sciarratta joined the school for the 2023-24 school year, and they agree that it’s rare for a school to have a complete turnover of the administrative team all at once. Last year, they say they experienced “typical growing pains,” while this year they were able to establish new expectations and increase the staff’s focus on student achievement. 

“Our teachers focused on setting specific goals with every student in reading and math, so they were able to help students make growth in very specific areas,” says Sciarratta. “We saw tremendous growth in proficiency and learning gains this year, and we were just one point from an A.” 

All of the elementary schools that improved their grades were quick to express their pride in their school and the importance of hard work by both teachers and students, and the support of parents and the community. 

“I am super proud of our community pulling together,” says principal Lisa Grimsley at Double Branch Elementary. “Not just the teachers, but our fantastic PTA and even our PLACE [after-school program] staff, where they have time for homework and support our academic needs.” 

While the principals are pleased with the higher grades, they are keeping an eye toward further growth. 

“As we look ahead to the new school year, we are energized and committed to reaching an A,” says Melissa Bidgood, the principal at Veterans Elementary, who says this year’s success “stems from a laser-sharp focus on data, identifying areas of need, and closely monitoring student growth.” 

Seven Oaks Elementary maintained its A, while Wesley Chapel and Wiregrass elementaries maintained their Bs. 

Two Wesley Chapel elementary schools dropped a letter grade, including Watergrass, which fell from a B to a C, and New River, which dropped from a C to a D. Neither New River principal Kelly Wisneski nor Watergrass principal Andrea Altman were reached for comments about their school’s respective grades. 

Meanwhile, the new Kirkland Ranch K-8 school received an A as its first ever letter grade. 

All of Wesley Chapel’s other K-8 and middle schools maintained their previous letter grades, including As for John Long, Pinecrest Academy, and Union Park Charter Academy, while Cypress Creek, Innovation Prep and Weightman middle schools all earned Bs. 

At the high school level, Cypress Creek High earned its first-ever A after earning consistent B ratings since it opened for the 2017-18 school year. 

Kirkland Ranch Academy of Innovation and Wiregrass Ranch High both maintained their As from the previous year, and Pinecrest Academy’s high school showed the largest increase of any Wesley Chapel school, as it moved from a C last year (its first year receiving a grade) to an A this year. 

Even high-achieving schools recognize that boiling so many measurements into just one letter can be problematic, and may not represent all of the complexities of an entire school and all of the students within it. The letter grades take into account various measurements to represent student achievement, learning gains, graduation, acceleration success, and maintaining a focus on students who need the most support. 

Quail Hollow’s Graham expresses it this way. “At the end of the day, we want each one of our kids to be successful,” he says. “We want to look at each student as an individual and help them get what they need.” 

More information about the 2024-25 school grades is available online at FLDoE.org/accountability/accountability-reporting/school-grades. You’ll find a much more extensive chart that breaks down how each school earned its respective letter grade. 

2024-25 School Grades Are Out & Two New Tampa Schools Improved 

Source: Florida Department of Education

New Tampa’s Hillsborough County public schools continue to earn impressive grades from the Florida Department of Education, which released its 2024-25 School Grades Report earlier this month. 

All but one of New Tampa’s elementary and middle schools earned an “A” grade, with Tampa Palms earning a “B” for the second year in a row, after many years of consistent A ratings. 

Two New Tampa schools improved from a B to an A. Heritage Elementary earned an A after dipping to a B in 2023- 24. Turner Bartels K-8 earned an A after several years of earning Bs. 

“We are so proud of everyone’s hard work,” says Heritage Elementary principal Mary Booth. “It’s a true team effort from teachers and staff, plus our students work so hard and our families are supportive.” 

The six schools that maintained their A status include Chiles, Clark, Hunter’s Green and Pride elementary schools and both Benito and Liberty middle schools. 

Both of New Tampa’s high schools again earned a “C” grade, as both schools have consistently, going back to 2016. 

“But, we’re making growth,” says Taryn Anello, the principal at Wharton High. “Across the board, we’ve made gains in every category, and we’re on an upward trend. We’ve improved 22 points over last year.” 

She says she hates for teachers, students and families to feel disheartened because the school’s grade did not improve to a B, when the students, teachers and staff are all working so hard to make gains that they hope will show up in the school’s rating. 

“With the storms and the chaotic year we had, sometimes it’s a heavy lift to maintain that focus,” Anello says. “It wasn’t just the adults who went through those hardships, but our kids went through that, too.” 

Even those schools that earn an A recognize that boiling so many measurements into just one letter can be problematic, and may not be representative of all of the complexities of an entire school and all of the students within it. The letter grades take into account various measurements to represent student achievement, learning gains, graduation, acceleration success and maintaining a focus on students who need the most support. 

For example, Heritage lost just a slight percentage in 2023-24 and dipped an entire letter grade. “It depends on the students in front of you and their needs,” explains Booth. “We look at student learning gains, for example, but sometimes the tests don’t accurately measure the gains we’ve seen.” 

Hillsborough County received an overall B grade from the state, which Hillsborough Superintendent of Schools Van Ayres said in an email to families was only one percentage point away from an overall A rating for the District. 

“These achievements are a result not only of the hard work of our students, teachers, support professionals and school administrators, but also of our laser-like focus on high-quality core instruction in every classroom and intentional progress monitoring to drive these impressive results,” Superintendent Ayres said in a media release. 

For more info about school grades, visit FLDOE.org/accountability/accountability-reporting/school-grades/.

An Open Letter To USF Regarding Jim Leavitt’s Hall Of Fame Induction 

(L.-r.) Paul, Jamie, Joel, Kathy & Jake Miller. (Photo courtesy of the Miller family)
Dear University Of South Florida: 

I am not a USF graduate nor am I related to Joel Miller, the former USF football player your former coach Jim Leavitt assaulted in your locker room in front of 30 of your players who you paid $2.75 million to go away and never come back because he assaulted one of your players. 

I am, however, a father to two young men who are now in their 30s with families of their own, one of whom was once a youth football rival of Joel’s who later became good friends with him — close enough friends that Joel’s mother Kathy says she thinks of my son as Joel’s brother. 

Why him? (Photo: GoUSFBulls.com) 

But, Joel never made it to his 30s. He never got to have a family or even live to see if he could make his dream of playing in the NFL one day come true. And why? 

Because Jim Leavitt decided to make an example of Joel at halftime of a game that USF was winning, by the way, by holding him by the throat, slamming him against the wall and — according to the reenactment Joel did for me of the events of that day in November 2009 — striking him with a closed fist three times, all in front of those 30 players. 

But, Joel took this felony assault like a man. He finished out the game and the season without any attempt on his part to seek publicity, press charges or get money out of his school or even out of Jim Leavitt. All Joel wanted to do was play football. And the only thing he ever wanted from Jim Leavitt was an apology that never came. 

It was another player who witnessed Coach Leavitt’s assault on Joel who contacted the local sports radio station. Colby Erskin wasn’t even necessarily calling the station to talk about Joel. Colby was calling to say that Jim Leavitt had gotten an assistant coach to throw all of his gear out of his locker and into a driving rain. He just inadvertently mentioned that what Leavitt did to him wasn’t nearly as bad as what he did to Joel. 

And that lit the fire that Joel’s mother Kathy, his father Paul and his sister Jamie know in their hearts ultimately led to the end of Joel’s too-short life. Their son and brother was ridiculed, cursed at, had beer thrown on him and a brick thrown at him that sliced open the back of his head. He was unable to escape (as I wrote in the February 28, 2015 edition of New Tampa Neighborhood News when I became the first member of the media Joel allowed to tell his story) being “that kid” — that whistle-blowing, attention-seeking kid who got Jim Leavitt fired. 

But, whether you knew Joel and his family as well as I did or not, if you’ve ever had a son of your own and you saw their life spiral out of control because of the actions of one pompous megalomaniac who assaulted your child, how would you feel about that worthless piece of garbage being inducted into the Hall of Fame of the school that paid to get rid of him? 

I went to Leavitt’s USF Hall of Fame bio on GoUSFBulls.com for his picture and I couldn’t help but notice that there was no mention of USF being sued by this “standup guy” or having to pay him out millions in order to send him on his way. 

The Letter 

Kathy told me that she found Joel’s hand-written letter to “Jim” less than two years after Joel passed away in 2017, at the age of 29. It’s a powerful two-page (below) appeal to Leavitt for nothing more than an apology — one Joel knew when he wrote it (8/12/2015) would never come. Pompous megalomaniacs don’t generally apologize for their actions, especially when they get away with them scot-free. “Jim” went on to coach in the NFL and at four other college programs. 

But, eight years after losing him, Joel Miller’s family is still broken. Their son and brother? Gone forever. All they really want — and genuinely deserve — is for your school to reconsider its decision to bestow this honor on a guy who never took you to a major bowl game — and committed felony assault and lied about it. Otherwise, please re-name it the USF “Hall of Shame” — and take the late, great Lee Roy Selmon out of it. 

He deserves better — and so do the Millers.