New Tampa’s Elementary Schools Again Excel In State’s Grading System 

All eleven New Tampa public schools repeated their Florida Department of Education letter grades from the end of the 2021-22 school year to the end of the 2022-23 school year. Several New Tampa elementary schools have had “A” grades for many years in a row. 

With the 2023-24 school year roughly half over, the Florida Department of Education recently released its letter grades for every school in Florida, including the six elementary, two middle, two high and one “combination” school (Turner-Bartels K-8) in New Tampa for the 2022-23 school year. 

All eleven public schools in our area repeated their letter grades from the previous school year, with all six elementary schools in our area — Chiles, Clark, Heritage, Hunter’s Green, Pride and Tampa Palms — all receiving “A” grades. Benito Middle School also received an A again, while Liberty Middle School and Turner-Bartels (which receives its grades for both its elementary and middle schools) earning Bs. Freedom and Wharton High again received C grades. 

A Tradition Of Excellence 

New Tampa’s schools, which again outperformed the Hillsborough School District as a whole, continued their long-standing tradition of excellent grades, as both Clark and Pride elementaries have received A grades from the state for 21 consecutive years, while Chiles earned its 20th A in a row 

Meanwhile, Benito has received an A grade for 20 of the last 21 years, but that includes one year when middle schools did not receive letter grades. Tampa Palms has earned an A for six consecutive years, while Liberty has received three straight Bs after earning As the 18 years before that. 

Turner-Bartels has earned a B for six consecutive years, after nine straight As in the years before that. 

And, while both Wharton and Freedom have each received seven straight Cs, both earned either As or Bs the previous six years. 

Both Heritage and Hunter’s Green elementaries have had more of a mixed bag prior to their two consecutive As, with both schools receiving either Bs or Cs for either eight (Heritage) or nine (HGE) years since their last As. 

New Tampa’s elementary schools definitely outperformed the Hillsborough School District as a whole, which had only 35 A schools among its 144 elementaries. And, Benito’s A was one of only 12 As earned by the District’s 45 middle schools. 

Overall, the District’s 267 total elementary, middle, high and combined public schools earned a total of 96 A grades, or about 36% earning that highest possible grade. But, New Tampa’s seven As among its 11 total District schools meant that 63.6% earned that most-coveted letter grade. Congrats! 

Tkachik Named A Finalist! 

Because of when the finalists were announced (during the Christmas break), we were unable to interview Suzy Tkacik, a media specialist at Pride Elementary, who was named one of the four finalists for the Hillsborough School District’s Ida S. Baker Diversity Award. The winner will be announced on February 1 at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Tampa, along with the District’s Teacher of the Year and Instructional Support Employee of the Year. 

No other finalists were from New Tampa’s schools. Good luck, Suzy! 

Community To Benefit From City’s New Tampa Sports Pavilion At Liberty, Too 

City of Tampa and Hillsborough County School District officials came out in force for the ribbon cutting at the new New Tampa Sports Pavilion behind Liberty Middle School in Tampa Palms. (All photos provided by the City of Tampa) 

What used to be six old, underused tennis courts just for students at Liberty Middle School in Tampa Palms has been transformed into a new recreational area for the entire community. 

The tennis courts are gone, and what stands in their place will now be called the New Tampa Sports Pavilion. 

The Pavilion includes three basketball courts that also can be used for pickleball, tennis and volleyball. 

Next to the courts, a huge metal shade structure stands over an artificial turf field. At 166 feet by 127 feet, it’s larger than four school buses lined up one way and three school buses lined up the other. 

A building with offices and restrooms is located by the covered field, too. 

On November 15, City of Tampa and Hillsborough County School District officials held a ribbon cutting to officially open the new expansion, which will be used by Liberty students during the school day and open to the public whenever school is not in session. 

The new basketball courts at the Pavilion.

District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera, whose son attended Liberty, says the idea was suggested at a 2020 town hall meeting by Tampa Palms resident Alexandra Gilmore. He championed the idea, saying it would add to the other recreational opportunities that have been brought to New Tampa over the last several years. 

“This is another big win for New Tampa and a really big deal,” says Viera. “It’s a $4-million expansion, and when you include the $3-million expansion of the New Tampa Recreation Center and multi-million-dollar All-Abilities Park, it represents a nearly $10 million investment in parks for New Tampa since 2018.” 

He’s referring to the playground that opened at the New Tampa Community Park one year ago, the first of its kind in the city that is designed for kids of all abilities, especially those who may not be able to play at typical playgrounds because they use a wheelchair or have other special needs. 

Viera says that investment has made a significant impact. 

Dist. 7 Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera speaking at the ribbon cutting.

“New Tampa has gone from being a city park desert, where all we had was a rec center that was busting at the seams,” he says, “to being home to the city’s first All-Abilities Park and now this additional expansion.” 

The new rec center expansion is located adjacent to the New Tampa Community Park on the property of Liberty at 17400 Commerce Park Blvd. 

The ribbon cutting on Nov.15 was attended by Viera, City of Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, Hillsborough County School Board members Jessica Vaughn and Lynn Gray, and Hillsborough’s Superintendent of Schools Van Ayres. 

Viera says the public access to the courts will be scheduled after school ends each day, during school holidays, weekends, and summer. 

City of Tampa manager of athletics, aquatics and special facilities Heather Erickson says the New Tampa Sports Pavilion has experienced something of a soft opening and expects to be fully operational around January 1. 

She says security lights are in place, but the courts themselves are not yet properly lighted, so they currently are only open until sundown. 

Starting in 2024, the pavilion will be staffed for open basketball and pickleball nightly, plus scheduled activities. 

“Our obligation is to make sure it’s not just a hangout without supervision,” Erickson says. “We also offer classes such as sports readiness for girls and boys, fitness and agility.” 

For more information, she says check the City of Tampa website at TampaGov.net after Jan. 1. Navigate to “Parks & Rec,” then “Activities,” then “Athletics.” For questions about using the facility, reach out to Tampa’s supervisor of athletics Cedric Smith at Cedric.Smith@tampagov.net. 

Excel Music Adds Two Exciting New Programs To Better Serve You! 

Excel Music piano & guitar teacher Regnarene Brown (left) will teach the Royal Conservatory of Music program at Excel, which is located in the Cory Lake Professional Center on Cross Creek Blvd. (Photos by Charmaine George) 

Located in the Cory Lake Professional Center on Cross Creek Blvd., Excel Music has been teaching children and adults private lessons in voice, piano, guitar, drums, strings, clarinet, recorder, flute, saxophone, and other musical instruments for 17 years. 

Serving the communities of Wesley Chapel, New Tampa, Excel Music co-founders John and Sheri Thrasher cannot contain their delight when they talk about two exciting new programs — one that is available immediately and the other beginning next month (January 2024). 

Royal Conservatory-trained and certified teacher Regnarene Brown has joined the faculty of 14 music teachers to instruct Royal Conservatory Piano. 

“This is a method intended for more serious students,” Regnarene says. “There’s an adjudication process. They prepare and perform pieces for judges before they can move on to the next level. It’s for a student who might be interested in a career or pursuing music at a more serious level.” 

John adds, “Typically, we start kids in piano at 5, but an adult can start Royal Conservatory if they want to.” 

As excited as he is about the Royal Conservatory, John is equally thrilled about Excel’s other new program. 

“We are officially starting a Keyboard Band Piano Jam class in January,” he says. “This class is for 7-10 year olds, typically beginners, but intermediate students would also enjoy it. From Day One, they’re learning pop songs, and each child gets their own part to play. There are four levels. It’s like gamified learning, like a karate class where once they master a level, they move up to the next level.” 

The Keyboard Band students will learn the same skills taught in private lessons, but instead, will work with 4-5 other students in a small group setting. They will work on music reading, as well as chords, melodies and improvisation. 

“Playing with other people, you feel inspired to try a little harder,” John says. “Even if your part is simple, it’s important. It matters. Quite often, kids worry that playing the piano will be too hard, and that at-home practice will feel more like homework, not something they’ll enjoy. This program is designed to eliminate that concern by establishing some quick wins for the students, so much so that after just a few lessons, each student will have the basic skills needed to play their favorite song. Every three to four months, they will perform at a concert — not a recital, but a concert— and/or they’ll do a professional YouTube music video. I have never been as excited for a class.” 

John hopes to schedule the first Keyboard Band concert and video in Apr. 2024. 

Post-Pandemic Changes 

During the pandemic, Excel Music brought lessons online only, but since reopening to in-person lessons, has continued to offer students the convenience of virtual classes. 

“We still have a fairly large number of students participating virtually,” he says. “It’s been a great fit. We’ve had students who have moved out of the state or even the country continue their private lessons with us. Many families return to their native countries during the summertime, and the students can continue their music lessons while away. That’s been a real benefit to kids during the three-month ‘summer slump,’ when many kids tend to slip backward (at school). Learning music is no different, so this has really helped.” 

He adds, “Our focus is on education first. Many places that give lessons, particularly on multiple instruments and voice, are often retail facilities that also offer lessons. We’ve turned that model around. We do have some retail, but only in support of the individual lessons. These are accessories that students need to succeed and do well in their music lessons.” 

Dreva Pauley (left) will work with kids in Excel Music’s new Keyboard Band Piano Jam program, which begins next month. 

With each class or curriculum designed for that particular student, regardless of the student’s skill level or style of music they like, everything can be accommodated in a private lesson, whether in person or online. 

At Excel Music, all teachers are either university-trained (many with Master of Music degrees) or have a decade of study and performing experience. The Thrashers take pride in hiring not only the most qualified teachers but also some of the nicest. 

“I want people who are there because they love to teach and have a real passion,” ays John. “People who get a thrill when they see the student’s eyes light up with understanding when they cross that threshold, and the look on their face says, ‘Oh, I got it. It’s an incredibly exciting moment — the thrill of sharing a student’s ‘a-ha’ moment.” 

Student Sam Z says, “I like that my teacher encourages me to learn more and more music, and he gets me music that I want to learn.” 

Upcoming to Excel Music is the ability to text the music school, do online enrollment, and have 24/7 access to information about lessons and answers to questions parents raise. 

“Over the years, we’ve improved at providing not only a quality music education but also a fantastic experience for our students,” John says. “We’ve developed many systems that have streamlined and made the way we teach music more effective, as well as how we’ve used technology to improve our service and continue to use newer technologies.” 

When not running their music school, John and Sheri, who live in Wesley Chapel, are lovers of the performing arts, traveling and pampering their two pet cats. 

Excel Music is located at 10353 Cross Creek Blvd., Suite I. It is open Mon.- Thur., 2 p.m.-9 p.m., 2 p.m.-7 p.m. on Fri., and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Sat. It is closed on Sunday. For more info, call (813) 991-1177, or visit newtampamusicschool.com. 

Freedom High To Be Home To Hillsborough’s First Business Academy 

(l.-r.) Freedom High Business Academy director Brian Nanns, business teacher Natalie Lozada, marketing teacher Derrick McCoy, accounting teacher Stacey Polhill and Freedom assistant principal of curriculum Matthew Smith . (Photos by Charmaine George) 

From charter schools and private schools to public school magnet programs, there are plenty of options for high school students in New Tampa to find a customized high school curriculum that will prepare them for the next step in their lives that isn’t always the closest school to where they live. 

But now, Freedom High in Tampa Palms is hoping to attract more New Tampa students to choose their local public school with a brand new attractor program that will be the first Business Academy in the Hillsborough County School District. 

Students who finish all of the classes in the Business Academy will graduate with a certification that recognizes them as a program completer. Along the way, each class they take will earn them either an industry certification or college credit. 

Courses in the Academy include a series of classes in accounting, marketing, business principles and entrepreneurship, many that are either Advanced Placement (AP) or Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE), which can result in students earning college credit if they pass an exam. 

Freedom’s assistant principal of curriculum Matthew Smith says one reason this program is poised for success is because it actually pays for itself, rather than requiring money to operate. 

That’s because the Florida Department of Education (FDoE) provides a stipend to schools that prepare students to do jobs that are needed in the workforce. So, when students earn industry certifications or college credits, that state-provided stipend goes back to the school, where it is used to enhance those programs. 

“We applied for a state grant to expand into this area because there’s a big shortage in accounting in Florida,” Smith says. “We are planning to transform our regular classrooms into high-tech accounting labs.” 

He says this will include seating where students work together collaboratively and have technology to project to the walls, for example, and that the room will likely feature a live stock market ticker. 

“This could be a game-changer for Freedom,” Smith says. “We’re hoping to retain neighborhood kids so they don’t have to get on a magnet bus and go somewhere else in Hillsborough County for a different program.” 

Smith explains that the Business Academy will be overarching and encompass the school’s Digital Academy, which has been in place for several years and prepares students for careers in game design, web development or related fields. 

“Our Digital Academy labs are already well equipped,” he explains, “with more than $200,000 per year in funding from industry certifications that our students receive.” 

This allows the labs to be continually updated with the latest technology. 

“We are adding AI next year, too,” he says, referring to teaching students about artificial intelligence. 

The Hillsborough County School District’s Chief of Innovation and Strategic Planning Marcos Murillo says these and other career and technical education classes have set the foundation for the Business Academy to be built on, and that it will be unique in the District. While other schools offer entry-level classes in subjects such as accounting and marketing, the Business Academy will be more comprehensive. 

The Business Academy also will encompass the school’s existing Digital Academy

“Freedom will offer more classes in that area than any other school in the District,” Murillo says. “The higher level classes won’t available anywhere else and will allow students to have a more robust transcript to apply for college.” 

Murillo’s job is to innovate at every school throughout the county but, he says, “Freedom is dear to my heart. My daughter graduated from there and my son is there now.” 

Instructors for Freedom’s Business Academy are already in place and are training for new courses that will be offered for the 2024-25 school year. 

For example, Stacey Polhill has worked as an accountant in the private industry and at the school district and has decades of real-world accounting experience. 

“She currently teaches math and accounting honors,” explains Smith, “but next year, she will teach additional accounting classes, such as managerial accounting honors or AICE accounting.” 

Not all classes will be available next year, but classes will be added as the program grows and students in the program need them. 

Other teachers include Brian Nanns, who is the chair of the school’s Career Technical Education Department. He currently serves as director of the Digital Academy, teaching classes such as AP Computer Science Principles, and will be director of the Business Academy, too. 

Social studies teacher Eric Galante has a business degree and is now working to get certified to teach AP and AICE business principles and global business classes. 

Derrick McCoy currently teaches marketing and television production and will expand the marketing classes that will be made available to students. 

Natalie Lozado will teach business ownership and entrepreneurship, which Smith says will teach students how to fully develop a new business, execute their plans, and compete in the marketplace. 

To participate in the Business Academy, all students — even if they currently attend Freedom — must apply through Hillsborough County’s “school choice and magnet application” available online at HillsboroughSchools.org/choice. 

In addition to the Business Academy, Smith says many students use the choice application to join the Digital Academy, which does not carry the “attractor” designation, or to participate in the school’s popular veterinary science program, where students can graduate high school as a Certified Veterinary Assistant. 

Freedom will appear on the application as an option during the next choice/magnet application period, which is typically in Feb. 

Smith says that if it happens that there is space available in the program, it may be possible for current Freedom students to take some of the classes in the Business Academy. However, seats are reserved for those who are chosen for the attractor program and commit to completing the entire track. 

“I can’t wait to build out the program,” Smith says.

Tampa Fire Rescue Firefighters Teach Fire Safety To Primrose School Students 

Firefighters from Tampa Fire Rescue Station No. 20 captivated Primrose School at Tampa Palms students with their fire safety presentation during National Fire Prevention Week. (All photos provided by Primrose School at Tampa Palms)

In the U.S., National Fire Prevention Week was first proclaimed by President Calvin Coolidge in 1925, and nearly 100 years later, it’s still recognized and celebrated. 

Fire Prevention Week was the backdrop for preschoolers at the Primrose School of Tampa Palms to receive some of their first lessons in fire safety. 

The firefighters from Tampa Fire Rescue Station No. 20, located on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. just south of I-75, visited the school to teach kids important lessons. 

The preschoolers learned what the Fire Rescue department does, what equipment firefighters use and the importance of their uniforms. The firefighters also demonstrated how to “stop, drop, and roll” in case of a fire. 

And, perhaps most fun of all for the kids was that they were able to hold the fire hose and even go inside the fire truck. 

The Tampa Fire Rescue Department provides education as an important part of its community services. 

If your school or community organization wants to request a presentation or visit a fire station, start online at Tampa.gov/fire-rescue-public-education/contact-us. 

The Primrose School students and their teachers clearly enjoyed their time learning about fire safety.