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Top of the class

Achievers

By RITA FARLOW
Published August 17, 2005

Mayor Rick Baker's office recently honored 24 St. Petersburg schools that maintained an A grade or showed a letter grade improvement over the past school year.

Presented for the first time this year, the Top Apple Awards were handed out to principals and assistant principals at the City Council meeting Thursday. Corporate partners who have worked with schools as part of the Mayor's Mentors and More Initiative were also recognized.

Of the city's schools, 15 achieved A grades and nine showed improvement last year. Top Apple honorees include two high schools, four middle schools and 18 elementary schools.

"The St. Petersburg schools are truly fortunate to have such a proponent for public education as we have in Mayor Baker," said Patricia Davey, principal of John M. Sexton Elementary School, which was honored for improving from a B to an A grade.

"It was wonderful for our schools, staff and business partners to be recognized for our accomplishments. Working together as a team for our children, we've been able to achieve great things," she said.

Schools, 2004 grade-2005 grade:

Azalea Elementary, A - A

Bay Point Elementary, A - A

Bay Point Middle, A - A

Bay Vista Fundamental Elementary, B - A

Campbell Park Elementary, C - B

Fairmount Park Elementary, C - B

James B. Sanderlin Elementary, D - C

John M. Sexton Elementary, B - A

Lakeview Fundamental Elementary, A - A

Meadowlawn Middle, C - B

Mount Vernon Elementary, A - A

Northeast High, D - C

North Shore Elementary, B - A

Northwest Elementary, B - A

Pasadena Fundamental Elementary, A - A

Perkins Elementary, A - A

Rio Vista Elementary, B - A

Riviera Middle, C - B

St. Petersburg High, C - B

Sawgrass Lake Elementary, A - A

Shore Acres Elementary, B - A

Southside Fundamental Middle, A - A

Tyrone Elementary, C - B

Woodlawn Elementary, C - B

Dr. Ruth Ann Palmer, principal of St. Petersburg Christian School since 1989, was recently named a 2005 National Distinguished Principal by the National Association of Elementary School Principals.

The nonprofit organization of educators, with sponsorship from the U.S. Department of Education, selects three to five principals from private schools, grades pre-K to 8, and one public school elementary or middle school principal, from each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Honorees are nominated by peers in their states, and selection criteria states that principals must be from schools that have a commitment to excellence, programs designed to accommodate the academic and social needs of all students and firm ties to parents and the community. An awards banquet will be held in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 6-7.

St. Petersburg Christian, 2021 62nd Ave. N, which serves grades K-8, was recognized as a No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon School in 2003-04.

Dave Tennian, a psychology teacher at St. Petersburg High School, has received a $50,000 Carol Bellamy Endowed Scholarship for 2005-07.

Tennian has taught for 15 years in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.

He was named high school soccer Coach of the Decade in 1999 by the Tampa Tribune and is working on a master's degree in educational leadership at the University of South Florida.

The Public Service Education Foundation of Pinellas Park awarded 12 local students $14,000 in scholarship grants at the Pinellas Park City Council meeting on Aug. 11.

Scholarships are given to graduating high school seniors pursuing continuing education with an interest in public service employment.

The foundation was started by Pinellas Park city employees who wanted to share the rewards of public service careers by encouraging students to explore employment opportunities in the public sector.

Scholarship recipients include: Jennifer Alves, Pinellas Park High; Bradley Anderson, Boca Ciega High; Amanda Bohan, Pinellas Park High; Stacey Caroll, Pinellas Park High; Kristina Emmerich, Gibbs High; Melissa Finley, Pinellas Park High; Anita Frankhauser, St. Petersburg Catholic High; Ryan Lecompte, Pinellas Park High; Alyssa Monda, Largo High; Kristin Ossola, Pinellas Park High; Nhu-Mai Thi Tran, Pinellas Park High; and Ashley Wilson, Dixie Hollins High.

For information about the foundation, call Tim Caddell at 541-0721.

[Last modified August 17, 2005, 01:09:16]