Many teens show interest in the charter school at SPC that would award a diploma and an associate's degree.
By DONNA WINCHESTER
Published January 11, 2004
ST. PETERSBURG - More than 800 people turned out last week to ponder taking a chance on the next big thing in Pinellas County education.
At three meetings, crowds listened to a pitch to enroll at St. Petersburg Collegiate High School, a charter school to be run by St. Petersburg College.
The big draw is simple: Students could earn a high school diploma and a cost-free two-year associate's degree before they are 19 years old. Home base will be a modest thing, four portable classrooms strung together on SPC's St. Petersburg-Gibbs campus, 6605 Fifth Ave. N. This "super portable" will be divided into rooms where students would take their high school level classes.
The St. Petersburg College system, which only in recent years expanded upward to become a four-year institution, is now reaching down to 15-, 16- and 17-year-olds. Many students seem willing.
The fledgling school has the star power of well-known educator Linda Benware. She began the week by saying goodbye as principal at St. Petersburg High and ended the week in her new job as charter school principal, sorting through the hundreds of intent forms from prospective students.
One of them is Jenelle McKee. A careful plotter of her future, Jenelle is the sort of student Benware is seeking for her new program.
After excelling in a middle school arts magnet, she earned a spot in the Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High, where her peers elected her sophomore class president.
She ran track and cross country and played soccer at Gibbs. She accumulated a 3.9 grade point average, making her a contender for valedictorian of the Class of 2006.
Yet recently, the 16-year-old has been contemplating switching from a sure thing to a fast track. Jenelle and her mother, Lois, were among the hundreds who attended last week's meetings.
The county's first charter high school is another wrinkle in a public school system that is in the throes of "controlled choice," the biggest change in decades in how students and schools are matched up. Charter schools are relatively rare in Pinellas.
Using the charter school template, St. Petersburg Collegiate High School will take tax dollars from the county public school system to finance its own school on the campus of another public school system.
The school is the brainchild of former state Sen. Don Sullivan. Impressed with a similar program at Okaloosa-Walton Community College in the Panhandle, Sullivan approached SPC president Carl Kuttler with the idea of creating a charter school for mature, serious-minded students who are not interested in the social aspects of high school.
SPC's board of trustees approved the plan last spring and forwarded it to the School Board for consideration. After a two-month review, board members accepted the charter proposal in October.
"It's a great savings to the state of Florida, because you need less physical space at the college level," Kuttler said. "But I think the most important thing when you're looking for success in education is having different approaches to learning. This will give kids in high school a true choice."
Benware, the new principal, quickly sketched the basics for a standing-room-only crowd of about 300 at Wednesday night's meeting.
- St. Petersburg Collegiate High School will open in August, initially serving 150 high school sophomores, juniors and seniors selected by random lottery. A waiting list will be established for those who apply but do not get a seat.
- There are no academic requirements to apply to the school, but students must pass all three parts of the college placement test and have a 3.0 grade point average to take college classes. Students must maintain a 3.0 average to stay in the program.
- Tenth-graders will take high school classes taught by high school teachers in a "super portable" that will serve as home base for all students. Upon successful completion of the college placement test, 11th- and 12th-graders will take college classes with SPC students.
- The school will follow Pinellas County Schools' calendar, but students will be on campus from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. When not attending classes, they will receive one-on-one tutoring and engage in small-group discussions in the "super portable."
- Students will earn 60 college credits, which will include core courses and 23 electives. They will be eligible to take all classes offered to SPC students. A full-time guidance counselor will help them plan their schedules.
- Students can participate in extracurricular activities available to SPC students such as the debate club but will not be able to engage in college-level sports.
- All tuition and book fees will be paid through funding from the Pinellas County School Board.
Benware stressed that St. Petersburg Collegiate High School is not for every student, but that it is a tremendous opportunity for those who are academically focused.
"Many students enjoy the ambience of the high school setting," she said. "But there is a portion of the student body that wants that academic rigor. That is as much a consideration for them as it is for someone else to play football."
David Moore, SPC's director of dual enrollment programs, fielded a barrage of questions after Benware's presentation. By far, the most pressing concern was whether credit earned at St. Petersburg Collegiate High School would transfer to a four-year university.
Moore assured parents that there is "no issue whatsoever" about transferring credits, because "in general, accredited colleges accept credits from accredited colleges."
Parents also were concerned about what would happen to students who decide to leave the program, or who cannot fulfill the school's requirements. Benware fielded that question, explaining that such students would have to return to a family education center to reapply for admission to a traditional high school. Choices could be limited.
Losing her seat in the arts magnet is one concern for Jenelle, the 16-year-old Gibbs High student. Another concern is bidding farewell to high school activities, especially sports.
"It's definitely an awesome opportunity, but you have to think about what you're giving up," she said. "Missing out on all the different high school experiences is the one thing that would keep me from going."
Learn more
Application deadline for St. Petersburg Collegiate High School is March 1. Interested students can obtain information by contacting Linda Benware at 341-4610 or by attending an informational meeting from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at St. Petersburg College's midtown campus, 1048 22nd St. S. Additional meetings are being scheduled for February.
