Quick changes proposed for lagging schools

Plans are to transform two D-rated elementaries into academies two years before school choice begins.

By MELANIE AVE, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published May 1, 2002

TAMPA -- Two D-rated elementary schools would get a two-year jumpstart on Hillsborough's voluntary desegregation plan if they are transformed into academies this fall as a way to improve student performance.

Superintendent Earl Lennard proposed Tuesday that Oak Park and Robles elementary schools adopt specialized curricula similar to magnet schools.

Oak Park on E 10th Avenue would focus on math, science and technology while Robles on E Sligh Avenue would emphasize reading, writing and math. The school day at both schools would be 45 minutes longer than at other elementaries, and the school year would be 210 days instead of 184 if lawmakers approve funding.

All teachers and administrators at Oak Park and Robles would have to reapply for their jobs under the proposal. They also would have to commit to two-year stays and undergo a week of training this summer.

Community meetings will be held before any changes are made. The School Board also must approve the plans that Lennard unveiled during a board workshop.

Lennard's goal is to improve the schools' performance on standardized tests. The state has graded both schools a D for the past three years based on student test scores.

Board Chairwoman Doris Ross Reddick said she hopes the change will provide students a new opportunity to succeed.

"We know the children. They can do better," she said. "We want to try every effort to put them in a position where they will do better."

Earlier plans called for both schools to be transformed into academies when the district's controlled choice plan takes effect in 2004.

The choice plan is the district's effort to maintain racial diversity in schools now that Hillsborough is free of court-ordered desegregation. The plan, costing $80-million to implement, relies on special course offerings to entice white and black children to attend schools outside their neighborhoods.

When the choice plan begins, parents will have more latitude in choosing their children's schools within given geographic areas.

While Lennard's proposal advances the choice plan at Oak Park and Robles, parents outside the schools' attendance zones will not be allowed to send their children there until at least 2004.

"You've got to look at this as a transitional step," said district spokesman Mark Hart.

-- Melanie Ave can be reached at (813) 226-3410 or melanie@sptimes.com.

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