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By Times Staff Writer
Published October 19, 2005

Pinellas County parents can let the school district know what they think about a proposed fundamental high school at a series of "listening posts" in October.

The district wants to know where parents think such a school should be and what types of programs it should offer.

The school, which would be the first in the Tampa bay area, could open as early as next August and would stress discipline and parental involvement for ninth- through 12th-graders.

Meeting times, dates and locations are:

- 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Thurgood Marshall Fundamental Middle School, 3901 22nd Ave. S, St. Petersburg.

- 6 to 7 p.m. Oct. 26, Southside Fundamental Middle School, 1701 10th St. S, St. Petersburg.

Grant funding has been secured by the Pinellas Education Foundation to provide money for service-learning projects for K-12 classroom-based educators in Pinellas County schools.

Sponsored by State Farm Insurance, the funding is intended to combine service to the community with classroom curriculum. Educators will be required to specifically address State Farm's "nine elements necessary for education excellence" in their applications, which are safety and discipline; parent involvement; assessments; learning readiness; standards; accountability; technology; professional development; and school autonomy.

An estimated 15 awards will be given, for a total of $15,000. A maximum of $1,000 may be requested. Budget items should be project-related and may cover equipment, supplies, other costs and transportation for field trips.

Applications can be filled out online at http://www.pinellas.k12.fl.us/Special/files/StateFarmSLapp.pdf or mailed to Maria Kadau, Pinellas Education Foundation, 12090 Starkey Road, Largo. The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. Oct. 28. For information, call Kadau at 588-4816, ext. 31, or JoAnn Goldrich at 588-6538.

The Pinellas Education Foundation is sponsoring the Honor Thy Teacher program, which gives members of the community an opportunity to honor a specific Pinellas County teacher through a charitable gift to the foundation.

Teachers will be notified that a donation, for an undisclosed amount, has been given in their honor. Donations will fund classroom grants for county teachers.

For information, call the foundation at 588-4816 or fill out a donation form at www.pinellaseducation.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Donate.Honor_Thy_Teacher

All K-12 educators at state-accredited public or private schools are eligible to enter the Bright House Networks National Star Teacher Award program.

In its 17th year, the program honors creative teachers or teacher teams (up to three teachers) who use cable television in classroom projects to enhance the classroom learning experience.

Judging will be based on criteria that includes program content, quality of materials and activities, innovative approaches, cable programming relevance to the curriculum, effective use of cable programming, learning benefits to students, duration of the project, and the number of students affected.

Classroom projects must have occurred between Sept. 1 and Feb. 15, 2006, which is the deadline to submit applications. Winners will receive a $1,000 prize, a trophy and an all-expenses paid trip to New York City next summer.

To download a copy of the application, visit the Web site at www.mybrighthouse.com/teachers/

The Pinellas County School Board will meet at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the district administration building, 301 Fourth St. SW, Largo.

The public is invited to attend. Anyone who wants to speak on agenda or nonagenda items can do so by filling out a form at or before the meeting. Residents may speak about any item on the agenda not involving a hearing on employee discipline by registering five minutes before the item is introduced.

The meeting will be televised at 6 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays for two weeks after the meeting date. All broadcasts are shown on WPDS-Ch. 14, which also appears on Knology Ch. 14 and Bright House Networks Ch. 14.

The International Baccalaureate program at St. Petersburg High School has begun its shadowing program. Eighth-grade students from public or private middle schools can shadow a ninth-grader to gain exposure to the program. To set up an appointment, call the guidance department at 893-1842.

Shorecrest Preparatory School, 5101 First St. NE, St. Petersburg, will hold an open house at 1 p.m. Sunday for prospective pre-K through Grade 12 students. Classrooms will be open, and campus tours will be given. For information, call the admissions department at 522-2111, ext. 106, or visit the Web site at www.shorecrest.org

St. Petersburg Catholic High School, 6333 Ninth Ave. N, will host an open house from 1:30-3:30 p.m. Sunday. For information, call the school at 344-4065, or visit the Web site at http://www.spchs.org/

[Last modified October 19, 2005, 00:30:20]