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Transferred again

By LETITIA STEIN
Published December 2, 2005

	[Times photo: Skip O'Rourke]
	TRANSFERRED AGAIN: Growth in southeastern Hillsborough County has caused school officials to redraw school boundaries as new schools open. For many students that means going to a new school during the next school year.

RIVERVIEW - Eight-year-old Natalie Dozier has shuffled from Summerfield Elementary to Sessums Elementary to Collins Elementary. Next year, she's likely to have to switch schools again.

"She's going to be in elementary school for five years in Florida," her mother, Jin Dozier, said. "That's going to be the fourth school."

The prospect of switching from school to school never crossed the Doziers' minds when they moved into the Summerfield Crossings subdivision, at the center of the county's housing boom.

The Doziers knew the Riverview area would grow fast. But they received no warnings that children would be forced into a campus shuffle, as the school system builds one school after another.

Each time an elementary school opens, kids are uprooted to fill it. First it happened at Summerfield, then at Sessums. Now the domino is falling again, at Collins.

"If the growth continues at that rate, it does require us to change boundaries faster than we would want to," Hillsborough schools chief MaryEllen Elia said.

Last spring, Sally Graham let her son, Nick, decide.

Did he want to try to stay at Sessums Elementary School for the current school year, or was he happy changing to Collins - his third elementary school?

"I wanted to move because all my friends were going," said Nick, now a fifth-grader at Collins. Graham, 38, a working parent, scrambled with each move to find a good day care program.

"It's not that I like it. It's just that there's not a better way," said Graham, now likely to move her younger son to Summerfield Crossings Elementary. "We don't want our kids to go to horribly crowded schools, so what do we do?"

With each move, students must get used to a new campus. Teachers have to adjust to routines under a fresh team of administrators.

This year, Hillsborough officials decided to open Collins Elementary in portables, with the campus still under construction. A fence separated children from construction crews.

Students won't move into their permanent classrooms until after winter break. That's half a year without a permanent school library or formal playing fields for P.E.

School officials said it was the best they could do in the face of rapid growth.

But some parents criticize the planning.

Michele Wirth's daughter, Sarah, had moved from Summerfield to Sessums. For this year, she was going to be forced to move again to Collins.

Wirth wanted to stay at Sessums, and there was room. Feeder schools often are left with empty seats when new campuses open. Such long-term planning make sense for school leaders.

But Wirth felt that her daughter needed stability.

"To have it happen once in their elementary education is one thing," Wirth said. "But to have it happen over and over again, you take chances."

School officials received 80 requests for children to stay at Sessums. They approved 47. Wirth's was among those denied so school planners could control the movement back and forth.

In response, Wirth removed her children from public elementary schools. They now attend Bell Shoals Baptist Academy and likely will stay there through eighth grade.

"I don't have the energy to keep fighting," she said.

On a recent school night, parents gathered in the cafeteria at Collins Elementary to learn about the proposed boundaries for Summerfield Crossings Elementary, opening in the fall.

Everyone knew what to expect from the maps.

"I have families here today that I have moved from Summerfield to Sessums to Collins, and now I'm moving again to Summerfield Crossings," said Steve Ayers, the school official who places students into classrooms across Hillsborough.

"I know that's disruptive."

This year, he gave parents the option to stay at Collins if they are tired of moving.

Natalie Dozier's parents liked having the option to leave Natalie at her current campus. They might do that if Natalie were their only concern. But they also have a son in kindergarten, and he'll have to go to the new Summerfield Crossings school.

Ayers assured the Doziers that their neighborhood won't be affected by further elementary school changes. He wouldn't make any promises about middle schools.

"Growth this fast, and they don't have anything for middle yet?" mother Jin Dozier asked, shaking her head. "That's more concerning."

[Last modified December 1, 2005, 09:34:11]