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. 

Old Courts To Be Turned Into Fields For Public Use

Townhalls and other community meetings may sound boring to many, but sometimes, they produce action that otherwise wouldn’t happen.

Alexandra Gilmore, a Tampa Palms resident since 2007, attended one hosted by Tampa City Council member Luis Viera and other city planners back in 2020 and when she took the mic, she wanted to know why there weren’t more — or any, actually — public basketball courts in New Tampa.

Her boys, Caleb and Bryce, had searched for places to play, but were always booted off the courts.

“You have to live in a community that has them, or a certain neighborhood, or have a membership somewhere,” Alexandra remembers telling city officials. She told Viera and the others there were courts and space behind Liberty Middle School that could be used but were fenced off to keep kids out.

“Why can’t those be public?,” she asked.

It was a great question, and one that finally got answered on Aug. 25, when the Tampa City Council voted 5-0 to pitch in with the Hillsborough County School District to spend $1 million to upgrade the aged tennis courts behind Liberty.

 Gilmore had no idea her suggestion had even become a reality until the Neighborhood News called her.

“Oh my goodness,” she said. “You’re kidding me! This is absolutely amazing!”

Gilmore stayed in touch with Viera via email while the councilman did the pushing behind the scenes to initiate the project. The Tampa City Council agreed to enter into an interlocal agreement with the School District to improve some of the athletic facilities that adjoin Liberty and Freedom High.

The current facilities — six hard court tennis courts — between the two schools will receive a new design and a court cover to shield those playing from the elements. 

The “all-fields facility,” as it is called, will feature three resurfaced and outfitted courts for basketball, tennis, pickleball or volleyball, depending on the needs. The other three existing tennis courts will be replaced by an artificial multi-purpose turf field and will be covered. Restrooms also will be a part of the new facility. 

The School District will control access to the fields and their usage — most likely for recess and other school-related activities — during daytime hours when Liberty and Freedom are in session. The city will control public access in the evening hours and on weekends.

“Utilizing unused school space for recreation activities for the larger communities, including basketball…is going to be a great thing,” said Viera, who represents the New Tampa area in District 7.

The cost of upgrading the courts is expected to be roughly $1 million, and the City Council voted that the city would pay up to 50 percent, or $500,000, of those costs, using Capital Improvement Plan funds.

During the public comments portion of the City Council meeting, only one person, South Tampa’s Stephanie Poynter, commented and she was in favor of making the courts open to the public. 

“If the City of Tampa is paying half for the basketball courts at Liberty and Freedom schools, those courts should be accessible 24 hours a day if the schools are not in session,” she said. “This is the only place I have ever lived where every single school has a fence between it and the kids who live around it. I’ll never understand that.”

Before the vote took place, the motion was pulled for discussion by District 3 Council member Lynn Hurtak. She favored the interlocal agreement, and asked that the city’s Parks & Recreation Department explore more opportunities like this. 

“How when many of us when we were kids, that at our neighborhood school, after school, we could go play on the playground, in the field, on the basketball courts, do it on the weekends, do it all summer?,” Hurtak asked. “Now, with the advent of school shootings, many of those open spaces have been fenced off for student security, and they don’t allow the public to utilize those facilities, which is a bigger strain on our parks system. So, when I saw this interlocal agreement, I was really excited about it. “

Viera made a point of crediting Gilmore during the meeting. 

“This is going to be a wonderful thing,” Viera told the Council.

Gilmore agrees.

“I remember a couple of people reached out to me after that meeting in 2020 to thank me,” said Gilmore, who was running for the Hillsborough County School Board at the time. “This will be great for kids in the local neighborhoods to have a place to play.”

School News: Lots Of Awards To Go Around

Isabella Douglas

Wharton senior Isabella Douglas was awarded a $500 scholarship and the Wharton Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC) program received $1,000, thanks to an essay Isabella wrote for a nationwide NJROTC contest.

The Surface Navy Association (a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Association incorporated in 1985 to promote greater coordination and communication to those in the military, business, and academic communities) offered the contest to NJROTC cadets across the country, choosing Isabella’s entry as the most outstanding nationwide. The award was provided as an incentive to “engage NJROTC cadets in understanding and appreciating the sacrifices of our WWII veterans, Navy core values, and what it means to be a shipmate.”

Isabella will use her award while attending the University of Florida in Gainesville, where she plans to major in journalism.

Although her current plans don’t include joining the military, Isabella comes from a military family. Her mom was in the U.S. Army and her dad was in the U.S. Coast Guard.

She credits Wharton’s NJROTC program with teaching her important life skills. “It taught me how to be a better leader, to be more organized, and (how) to talk in front of a lot of people.”

Isabella says she was excited to hear that her efforts not only benefited her, but also the school’s NJROTC program.

“I was really glad about that,” she says, “because it’s my last year and I was happy to give back to the program.”

National Merit Scholars Announced

New Tampa’s residents Arpan Bagui and Shezad S. Shah were named as $2,500 National Merit Scholarship winners by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) on May 13.

Bagui lives in K-Bar Ranch and attends the IB program at King High and is looking to study investment banking in college, while Shah is a Wharton senior who plans to study computer science in college.

Arpan Bagui

The $2,500 Merit Scholar designees were chosen from a talent pool of more than 15,000 finalists in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program. 

National Merit $2,500 scholarship winners are the Finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies. The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors. 

Scholars were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors, who considered the academic record (including the difficulty level of subjects studied and grades earned). scores from the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), contributions and leadership in school and community activities, an essay written by the Finalist and a recommendation written by a high school official. 

New Tampa PTAs/PTSAs Recognized

The Hillsborough County Council PTA/PTSA announced its award winners for the 2019-20 school year via Facebook Live on April 24, and New Tampa schools, especially Liberty Middle School and Hunter’s Green Elementary (HGE), fared well.

In fact, both were honored with awards for Principal of the Year.

Gaye Holt

HGE principal Gaye Holt was awarded Elementary Principal of the Year, while James Ammirati of Liberty took home the middle school honors.

Both schools also received awards for Family Involvement; Hunter’s Green Elementary for its lip synch battle called Panther Jamz, and Liberty for its Family Night event.

Liberty picked up eight other awards, including Middle School Instructional Person of the Year for teacher Toni Kuzmicki, PTSA President of the Year for Shari Burress, “a force to reckon with, as she powers her way through the school year taking on tasks and challenges and working harder than anyone else” according to her nomination.

At the high school level, both Wharton and Freedom received awards for their Volunteer Hours.

Wharton also received an award for Student Involvement and the county award for Advocacy/Legislation for the school’s Gay Straight Alliance.

The school’s success coach Roslyn Brown was awarded High School Non-Instructional Person of the Year.

Brown puts in long hours that do not stop when she leaves our school,” her nomination letter said. “She is always working to better the lives of our student population.”

Freedom won the award for Family Involvement for its Multicultural Festival — “Diversity at its Finest” —  and Alicia Newcomb, the school’s agriculture teacher, was named the High School Instructional Person of the Year.

According to her nomination, Newcomb created the school’s vet tech program, an agribusiness course, expanded the Future Farmers of America (FFA) program and helped students earn apprenticeships and certifications, while partnering with veterinarians and animal rescue organizations to provide students with hands-on experience.

High School Graduations

While graduations across the country have been cancelled altogether, Hillsborough County Public Schools has instead delayed graduations for the class of 2020 in the hopes that local and state guidelines will allow in-person graduation ceremonies in July. Dates have been set for July 13-22 at the Florida State Fairgrounds Expo Hall. 

A final decision about whether the graduations can be held will be made closer to the event date.

For now, Wharton’s graduation is scheduled for Friday, July 17, 12:30 p.m., while Freedom’s is scheduled for Saturday, July 18, 9 a.m.

New Tampa School Grades

*Every New Tampa school had the same grade for 2018-19 as it did the previous school year, with the exception of Hunter’s Green Elementary, which improved to a “B” grade after four straight years of “C” grades.

*New Tampa had six schools earn “A” grades, two that earned B grades and three earned C grades.

*Chiles Elementary was the only New Tampa school to score higher than 80 in English Language Arts (ELA), Math and Science Achievement. 

*Pride Elementary earned the best score among our schools for ELA Achievement (86), while Chiles was tops in Math (85) and Science (85).

*Chiles is now 17-for-17 in earning an A grade from the state.

*However, Benito Middle School, Pride and Clark elementaries all have the longest current streak of “A” grades — 18 straight years, dating back to 2002.

* Freedom and Wharton high schools were both “C” schools for the fourth straight year.

* Did you know that from 2008-10, every elementary and middle school in New Tampa earned A grades?

In-School Clubs Inspire Students At Liberty; MATHCOUNTS Team Makes States 

Liberty students can choose from more than 35 club options, which focus on interests such as art, calligraphy, board games, guitar, sports and science. Other clubs focus on community service or helping students to be the best versions of themselves.

Typical middle school clubs might involve the same group of high achievers joining in multiple groups to celebrate their successes, give back to their communities and start prepping their resumes for the inevitable, if still far-off, college applications.

At Liberty Middle School in Tampa Palms, however, clubs are designed to include all students, offered once a month as part of the school day.

Spanish teacher Katie Smith is the coordinator for Liberty’s clubs program. “The entire school is following the same schedule,” she says, “so all of the kids get to participate.”

She explains that the clubs were started to provide extra support for some students who may not have role models at home.

“We want to give them a chance to find people they can connect with, adults they don’t regularly interact with, or peers with similar interests,” says Smith. “We want them to make connections and have a reason why they like to come to school.”

Katie credits Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Nelson Agholor, who attended Liberty (see story, pg. 1), with planting the seed that grew into the school’s clubs. She recalls him visiting Liberty a couple of years ago and telling the teachers how having opportunities to build relationships with people who cared about him made a huge difference in his life.

“He started a conversation about reaching those kids, and that’s where I got the idea,” Katie says.

Liberty students can choose from more than 35 club options, which may focus on interests such as art, calligraphy, board games, guitar, sports and science. Other clubs focus on community service or helping students to be the best versions of themselves.

One unique club is the “Gentlemen’s Club,” led by physical education teacher Bryan Erwine and school resource officer Victor Moreta. “They focus on what it means to be a man — a gentleman — and the power of believing in yourself and how you show yourself to the world,” Katie explains. “Some kids are hand-picked to be in that group because they show leadership potential and need a little coaxing. Once they’re in there, the two men running the group are amazing, so kids really want to connect with them.”

Students from the Rescue Me! Pet Club will visit the Humane Society of Tampa Bay on March 2. They were invited on the field trip after dropping off collected donations back in December.

Susan Stabile, a school counselor who co-sponsors the club, says her students are excited for their behind-the-scenes tour of the facility and that she hopes all 50 club members will attend. “We hope that our students will be lifelong animal advocates and inspire others as well,” Susan explains.

These kind of connections are exactly what Katie hopes the clubs will foster. She says she hopes to bring the community into the school to further enhance the goals of the clubs. “We’re trying to reach out to the community so people can see what’s going on and how the community can shape and empower these kids with their involvement.”

She adds, “It’s great to have teachers, but for some clubs, like our food club, is there a restaurant owner who wants to work with the kids? Are there athletes who want to help with our sports clubs?”

If you’d like to help in any way, email Katie Smith for more information at Kaitlyn.Smith@sdhc.k12.fl.us.

Liberty Middle School’s MATHCOUNTS team finished second out of 17 teams at the Regional competition on Feb. 2, earning the team a spot in the State competition, which will be held on Thursday, March 22, in Daytona Beach.

MATHCOUNTS Team Advances To States: Liberty Middle School’s MATHCOUNTS team finished second out of 17 teams at the Regional competition on Feb. 2, earning the team a spot in the State competition, which will be held on Thursday, March 22, in Daytona Beach.

“Liberty has been participating in MATHCOUNTS for the past 10 or so years,” says coach Melissa Grier, a Liberty math teacher. “We have advanced to the State competition the last three years straight and are known in MATHCOUNTS circles as the team to always beat.”

Eighth-grade student Charley Cheng also finished second overall in the individual competition. “He actually had the highest individual score but lost in a head-to-head competition with the second place finisher,” explains Melissa.

Charley and eighth grade student Derek Wu also were on last year’s team, which went to the States, too.

Seventh-grade student Shreya Gullapalli and sixth-grade student Vignesh Saravanan also are on the team.

“These kids are wonderful,” says Melissa. “They are incredibly humble and they all share a love for mathematics.”

The MATHCOUNTS team from Benito Middle School on Cross Creek Blvd. finished in sixth place, with Saanvi Prasad, a seventh-grader, earning the sixth highest individual finish.