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New school offers new food choices as classes begin

Tribune photo by JOSEPH BROWN III

Students bound for Brooker Elementary School board their bus in Valrico Tuesday morning.

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TBO.com

Published: August 25, 2009

Updated: 08/25/2009 05:33 pm

TAMPA - As the first bell rings this morning, some of the estimated 189,000 students in Hillsborough and 102,500 students in Pinellas start a new year in a new school.

The Hillsborough County Public School District opens six schools today, including two high schools and a middle school, from Plant City to Lithia to Lutz.

In Pinellas, six schools are closing and their students are headed elsewhere because of the county's enrollment and overall population decline in recent years.

Here are highlights from the opening day of school across the Bay area:

Steinbrenner High School, 3 p.m.

To help students ease back into the school thing, cafeteria workers at Steinbrenner High served up some comfort food: cheese burgers, spaghetti and meatballs and grilled cheese sandwiches along with chef salads, fresh fruit, wheat roles, garlic bread, and warm and gooey chocolate chip cookies with plenty of milk.

Papa John's pizza will make an appearance as well. Students can help shape future menus.

In the works are spicy chicken nuggets, "nice and plump like Chick-Fil-A's," said Sheryl Rabelo, who manages the shiny stainless-steel cafeteria. There's also talk about serving California sushi rolls.

"As long as it meets the nutritional standards, we can pretty much give the kids what they want," Rabelo said.

Every student at the school is eligible for a free breakfast, which includes bagels stuffed with strawberry cream cheese, ham and egg biscuits, peanut butter bars.

"It really helps the parents," said production manager Elena Garcia, who showed off rows of refrigerators, ovens and counters surrounded by busy cooks.

Lunches start around 11:22 a.m. with the last serving at about 1:15 p.m., though times may change as students and teachers adjust to schedules, Garcia said. Eventually, picnic tables will be available outside with a separate line for student purchases.

The cafeteria is huge, but not as huge as the one at Freedom High which also serves neighboring Liberty Middle School, said Rabelo, who interned at the school.

"They call it the 'Green Mile,'" she said. "There are 22 serving lines."

Sherri Ackerman

Freedom High, Tampa Palms, 2:35 p.m.

More than 1,800 students were in school today at Freedom High on Commerce Park Boulevard in Tampa Palms, about 300 shy of expected enrollment for the year.

Principal Chris Farkas said he is certain they all will show up during the next 20 days.

About 60 new students are in the school's media center, waiting to register for school.

Talayah Willis, 14, and her mother, Frechet Willis Woodard, were on campus before 7 a.m. to get Talayah signed up for class.

Three hours later they were munching on McDonalds as they sat in front of the administration building waiting on Talayah's class assignment.

Talayah had missed her first period class and grown tired of waiting, but she was happy to finally be in high school at Freedom. She also was thrilled to spend one year on campus with her sister, Charaya Willis, 17 and a senior.

"I want her to be here" too, Charaya said.

Farkas darted around campus, flashing a smile. "What's up, my man?" he said, greeting a returning student.

The second-year principal at Freedom said he loves the first day of school, welcoming upperclassmen and helping freshmen find their way around the expansive campus.

"Everybody is all happy, and nobody hates the principal yet," Farkas said with a laugh.

Kenneth Knight

New Tampa, 2:30 p.m.

Chiles and Pride elementaries are miles apart in New Tampa, but the principals at both schools shared similar experiences on opening day.

The start of school went off without a hitch. By 10 a.m., the administrative offices on campuses were quiet and the visitor's parking lots were empty.

"The parents know the routine," said Cindy Land, the new principal at Pride Elementary. "They came in and dropped off their babies. It's been smooth sailing."

First day attendance was looking "very healthy," Land said, adding that her administrative staff was in the process of compiling first day enrollment to submit to district headquarters.

Pride expects to enroll about 930 students this year.

At Chiles, where Land was assistant principal last year, Principal Kim Pietsch attributed the smooth school opening to the combined efforts of teachers and parent volunteers.

"The extra support from parents was wonderful," she said.

But Chiles and some other Hillsborough County elementary schools got a jump on the middle and high schools by opening their doors for two hours Monday evening to give students an opportunity to meet their teachers.

"About 90 percent of our students were on campus last night," Pietsch said.

Kenneth Knight

State Road 60, Plant City, 12:35 p.m.

A minor bus accident on State Road 60 near State Road 39 south of Plant City this morning was the first of four involving buses reported on the first day of school in Hillsborough County.

School district spokeswoman Linda Cobbe said that the four wrecks all caused minor damage and no one was injured. In only one were students aboard and that occurred at the corner of Gunn Highway and Lynn Road, she said.

The other two were at Manhattan and Hamilton avenues and Busch Boulevard and Florida Avenue.

Details of the accidents weren't immediately available, Cobbe said.

Keith Morelli

Benito Middle School, Tampa, 12:30 p.m.

Mashay Forbes, a sixth-grader at Benito Middle School, will have some adjustments to make this school year.

For the first time in her life, Mashay will attend a school that is not on a military base. She attended Tinker Elementary, a public school on MacDill Air Force Base, from pre-kindergarten to fifth grade, said Marcia Forbes, Mashay's mother.

Staring back at the Benito administration building, Forbes said she was feeling nervous excitement about her daughter's new school experience.

"She has the jitters, and so do I," Forbes said.

"She is used to wearing uniforms. We had to buy her clothes. We have had to adjust to all of this excitement."

Then there are some students who couldn't wait to get to Benito.

D'Amonte Oliver, 13, asked to attend the middle school at 10101 Cross Creek Blvd. in New Tampa because he was seeking a change. The seventh-grader attended Van Buren Middle on North 22nd Street last year.

D'Amonte's grandmother, Troylan Mills, said she was excited about enrolling him in an 'A' school.

"I think it's a better environment, better learning and more hands-on," Mills said.

Kenneth Knight

Bay Point Middle School, St. Petersburg, 11 a.m.

Pinellas schools superintendent Julie Janssen stopped at Bay Point Middle School on her opening-day tour of county schools.

She was pleased overall with a major realignment of the zones that determine which students attend which schools. But she knows already there will be one big change next year: Families won't have to wait until the day before school to learn which school is theirs.

"Were going to address the open enrollment period and move it up significantly next year," Janssen said.

The zones were changed, in part, to deal with shrinking enrollments and budgets. The plan is saving millions of dollars by cutting the number of buses from 700 to 500 and bus routes from 15,000 to 8,600.

The district was still checking today what affect this is having on getting students to and from school on time. One complaint: Some middle and high school parents said their students didn't know which bus to board when more than one bus arrived at the same stop.

The biggest headache for families, though, was the attendance zones. Only 1,000 of 3,000 applications to switch schools were granted, but in many cases they didn't get word until Monday.

Yolanda Fernandez

Durant High School, Plant City, 10:45 a.m.

School officials are reporting that enrollment at Durant High School is down from last year, thanks to the opening of Strawberry Crest High, but the drop isn't dramatic.

The school off Turkey Creek Road had 2,420 students last year. On opening day, there were 2,223 students.

Principal Pam Bowden said the enrollment didn't decline more in part because Strawberry Crest doesn't have a senior class. New schools don't have senior classes in the district so seniors don't have to switch in their last year of high school.

Durant has 542 seniors this year. She expects that number to drop by about 150 next year.

Strawberry Crest was opened near Interstate 4 and Gallagher Road to alleviate crowding at area schools, including Durant.

Several school district officials were on hand this morning at Durant to help with such details as busing.

"It may be the smoothest opening we ever had," Bowden said.

George Newman

Valrico Elementary, 10:20 a.m.

Students are settling in after their early-morning excitement on the first day of school.

As she arrived at school, 5-year old kindergartener Jordan Anderson proudly showed off her matching Hannah Montana backpack and lunch box while mom Leah Anderson struggled to unload a nap mat, paper towels and other supplies for her new student's class at Valrico Elementary School.

"I even have Hannah Montana stickers at home," Jordan announced, just after her mother snapped a photo of her standing near the car in a very crowded parking lot.

There was a traffic jam going in and a traffic jam going out of the school on Miller Road as students descended on the campus for their first day.

Up front, students crowded around two tables filled with brightly colored arm bands they'll wear all week to ensure they get on the proper bus for the ride home.

"The arm bands represent how they get home on the right bus in the right way, and that they get home safely," said teacher Diane King.

Five-year-old Sebastian Mujica stepped up to the table with his grandfather, Pedro Pagan and gladly allowed King to fit him with his band. Sebastian is transferring from a school in Puerto Rico.

What will he like best about his new school in his new country? He offered up a shy smile and shoulder shrug, then moved on.

Yvette Hammett

State Road 60, Plant City, 10:05 a.m.

The Florida Highway Patrol and Hillsborough schools officials were reporting two school bus accidents earlier this morning, both involving school buses that had no children on board.

No injuries were reported.

One accident occurred on U.S. 92, or Hillsborough Avenue, in the vicinity of the new Strawberry Crest High and Bailey Elementary schools in Dover.

The other happened about 6 a.m. when a bus was rear-ended as it was stopped for railroad tracks at State Road 60 and State Road 39 in Plant City.

Sherri Ackerman

Ruskin Elementary, 10 a.m.

Things were running smoothly on a first-day morning that started when the sun had barely crept over the horizon and parents began dropping off their children at Ruskin Elementary.

"Here we go," said Principal Donna Ippolito, slipping on a pair of running shoes.

Sprinting through the office, she headed to curbside with walkie-talkie in hand.

"We have to make sure every child arriving by bus has one of these colored bands to ID which one they need to ride home."

As the first bus arrived, she greeted twins Caleb and Christian Forrester, 4, by name.

The shy pre-schoolers were then scooped up quickly by teacher Casey O'Regan and teacher's aide Laurie Gallo.

Not a moment to spare, Ippolito turned to greet parents bringing their children to the school's new cafeteria.

"There goes the Fuentes boys," she shouted as Alma Fuentes passed with her two sons, Juan and Jacob, both 5.

"It's going to be an exciting year," the principal said. "I just know it."

Lois Kindle

Strawberry Crest High, Dover, 9:50 a.m.

It's already been a long day for Hillsborough County School Superintendent MaryEllen Elia.

She started touring schools at 5 a.m. and by 9:30 had already stopped at campuses in Tampa, Brandon and Dover. She was headed back to visit more Tampa schools after leaving Strawberry Crest High School.

Elia said opening day was relatively smooth across the district.

"Students are in their classes. All the schools are calm and well operated," she said.

Elia credited open houses with helping students and their parents get familiar with the schools before opening day.

George H. Newman

Sulphur Springs Elementary, Tampa, 9:25 a.m.

Robert and Jackie Turner watched as their three children ate breakfast in the cafeteria at Sulphur Springs Elementary School. For twins Michael and Mike Thornton, 6, it was the first day of first grade. Son Jessie Lewis, 7, was headed for second grade.

The boost in the school's grade from F to B on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test is a source of community pride, said Jackie Turner. She likes how the teachers spend time with students.

"It feels proud to see our kids complete one grade and go on to another," she said.

Kathy Steele

Sulphur Springs Elementary, Tampa, 9:20 a.m.

Don Bascome came out of retirement to work part-time as a crossing guard at Sulphur Springs Elementary School. It's partly due to the poor economy, but also Bascome said, "I needed something to do."

He stood at Waters Avenue and 12th with his supervisor John Glenn, learning the routine.

A Tampa Fire Rescue truck from Station 11 was parked at the same corner with lights flashing.

It's an annual tradition, said firefighter D.S. Gillen, just a reminder for motorists to pay attention and slow down. Sulphur Springs is almost exclusively a neighborhood school where most of the nearly 600 students walk to school daily.

Traffic is moderate this morning, Gillen said.

Kathy Steele

Bloomingfield Drive, Valrico, 9:20 a.m.

Joey Caramico is in school this morning, but it was touch and go for a while.

He was so upset about his back-to-school haircut that he had shown up at the breakfast table this morning with a runaway bag instead of a backpack.

"He told me he packed his piggy bank and a pair of pajamas and planned to walk to Wal-mart and spend the day hanging out there instead," said his mother, Ruth Caramico. "He didn't want to go to school."

Caramico played along with her son's plans to skip school. The fourth-grader agreed to eat breakfast and allow his mother to walk him to the corner of Bloomingfield Drive on his way to Wal-mart. Joey grabbed his runaway bag and Caramico slung her son's backpack over her shoulder.

As they approached the corner where about 20 neighborhood kids waited for the bus to Cimino Elementary School, Joey had a change of heart. The pair swapped bags and Joey eventually boarded the bus to school, but not before indulging his mother with a big goodbye hug.

Laura Frazier

Strawberry Crest High, Dover, 9:17 a.m.

Visitors on opening day at Strawberry Crest High School included School Superintendent MaryEllen Elia and other district officials.

Elia greeted staff members and students and said she loved the school, which was designed to relieve crowding at area high schools.

District Chief Facilities Officer Cathy Valdes and School Board member Jennifer Faliero said they were thrilled with the architecture of the $63.6 million school at 4691 Gallagher Road.

The 193,000 square-foot school is designed to be energy efficient, with spacious courtyards and a green and airy look.

School Principal David Brown said the opening morning was going smoothly, although he heard a lot of complaints about the traffic around his school and nearby David E. Bailey Jr. Elementary School.

School officials plan to talk with the state Department of Transportation to talk about the congestion, he said.

George H. Newman

Hortense Mintz Elementary, Brandon, 8:48 a.m.

First-grade teacher Lori Benesh didn't wait for students to come to her class for the first day of school at Hortense Mintz Elementary School, 1510 Heather Lakes Blvd. in Brandon.

Benesh greeted students – she already knew their names – with a hug and a big smile in the hallways.

No tears for A'mari Johnson at her first day at Hortense Mintz Elementary School. The youngster was all smiles as she made her way to class with her mom, Alana Hart, and grandpa, Stan Hart.

A'mari said she was excited about her first day and calmly rattled off the spelling of her own name.

Kevin Brady

Schools transportation department, Tampa, 8:45 a.m.

John Franklin, general manager of the Hillsborough school district's transportation department, said 33 employees are answering phones this morning and that "things are running very smooth. The call center right now is doing a brisk business, but that was to be expected."

He said he is aware of traffic backups at two new schools in Dover and at Steinbrenner High School in Lutz.

He said busing on the first day of school this year is nothing like it was last year, when a reworking of routes left parents and students angrily waiting at stops for buses that never came.

Callers to the dispatch center this morning are on hold for about a minute, and that's better than expected, he said.

"We are rigorously answering phones and working with drivers to get students picked up."

Franklin said the morning is going about as anticipated.

"We strategically planned for a successful start of school," he said, "and what we seeing now is the fruit of our hard work."

Keith Morelli

Steinbrenner High School, Lutz, 8:42 a.m.

The guidance office at Steinbrenner High is ground zero for jittery new students.

"Where's my homeroom?" one student pleads with a counselor, who has to whip out a map herself to locate the room.

She's new, too. Everyone's new at Steinbrenner, one of six new schools to open in Hillsborough County this year. The biggest concern this morning for Principal Brenda Grasso and her staff was the traffic.

The Lutz school is one of three schools along two-lane Lutz Lake Fern Road, with the Suncoast Parkway bordering it's western side.

Traffic was smooth-sailing until the entrance of Cheval, where brake lights began to flash. It took about 15 minutes from there to arrive at Steinbrenner, where sheriff's officers ushered in parents with students to the back of the school.

Most of Steinbrenner's 22 buses arrived on time for the first bell; one bus was about 15 minutes late. But overall, Grasso said, the time and planning that went into the first day made it successful.

"It worked," she said. "People are still learning their way around, but I'm thrilled."

More than 1,700 students will start class today at Steinbrenner, home of the Warriors. The new school only has freshmen, sophomores and juniors. Seniors who lived in the school's district were allowed to graduate from their old school.

One senior from nearby Gaither High wasn't aware of the policy. He wanted to come to the new school to be with his younger sister. Another student showed up only to announce she was withdrawing to be home-schooled.

Guidance counselors were at the ready at the front desk. Each of the three staff members will oversee about 600 students. Already there are schedule change requests and a few students uneasy about this first day.

"We just try to tell them everybody's in the same boat," said Susanne Powell, a 32-year educator.

New Assistant Principal Mark Watson stood watch at the bus drop-off, where he greeted each student and looked them in the eye.

"You've got to set the right impression from Day One," he said, while asking students to put away cell phone and remove ear bugs. "It's a clean slate."

Sherri Ackerman

Strawberry Crest High, Dover, 8 a.m.

One glitch in getting to school this morning happened at two new schools in Dover.

Strawberry Crest High School and Bailey Elementary School both are on Gallagher Road near U.S. 92. Janice Garvin, who lives on U.S. 92 just west of the intersection said that traffic has been backed up for a while on both Gallagher Road approaching the school and U.S. 92.

"I can't get out of my driveway," she said just before 8 a.m.

The two new schools, with more than 1,500 students, were built with no improvement to the U.S. 92/Gallagher Road intersection, which is only about 1,000 feet south of the schools.

School buses also are being snagged by the traffic this morning, Garvin said.

"Traffic is backed up for a mile on Gallagher Road and U.S. 92 in both directions," she said. There are no sidewalks, no crossing guards, no traffic light. This is a major highway. Bus drivers can't get to the turn lane to turn into the schools."

She said the snarl also is delaying people driving to work in Tampa and Lakeland on U.S. 92.

"They can't get through this mess of traffic," she said. "It's at a complete standstill."

School district spokeswoman Linda Cobbe said she has heard traffic is backing up in Dover, but other than that, few complaints about transportation on the first morning of school have trickled in.

"I've heard no complaints," she said at 8:15 a.m. today. "So far, there have been no major problems."

Keith Morelli

Sulphur Springs Elementary, Tampa, 7:15 a.m.

While many other schools are looking at flat or even declining enrollment, Sulphur Springs Elementary anticipates an increase this semester.

Principal Christi Buell said that's partly because the school went from a Grade F a Grade B in the most recent standardized tests.

"We had quite a few of our kids come back because of our grade," Buell said.

The school has 587 enrolled, about 20 more than last year. Buell anticipates they may enroll another 50 by the end of the day.

Marlene Gadson said the improvement made her feel comfortable bringing her son, 4-year-old Robert Paschall, to the school's kindergarten class.

"I heard it changed," Gadson said. "I'm glad they brought it up. It is in the neighborhood."

Gadson walks three blocks to the school with her son. Many families, in fact, walk to Sulphur Springs Elementary, at 8412 N. 13th St.

Kathy Steele

Editor's note: An earlier version of this report included an incorrect grade for Sulphur Springs Elementary School in the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. The school improved from an F to a B.

Reporter Sherri Ackerman can be reached at (813) 259-7144.

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