Tuesday, May 21, 2013
A series of town hall meetings kicks off Wednesday, May 22.
Pasco County School Board members want to hear from New Port Richey residents as the clock ticks down for them to set a budget for the 2013-14 school year. To get input from parents, students and others in the community, the board is playing host to a series of town hall meetings. The meetings are designed to give residents a chance to ask questions and share their suggestions. The district is once again facing a multimillion dollar budget shortfall as it heads into next year. Estimates put that shortfall at about $23 million. The number has caused the district to implement a hiring freeze and it’s also discussed a number of cuts, including eliminating media specialist positions. The first town hall meeting is set for Wednesday, May 22 at …
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Seven Springs Middle School
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Wednesday, May 8, 2013
The local high school joined 114 other Florida campuses on the magazine’s 2013 list.
New Port Richey area parents and students have reason to be proud. One of the area’s high schools made it on Newsweeks’ Top 2,000 list of the best high schools in the country. Schools selected for the honor are “those that have proven to be the most effective in turning out college-ready grads,” the magazine’s website says. Honorees are judged on such factors as graduation rate, college acceptance rate and test scores. Mitchell High School placed 1,580 on the list of 2,000. The top school in the state is the International Baccalaureate School at Bartow High. The No. 1 school in the nation, according to Newsweek, is in Bowling Green, Ky. Other Tampa Bay area schools on the list include Chamberlain and Gaither in nearby Hillsborough County. …
Monday, May 6, 2013
It's Teacher Appreciation Week! What do you want to say to that educator who meant the most to you? To the teacher who makes your child's year the best ever?
The first full week in May, every year since 1984, has been designated as Teacher Appreciation Week by the National PTA, which this year is holding a contest for parents who deliver thank-you letters to teachers May 6-10 (See contest note below). Signs at schools throughout the area give a nod to this year's appreciation celebration, as PTA volunteers, school administrators, students and parents gear up to recognize teachers who make a difference. As noted on the National PTA Web site, Teacher Appreciation Week is "a special time to honor the men and women who lend their passion and skills to educating our children." PTA events at the national, state, and local levels celebrate the outstanding contributions teachers make. Is your school, …
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Plans to spike the positions from the Pasco County School District’s roster to save money are meeting resistance. What do you think about the move?
A cost-saving measure meant to help the Pasco County School District close a portion of an anticipated $23 million funding gap is meeting with resistance. Media specialists from around the county and their supporters don’t agree with a plan to eliminate that position in Pasco County schools. In fact, they came out in force to tell the Pasco County School Board just that during the March 19 meeting, according to The Tampa Tribune. School Superintendent Kurt Browning unveiled a plan to close an anticipated $23 million budget shortfall about two weeks ago. That plan calls for eliminating media specialist positions across the county. School media centers would be staffed instead with a single media technology assistant. The district has said …
Pasco County public school children have March 25-April 1 off.
New Port Richey kids can put away the books and pull out the sunscreen. Spring break in Pasco County officially begins Monday, March 25. Kids don’t return to class until Tuesday, April 2, thanks to a teacher planning day set for April 1. The third quarter’s March 22 end means that teachers need a day to file final grades and catch up on paperwork. It also means that teachers do have to report to school on Monday, April 1 while their students get an extra day to play. Parents can expect to see those third quarter grades on April 8 when report cards go home, according to the school district’s calendar. Other important dates coming up that students and parents need to know about include: What are your spring break plans, New Port Richey? …
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
A bill under consideration in the Florida House would enable school principals to arm select teachers.
Imagine sending your children to school knowing they're protected from bad guys not by an armed deputy or security officer, but a fifth-grade English teacher with a Glock. That’s what the future may hold for school security if Florida Rep. Greg Steube, R-Bradenton, gets his way. Steube has drafted a bill that would give Florida principals the power to choose teachers who would have the right to carry weapons on campus, according to The Tampa Tribune. These teachers would have to obtain a concealed weapons permit and undergo training. Principals, by the way, would also be able to determine just how many teachers are allowed to carry, making the number vary from school to school. "It would be a good deterrent," The Tribune quoted Steube as …
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
School grades give some a reason to celebrate.
Some Pasco County high school principals and teachers had a reason to celebrate at the end of 2012. The education department released the preliminary grades Friday, Dec. 21, showing that Florida high schools receiving an A grade rose to 231 from 148 schools last year. The improvement comes despite higher standards imposed on the state's high school students, Commissioner of Education Pam Stewart said. "This year's results reflect both higher standards and temporary safeguards the state Board of Education approved to help smooth the transition as we continue toward implementing Common Core State Standards and assessments," she said. Three Pasco County high schools received grades: Mitchell High, Wiregrass High and Land O' Lakes High. In …
Friday, December 14, 2012
DonorsChoose.org has made funding possible for Nicole Sharkey's classroom needs.
For years, Nicole Sharkey has turned online to secure funding for basic supplies for her classroom at Ridgewood High School. Sharkey, who teaches math at the school, uses Donorschoose.org. On the website, public school teachers ask for donations for class projects, and users can choose to fund a project. Sharkey was recently able to get pens and whiteboard markers for her class. She posted a request on Donorschoose.org, and representatives from the local branch of the national Horace Mann insurance company answered. The company made a donation recently on one of Sharkey’s Donorschoose project pages. The donation funded 35 pens and the chains and equipment that attach them to student desks. It also fundedwhiteboard markers. The donation was…
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
The national holiday is observed on Monday, Nov. 12 this year.
As people across America recognize men and women who have served in the armed forces, West Pasco students will have to hit the books. All Pasco County Public Schools are open Monday, Nov. 12, according to the district's calendar. Most county government offices, however, are closed in observance of the holiday. While students in Pasco don't get the day off, most schools do have some observance of the holiday on their calendars. And for those who are just tired of hitting the books, there's a break on the horizon. Pasco schools close Nov. 19-23 in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Do you do anything special on Veterans Day with your kids? Share your ideas, upcoming events and photos on New Port Richey Patch!
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Some campuses maintained high marks, but others saw their grades drop in reports released by the state today.
While not all New Port Richey schools did well on report cards released by the state today, some campuses have cause to celebrate. According to data released by Pasco County Schools, Trinity and Trinity Oaks elementary schools were able to hang onto their A grades in this year’s round of grading. Seven Springs Middle also maintained an A grade. “The District School Board of Pasco County is pleased to share that the majority of its graded schools earned an outstanding grade of A or B, and no school in Pasco County earned an F this year,” according to Summer Romagnoli, school district spokeswoman. “Out of the data released from the state today (elementary and middle schools only), Pasco received 22 As, 17 Bs, 21 Cs, 6 Ds and 0 Fs this year…
phyllis
7:03 pm on Tuesday, May 21, 2013
what is a media specialist and what do they do more ›