Tough Choices For Wesley Chapel Parents

School is returning this fall, one way or another, and area parents have some tough choices to make. Those decisions only get harder with each passing day.

On June 18, Pasco County schools announced that parents will have three choices when classes resume in August. The deadline to choose had been July 1, but it was extended to Wednesday, July 8, the day after this issue reached your mailbox. 

The three choices are as follows:

* A return to traditional, brick-and-mortar schooling, with special social distancing and enhanced disinfecting measures implemented, as well as mask requirements.

* Pasco eSchool, a franchise of Florida Virtual School (FLVS), which writes the courses that are taught by Pasco County teachers. Students work on assignments during non-traditional hours, with contact with teachers and classmates during web-based class sessions and other technology.

* A hybrid version of traditional & virtual school, being called “mySchool, for students not yet comfortable returning to campus, but who want to remain connected to their schools. 

Students will attend scheduled classes every day via their computers, with synchronous class meetings. Students will have access to teachers during regular school hours, and attendance is taken daily. 

As parents wrestled with these difficult decisions, the number of Florida’s positive Covid-19 tests skyrocketed, raising new concerns and doubts, resulting in the deadline extension. 

Superintendent of Schools Kurt Browning, who announced the Pasco Schools plan, revealed just a few days later that he had tested positive for Covid-19. And, the coronavirus-related death of a 17-year-old Wesley Chapel High rising junior was being investigated by the Medical Examiner’s Office.

The Neighborhood News spoke with three parents, each of whom made different choices prior to today’s deadline. Each parent we spoke with stressed that they would reassess their choice as the pandemic played out, but they were each ready to move forward with what they felt worked best for their respective families. 

The Willis family (l.-r.: Ethan, Chloe Alicia & Will) chose the “mySchool” hybrid option for their family for the 2020-21 school year. (Photos: Charmaine George)

Alicia Willis – mySchool

Alicia Willis considers herself an optimist when it comes to Covid-19. She’d like to think the virus will die out or become more manageable before schools re-open in August, or that a vaccine will be found.

But until then, she’s not quite ready to send either of her kids, a rising first grader and a rising fifth grader, back to Sand Pine Elementary.

Instead, she chose the mySchool option for her children, which will allow them to attend school remotely and still follow the standard school schedule and bell times.

Alicia also strongly considered Pasco eSchool, where students work on their own schedules with different teachers than they ones they had in traditional school.

“Going back to brick and mortar was eliminated (for us) immediately,” she said. “I do think they did a great job with the choices.”

Unlike Pasco eSchool. Alicia’s kids still will be learning along with their usual classmates and teachers.

“It was important to me that they get to have the teachers they are familiar with,” she said, adding that she thinks mySchool will make the transition back to regular school, should it come in January, much easier.

Alicia says her kids adapted well to online schooling this spring, and she didn’t mind doing the teaching. But, she also says that her kids asked often about their friends and teachers at school. 

Even before the three choices for the fall were put forward by Pasco County Schools, Alicia had decided her kids would be staying home this fall. 

And, she said, the rising number of positive Covid-19 cases in late June, just before the July 8 deadline, made her more confident in her decision.

“I believe it will make some parents think twice and possibly reevaluate their decisions,” Alicia said. “Parents going back to work may not have another choice. I’m blessed to have the choice that I have.”

Kelly McDowell, with daughters Avery (left) and Audrey (right), has chosen the traditional brick-and-mortar school option for the 2020-21 school year.

Kelly McDowell – Traditional School

Kelly McDowell started online learning at her house at 8 a.m. every day. She says her third and fifth graders were expected to be up and ready to work. It took only a few hours each day for them to complete their assignments. Sometimes, they would work a little extra so they could have Friday off. 

An accountant who is happy she is fortunate enough to have a flexible schedule, Kelly enjoyed her extra time with her kids.

But, Kelly said it could never replicate the benefits of a classroom at a brick-and-mortar school. When it came to making her choice, Kelly chose a traditional setting for her children, and plans to send them back to New River Elementary in August.

“I really feel the social aspect, and face-to-face interaction, is really valuable for them,” Kelly said. “They need structure if school is going to be beneficial (for them).”

Kelly says her job is flexible enough that she could continue to work at home. So, she did seriously consider the online options, and while she says that mySchool may not be feasible for her family, Pasco eSchool (see next column) “might still be in the back of my mind,” due to its more structured format.

But, Kelly’s kids like their mom’s choice. It was what they wanted.

“The kids were very, ‘I wanna go back to school,’” Kelly says. “I told them they would have to wear masks, be extra vigilant and worry not about just themselves, but others, too. They were very adamant about going back.”

With the potential for school openings still more than a month away, and Covid-19 unfortunately dominating the recent news headlines in the Sunshine State, Kelly says she reserves the right to change her mind. 

“If Florida becomes the new New York,” she says, “then that decision is going to change.”

When it came to deciding what to do for the 2020-21 school year, Samantha Billington (left, with daughter Alanah and son Travis), chose online options.

Samantha Billington – Pasco eSchool

Samantha Billington didn’t have just one decision to make, she had two.

Her son, 11-year-old Travis, enjoyed his online learning experience last spring when he could no longer attend Union Park Academy.

Her daughter, 15-year-old Alanah, not so much.

As a high schooler at Wesley Chapel High (WCH), Alanah was eager to get back to school to be with her friends. Initially, Samantha thought she would keep Travis home, and let her daughter return to traditional school.

But, the news on Covid-19 just got worse.

“As time went on and we not only had a rise in cases but also a tragic loss of a boy that went to the same school as (Alanah), we decided it was best to postpone the traditional school setting,” Samantha said. “My kids going to school, being in a building with thousands of people five days a week just doesn’t make me feel comfortable.”

That was “heartbreaking” for Alanah, who will do mySchool this fall, with the hopes of returning to the WCH campus in January. But, Travis will do Pasco eSchool, and Samantha said he already has decided he wants to do that for the whole school year.

“We chose FLVS (Florida Virtual School) because we wanted a wider range of options,” Samantha said. “It is all winging it at this point, and we will adjust as needed.”

 Samantha is able to work from home, so it made sense for the kids to learn at home. She is confident her children can still have normal social lives via technology and with friends in the neighborhood. 

“This virus is not going to just disappear,” Samantha said. “It will be around for a long time and until we have trusted environments, like enforced social distancing and regular sanitizing, or a medical solution, then I feel very confident it will remain an issue.”

Sarah Vande Berg Tennis Center In Zephyrhills Nears Completion!

At the SVB Tennis Center VIP preview on June 27, (l.-r) Bo Sun, Mark Shepherd, Gary Blissett and CEO Pascal Collard were among those who greeted dozens of well-wishers.

Pascal Collard has been pitching an exciting vision for the Sarah Vande Berg (SVB) Tennis Center just outside of Wesley Chapel in Zephyrhills for some time, but on June 27, he was able to show some people how that vision is shaping up.

Collard and his staff hosted a VIP event, complete with beer, wine and hors d’oeuvres, to announce that Advent Health has come aboard as a major sponsor and to show off the new center, which he says should open in August.

While none of the rooms are filled just yet and the tennis, pickleball and padel courts haven’t yet been surfaced, Collard filled in the empty spots with his excitement.

And, with Covid-19 cases in Florida rising sharply in recent weeks, Collard promised one thing — it will be safe.

“I hate to say ‘most sanitized place in America,’ but that’s what we’re shooting for,” Collard said, adding that the center bought 1,000 face masks and put the staff through hours of classes and presentations to keep the facility virus-free.

The indoor portion of the facility will have plenty of space and feature an indoor restaurant focusing in healthy foods — think air-fried fries and bento boxes with edible flowers — with popular local Chef Mark Vesh of Vesh Catering designing the menu.

There also will be yoga, cryotherapy, a salt room, an exercise room and licensed massage tables. The all-around focus of the facility is on health, from exercise and playing tennis to recovery to refueling the body.

Collard also helped create a school — United Global Academy — offering an accredited curriculum for athletes training in tennis, golf, soccer and one of Collard’s own personal passions — skydiving.

And of course, there will be plenty of racquet sports. The SVB Tennis Center will have four padel courts, eight pickleball courts, two hard tennis courts with U.S. Open surfaces, and eight Har-Tru tennis courts with underground irrigation. Collard says there also will be a grass court: “It’s like a little garden.”

A drone shot of the progress on the center, which has a planned Aug. 15 opening date. Photos by Charmaine George.

There will be a viewing court with seating up to 1,000, and able to expand for bigger tournaments to more than 3,500.

The 30,000-sq.-ft. indoor facility with have four tennis courts but can be converted to accommodate soccer, weddings and even concerts.

If everything goes as Collard hopes, the facility will open Aug. 15.

“It’s really starting to come to together, you can just see it,” Collard says. “We’re pretty excited about it.”

For more info SVB Tennis Center (6585 Simons Rd., Zephyrhills) memberships and how to join, please visit svbtenniscenter.com or call (813) 361-6660.

Business Notes: F45, Coding and Taaza Mart!

Matt Joyce (above) has played 12 seasons in the major leagues, signing most recently to play this year for the Miami Marlins, but he knows he can’t play baseball forever.

A big part of his transition into expanding his post-baseball portfolio kicked off June 13, with the Grand Opening of F45 Training off Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in The Walk at Highwoods Preserve, next to some new restaurants (see page 34).

Joyce, an opening day starter in the outfield for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2009 and a Rays All-Star representative in 2011, his wife Brittany and business partner Blair Johnson have bought into the F45 Training franchise, and the New Tampa location is the first of theirs to open. Another location at Sparkman Wharf in downtown Tampa is just beginning construction, and Joyce expects to open another three by the summer of 2021.

Although the New Tampa F45 Fitness has been open since May 23, with attendance limited by Covid-19 restrictions, the Grand Opening capped the first week at full throttle for the fitness center, which stresses Functional 45-minute workouts; hence, F45.

The music was booming, instructions were barked out and dozens of fitness-minded folks went through high intensity workouts throughout the day, as Joyce expressed delight at the turnout.

“Getting it open is really the silver lining in all of this,” said Joyce, who has been a constant presence at the center since Major League Baseball postponed spring training Mar. 12. “It’s been a whirlwind offseason.”

During spring training with the Marlins, Johnson was making sure the build-out at F45 was going smoothly as Joyce handled the administrative duties. But, with no baseball, Joyce became a fixture at the New Tampa location and currently works out alongside members.

Joyce and Johnson met by chance at Armature Works (north of downtown), where they ended up having a discussion about fitness. Johnson asked Joyce if he had ever heard of F45, which piqued his interest. 

After a few workouts at the Land O’Lakes location, the former Ray was hooked. The idea of owning a franchise (or a few) was appealing, and the New Tampa location was an 18-month project.

“I’m wired more for stuff like business, real estate and finance,” Joyce says. “I enjoy that side of things. So, it was a perfect combination.”

Founded in Australia in 2011, F45 is high-intensity, low impact training and, according to its website, is the fastest-growing fitness franchise in the world. The smaller, more specialized instructor-led group workouts are similar to what competitors like Orangetheory and Row House do, but with what Joyce says is a greater variety of exercises, as F45 boasts more than 35 programs consisting of more than 1,300 different exercises.

Joyce says the new location is continuing to grow an already solid membership base, and many of the classes, even the 5 and 6 a.m. classes, have had great turnouts.

“We’ve crushed it,” Joyce says. “We really believe in it, people are enjoying it and we are getting fantastic reviews. I think a lot of people are going to like it.”

Tell Joyce, Johnson and the staff at F45 (18035 Highwoods Preserve Pkwy.) that you read about them in Neighborhood News. For more info, call (813) 560-4047. There also is a separate new F45 Training located at 10701 Cross Creek Blvd. For info, call (813) 522-5332.

CRACKING THE CODE: While Grain & Berry has the distinction of being the first business to open in the new Villages at Hunter’s Lake plaza, TheCoderSchool New Tampa (8632 Hunter’s Village Rd.) wasn’t far behind.

Although TheCoderSchool didn’t begin its summer camps until June 22, the learning center held its sneak preview event on June 13, the same day Grain & Berry opened.

Owned by Mike and Lesly Ramirez Olavarria, TheCoderSchool is a franchise focused on teaching kids to do computer coding year-round. Founded in 2014 with its headquarters in Silicon Valley, CA, the school offers after-school classes and summer camps for those interested in learning computer languages like Scratch, Python and Java.

At the New Tampa location, there are classes for kids ages 7-18, who will learn to code and do things like build apps and present their projects at a Coder Fair.

The teachers are professional coders, professionals who teach coding and computer science students at the University of South Florida, depending upon the level of class in which the student enrolls.

Many of the classes have a 2-to-1 student-to-teacher ratio, to enhance learning.

“We’re both in the IT field,”  says Lesly (far right in photo above), “and coding has helped in our careers. We want to pass that on….it’s another tool for your tool belt.”

While the summer classes are in person, Lesly says the fall classes will depend upon what happens with the Covid-19 situation. The school has been able to hold online coding classes, and may continue to do so if the pandemic causes another disruption during the 2020-21 school year.

That hasn’t stopped people from calling to sign up, however. “The phone has been ringing off the hook since we scheduled the Grand Opening,” Lesly says.

Those who do call can get 25-percent-off their first month of classes, and a discount is available for summer camps as well. Lesly says she understands many have been affected by Covid-19, but she will try to work with anyone who is interested in classes. 

For more info, call TheCoderSchool New Tampa at (813) 422-5566.

TAAZA INDIAN MART OPENS: Taaza Mart is now open in the Market Square at Tampa Palms plaza, occupying the former Staples location.

The first thing you notice when you walk in? It’s spacious, and feels much larger than its 16,500 square feet.

The all-Indian grocery will be a welcome addition for New Tampa’s large Indian population, with its wide selection of fresh produce like Indian eggplant, dosakai, dudhi and others.

It also offers Halal meats and there is an ample supply of various spices, as well as the largest selection of multiple varieties of basmati, sona masoori and ponni rice around.

In the back of the store, a small café serves hot food from a South Indian menu that includes a dozen different types of dosa and an Indo-Chinese menu with various chicken and chili dishes, as well as curry fried rice and curry noodles. There also is a bakery.

Taaza Mart (6260 Commerce Palms Dr.) has been open for just over a month, and is open Mon.-Thur., 11 a.m.-7 p.m., and 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Fri.-Sun. For more information, call (813) 564-8100 or visit taazamartfl.com.

Getting Lost In Flatwoods Not As Crazy As It Sounds!

The most recent hikers lost in Flatwoods Park were found by HCSO’s  Aviation Unit (top) with help from the light from their cell phones.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) rescued two hikers from New Tampa’s Flatwoods Wilderness Park on June 4, a fact that could make those who regularly use the popular 7-mile biking loop wonder: 

How did that happen?

Social media teased the hikers, who were not identified, although some also sympathized with them. 

But hikers, particularly inexperienced ones, getting lost in Flatwoods Park — which has entrances on Bruce B. Downs Blvd. and Morris Bridge Rd. — or even one of the area’s hidden gems, the New Tampa Nature Park (which can be entered off Dona Michele Dr.), isn’t really as crazy as it sounds. 

This past December, an avid hiker made the news when she got lost for two hours in Flatwoods, and had to call the HCSO, which sent in a helicopter to help with the search.  

“It happens now and again,” says Jan Kirwan, the City of Tampa’s conservation parks coordinator. 

Combined, the two parks, which are connected, have more than 31 miles of wilderness hiking trails. While most of the trails are marked, Kirwan says that some are more primitive than others.

HCSO’s Aviation Unit, which is used to assist in rescues and arrests, was able to locate the most recent hikers to get turned around at Flatwoods thanks to their cell phone lights. The aviation unit then directed park rangers to their location.

According to the 9-1-1 call, a man and his friend were on the popular Panther Path, one of the park’s off-road trails, but ended up near a swampy area on the west side of the park towards I-75.

While Kirwan says people can get lost, “If you are familiar with following a trail then you shouldn’t have any problem.” Sometimes, hikers will inadvertently follow an animal trail that bisects the regular trails.

But, if you venture off the beaten path, be prepared.

Kirwan says cell phone service is not always available in the park, and if you are relying on maps on your phone, you could find yourself without any directions. It’s always smart, she says, to have a compass on hand.

Mostly, however, inexperienced hikers sometimes find themselves misdirected when they try to stretch their trip out.

“People don’t realize how dark it can get,” Kirwan says. “It’s not like there are lights out there, and under the trees there’s not much moonlight that gets through. It looks very, very different in the dark.”

That’s why the hours of the park are generally dawn to dusk. The recent hiker rescue began with a 9-1-1 call at 9:24 p.m., after the park had closed.

While neither Flatwoods or the New Tampa Nature Park are advanced hiking areas, they are a step up from, say, Lettuce Lake Park off Fletcher Ave., which is only 240 acres. Lettuce Lake, Kirwan says, is more of a gateway park into the wilderness parks in New Tampa, which offer a plethora of trails and wildlife.

“You see a lot of bird (watchers) in the morning, and there’s plenty of other animals like deer, turkeys, hares and wild hogs,” Kirwan says. “It should be a fun little hike. Just remember, it’s always good to let someone know where you’re going. Then, if you don’t get back, they know where you were.”

What, If Anything, Can We Do About Systemic Racism?

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor talks with members of the community who showed up in the wake of George Floyd’s death to march for peace and racial justice.

I would be lying if I said I understood how people of color in this country feel every day about being black or brown in America.

Gary Nager
Editorial

So while, like most white Americans, I personally don’t care what color the people were who died recently at the hands (and knees) of law enforcement officers were black, brown, green or any color, religion or orientation, I completely understand the outrage being felt again by so many of us who witnessed what amounted to the recent public executions of George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks.

As everyone surely knows by now, Floyd — who was killed about four weeks ago by former Minneapolis Police Office Derek Chauvin as three other now-former officers watched — was being arrested (but not resisting arrest) for passing a counterfeit $20 bill at a store.

Three weeks later, Brooks was shot dead by now-former Atlanta Police Officer Garrett Rolfe after trying to run away from being arrested at a Wendy’s. Although Brooks certainly did resist arrest and tried to run away from the scene, the fact he stole the Taser from one of the officers and fired it at them from a distance makes his situation different from Floyd’s, but still begs the same nagging question:

If either of these men were white, would they still be alive today?

Yes, I believe all four cops (the others let him be killed) shown in a video thankfully released the day after Floyd was killed should go to jail for murder. And no, I don’t understand why Floyd was targeted by these cops to receive this particular abuse of their power, especially in light of something that happened to Jannah and me only a year ago.

When we got married in March of 2019, some of our attendees gave us gifts of cash, including a few people who each gave us a $100 bill as a gift. 

However, when we tried to pay a tab at a local bar with one of those $100 bills, we were informed that the bill was counterfeit. But, rather than have us arrested — at least in part because the bar owner knew us from previous visits and said it was obvious we didn’t know the bill was no good — all he did was ask us to use an alternate method of payment. I then took the bill to my bank, which told me that all they could do was take the bill out of circulation, which meant that we lost that $100 gift. Oh well.

One thing neither of us lost, however, was our life. No one handcuffed us or held us down to our pleas of “I can’t breathe.” Today, it’s hard not to imagine that same situation ending with either of us dead after being suffocated for 8 minutes and 46 seconds.

Likewise, if a white man in Atlanta perhaps had too much to drink and fell asleep in a fast-food drive-through lane, would the white police officers trying to arrest that white man have used deadly force to stop him? It’s horrifying to me that black, brown, Asian and LGBTQ people are targeted for this type of behavior so often in this country. Something has to change. And yes, I understand why peaceful protests can and should be part of that solution.

Unfortunately, looting and setting fire to stores owned by people who literally had nothing to do with those situations should never be the target of those protests. But, they unfortunately too often are — as seen around the country once again in the aftermath of Floyd’s murder, although, thankfully, most of the protests of Floyd’s death after those first few nights have been peaceful. Considering that the shooting of Brooks took place only a couple of days before this issue went to press and the Wendy’s where he was killed was looted and then burnt to the ground the following night, it remains to be seen if violent protests will continue to be an issue.

I have been encouraged, however, by local elected officials like Tampa Mayor Jane Castor (in blue in photo) and New Tampa’s City Council member Luis Viera who have been getting out in the community with the protesters, trying to make a difference.

Taking Action

Before the Rayshard Brooks situation, I wrote about the aftermath of the Floyd killing in our June 9 Wesley Chapel issue and I was very pleased at three emails/letters I received since then from black readers who appreciated my take on the current situation and offered words of advice and encouragement and something much more valuable to me than just the kind words: Two of the readers even offered to help start and/or get involved with a local grassroots movement that might help stem the tide of systemic racism and build better communication here.  

I therefore am looking for people in New Tampa who also want to help. What can we do? I really don’t know. I just know I want to try. Black, white or otherwise, email me at ads@ntneighborhoodnews.com if you do, too.