Eight of New Tampa’s eleven Hillsborough County public schools have earned “A” grades from the Florida Department of Education (DoE) this year, including Tampa Palms Elementary, which improved from the “B” it received in 2025.
Only three schools in New Tampa received either a “B” or a “C” grade, including Turner-Bartels K-8 School, which dropped from an “A” in 2025 to a “B” this year. Wharton High also received a “B,” after earning a “C” in both 2024 and 2025, and Freedom High received a “C” again this year.
Overall, the Hillsborough School District received its first-ever “A” grade from the Florida DoE, after earning a “B” each of the last two years.
The Neighborhood News applauds the excellence of our New Tampa schools.
The Google Map above has been modified by the Neighborhood News to show the approximate locations of the four speed cameras that the City of Tampa now plans to place near (top-bottom) Turner/Bartels K-8 School, Benito Middle School, Freedom High/Liberty Middle School & Chiles Elementary.
Speed cameras could be coming soon to some New Tampa school zones.
During the June 4 Tampa City Council meeting, the seven Council members voted 6-1 to amend an ordinance allowing automated speed cameras to be placed within school zones around Tampa. The change would be an expansion of the current program in place.
Right now, there are cameras placed in 12 school zones, primarily in east Tampa. The expansion would include 18 additional school zones. Four of those are in New Tampa, affecting the following five schools — Benito Middle School, Lawton Chiles Elementary School, Liberty Middle School, Freedom High School and Turner-Bartels K-8 School.
District 7 Councilman Luis Viera, who voted for the amendment, confirmed that he has been spearheading the speed camera initiative. “I was the original maker of the motion that sought to implement the speed cameras for school zones, only in the city of Tampa, when the state statute was passed that allowed us to do this. I was very disappointed when New Tampa schools weren’t included,” Viera says, “so I worked very hard to make sure that these New Tampa schools were included. I made my message known that I wanted New Tampa schools in there as I have been hearing from constituents a lot. This is a really big deal for New Tampa, I believe, because speeding in our school zones is a big issue.”
During the June 4 meeting, Viera highlighted three New Tampa schools specifically that have a history of speeding problems. “Benito near Hunter’s Green and Arbor Greene — that’s a wonderful choice, I hear about a lot of speeding over there on Cross Creek Blvd.,” Viera said. “We also see Chiles Elementary, where my son went, when he was a kid, and I experienced a lot there, years ago, when I used to drop him off and pick him up. And then Liberty, which is right next to Freedom, and so again, I hear a lot from my constituents, especially on those three zones.”
He also added clarification about his position on the issue concerning fees and fines. “I’m not going to not enforce the law or not implement provisions that put penalties on people who go 15 miles in excess of the speed limit in a school zone,” Viera said.
While the vote to add cameras in those school zones passed, it was only a first reading.
The next step in the process, before the revised ordinance can be officially adopted, is to have a public hearing and a second reading. That is set to happen at the City Council meeting on Thursday, July 16. Council members also have the option to change their vote after the public hearing and second reading. They would just be required to state a reason for the change.
That may be unlikely to happen, as the Council members agreed that they want to prioritize school safety. However, some concerns were shared at the meeting about the possibility of camera files being subpoenaed by the federal government’s Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE).
However, Mike Schmid, the senior assistant city attorney for the city of Tampa, told the Council members that the camera files are not designed for that purpose and while they would have to comply with a federal subpoena, it would be a breach of contract between the city and RedSpeed, the vendor handling the cameras across the state, to use the camera files for anything other than speed monitoring.
The Council agreed that details of the ordinance will need to be reevaluated after the contract with RedSpeed expires in March 2027.
In the meantime, here is what you can expect if the amendment change passes after the July 16 second reading. The city will first hold a 30-day education period. This is when officials will distribute information online, and within the communities impacted by the speed cameras, notifying people about the implementation, and where the cameras will be placed. During this 30-day period, violators caught on camera will be issued a warning that will be mailed to their residences. Signage (graphic, right) also will be placed in the school zones, clearly alerting drivers about the presence of cameras.
After the 30-day education period ends, fines will be issued to any violators driving more than 10 miles per hour over the posted school zone speed limit. However, if a police officer is at a school zone, monitoring speed with radar, that officer can issue fines at their discretion, at any speed over the posted school zone speed limit. The cameras will be active only during school hours, and the “civil penalty” fines will be $100. According to the ordinance, any violations caught by automatic cameras will not add any points to the violators’ driving records — even, according to Schmid, if the fines go unpaid. But of course, unpaid fines can lead to additional monetary penalties.
The proposal to add more cameras are coming after RedSpeed completed a school zone speed study for the City of Tampa at 29 schools, each lasting two days, back in April. That study produced an average of from more than 200 violations per day to more than 3,000 violations per day, with Turner-Bartels having among the most violations.
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.
Roxanne Coriell, Adam Wilinsky, Antonyia McCray & Bonnie Walters All Still Vying For Top Honors
(L.-r.) 2024 Hillsborough County Teacher of the Year Dr. Clayton Nylund of Blake High, Hillsborough Superintendent of Schools Van Ayres, 2025 Teacher of the Year finalist Roxanne (Roxi) Coriell, School Board chair Jessica Vaughn & Hunter’s Green Elementary principal Nicole Libby. (Photo provided by Hillsborough Public Schools)
Four representatives of New Tampa’s public schools have been announced as finalists for the 2025 Excellence in Education (EIE) Awards.
From more than 13,000 teachers in Hillsborough County, one of five finalists will be named Teacher of the Year at the event, which is hosted by the Hillsborough Education Foundation, in partnership with Hillsborough County Public Schools, on Thursday, January 23, at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Tampa.
(Above, l.-r.) Dr. Clayton Nylund, Jessica Vaughn, 2025 Teacher of the Year finalist Adam Wilinsky, Pride Elementary principal Paulette English, and Van Ayres.
Similarly, one of five finalists will be named the Ida S. Baker Diversity Educator of the Year, and one of four finalists will be awarded Instructional Support Employee of the Year honors.
New Tampa is represented in all three of the categories, including two of the Teacher of the Year finalists.
Roxanne (Roxi) Coriell, a kindergarten teacher at Hunter’s Green Elementary, and Adam Wilinsky, a fifth grade math and science teacher at Pride Elementary, are both finalists for Teacher of the Year.
In addition, Antonyia McCray, the success coach at Freedom High, is a finalist for Ida S. Baker Diversity Educator of the Year.
And Bonnie Walters, Secretary 4 at Tampa Palms Elementary, is a finalist for Instructional Support Employee of the Year.
TPE secretary 4 Bonnie Walters.
On December 2, the finalists were visited by the “Surprise Patrol,” made up of representatives from the Hillsborough Education Foundation, Hillsborough County Public Schools and the EIE event sponsors.
Roxi Coriell was visibly shocked as the Surprise Patrol entered her classroom that Monday morning, the first day back after this year’s Thanksgiving break.“I’m so honored to be the Hunter’s Green Teacher of the Year,” she later said, “and then, every step of the way, has been another complete surprise.”
HGE principal Nicole Libby says Coriell is an innovator who genuinely deserves the nomination.
“Mrs. Coriell is an exceptional educator who truly embodies the qualities of a dedicated and impactful teacher,” Libby says. “Her ability to create an engaging, nurturing, and inclusive learning environment sets her apart and makes her incredibly deserving of this recognition.”
Meanwhile, at Tampa Palms Elementary, principal Angela Gluth says secretary Bonnie Walters, who has worked at the school for 27 years, is the heartbeat of their campus.
(l.-r.) School Board member Lynn Gray, Antonyia McCray, Freedom principal Kevin Stephenson & School Board Vice Chair Karen Perez
“If she were to win at the District level, it would mean everything to us,” Gluth says. “It would be an opportunity for everyone to know what we already know about how special and amazing she is. She doesn’t necessarily want the recognition, but I can’t think of a more deserving person.”
Congratulations to all four of the finalists, as well as to all of the teachers and school staff members who were chosen to represent their respective schools as nominees for this year’s EIE awards. That complete list appears below.
New Tampa’s 2025 Hillsborough Education Foundation EIE Awards Nominees
Chiles Elementary
Teacher of the Year: Felicia Sell, 2nd Grade Teacher
Ida S. Baker Diversity Educator of the Year: Marie Exantus, Varying Exceptionalities (VE) Teacher Instructional Support Employee of the Year: Cristhian Valladares Murillo, Night Crew Leader Custodian
Clark Elementary
Teacher: Brittany Long, 5th Grade Teacher
Ida S. Baker: Donna Clark, ESOL Resource Teacher
Support Employee: Alena Plumb, Secretary 1
Heritage Elementary
Teacher: Heather Leitzke, Access Points Teacher
Ida S. Baker: Lauren Sturlaugson, Media Specialist
Support Employee: Aracely Garcia, Head Custodian
Hunter’s Green Elementary
Teacher: *Roxanne Coriell, Kindergarten Teacher
Ida S. Baker: Michelle Lilius, ESOL
Resource Teacher
Support Employee: Ivan Vazquez Rico, Custodian
Pride Elementary
Teacher: *Adam Wilinsky, 5th Grade Teacher
Ida S. Baker: Christine Goff, School Counselor
Support Employee: Alexandria DeJoseph,
Principal’s Secretary
Tampa Palms Elementary
Teacher: Elizabeth DaSilva, 3rd Grade Teacher
Ida S. Baker: Lindsay Vizzi, Speech Lang. Pathologist
The chart above shows the letter grades received by all eleven public schools located in New Tampa after both the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years.
As the 2024-25 School Year gets under way, schools are learning how they fared last year, according to state measurements.
The Florida Department of Education (FDoE) released school grades for the 2023-24 school year on July 24, assigning a “B” grade for Hillsborough County Schools as a whole. Hillsborough has maintained a B rating since 2016.
All of New Tampa’s schools earned either an A, B, or C grade.
While eight of the 11 New Tampa public schools maintained the same grade as last year, Liberty Middle School improved from a B to an A. Two schools dropped a letter grade, with both Heritage and Tampa Palms Elementary (TPE) schools moving from an A to a B.
TPE principal Angela Gluth explained the disappointing letter grade change.
“While we look forward to the results of state testing, we were disappointed to have missed an A grade by 1 percentage point,” she says. “However, the scores that make up the state grade do not fully represent the growth and progress we have seen our students make throughout the course of the school year.”
She explains that TPE actually showed gains in proficiency for math students in grades 3-5 and also in 5th grade science, when compared with the previous school year. She says the school also, “celebrates the growth of student learners in primary grades, which are not reflected in the school grade report.”
Gluth adds, “We are excited to start this new school year and can’t wait to build on the achievements our students have made.”
Five New Tampa schools maintained their A status, including Benito Middle School, Chiles Elementary, Clark Elementary, Hunter’s Green Elementary and Pride Elementary.
Benito’s history of As goes all the way back to 2002.
Principal Brent Williams says it’s definitely a team effort that helps create such consistently excellent performance.
“I’m extremely proud of the kids,” he says, “and we also have an awesome staff here. They work extremely hard and we always try to provide opportunities for kids to think outside the box and make school fun.”
Williams says a new opportunity for student growth this year is that Benito is now a Cambridge Lower Secondary School. This is an affiliation that already had been established at Liberty.
The Cambridge Lower Secondary designation helps prepare students to take Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE) courses in high school. Upon completion of an AICE diploma, which is offered at both of New Tampa’s high schools, a student receives a Florida Bright Futures scholarship, which can pay for up to 100% of college tuition.
Williams says the hard work of teachers and students at Benito, and the support of families, is what helps the school continue to grow and improve every year.
Hillsborough County Superintendent of Schools Van Ayres echoes this sentiment in a statement about school grades.
“We couldn’t have done this without the Hillsborough County community,” he says. “We are excited with our momentum and are ready for the new year to start so we can continue our work.”
