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Schools

2 schools to open: It's time to plan now

Q&A: NEW HIGH SCHOOLS

By LETITIA STEIN
Published December 16, 2005

Two new high schools are opening their doors in east Hillsborough County next school year. Now is the time to start planning for the first day of classes. What will happen when students flock to the new campuses?

School officials have tried to smooth over anxieties at recent community meetings on the boundaries for Spoto High in west Brandon and Lennard High in south Hillsborough.

These campuses will draw students from Bloomingdale, East Bay and Riverview high schools.

Here are some commonly asked questions and answers:

Will rising high school seniors have to change schools?

No. When Hillsborough opens a new high school, there is no senior class in the first year. The new school will open with a freshman, sophomore and junior class. But rising seniors will stay at their current schools through graduation, with bus transportation still provided.

Will there be a swim team at the new schools? A full slate of athletic programs?

The new high schools will offer all athletics available in Hillsborough. For varsity football, Spoto and Lennard will follow independent schedules, as the schools are opening midway through the county's two-year scheduling cycle. Hillsborough athletic officials also want to protect football players from injuries during the first year, when the school lacks a senior class.

What happens to the curriculum? Will the new schools have Advanced Placement courses?

The schools will feature the general curriculum available at all Hillsborough high schools, including Advanced Placement classes.

But it will be up to the incoming principal to decide whether the school will operate on a traditional schedule, or a block schedule, which features four 90-minute daily classes and squeezes an extra course credit into the school year.

What do boundary changes mean for students using school choice or special assignment?

Nothing, if a child already has been assigned to a school. Students can stay at their assigned school for all grade levels offered.

If a student wants to attend a new school, but lives outside its attendance boundaries, he or she can apply through the district's choice and special assignment programs. Students can call Hillsborough's choice help line at 272-4692 to discuss options.

What happens to families living along the roads that the new boundaries follow? What school will their children attend?

There's no easy answer here. Sometimes, school boundaries come down the middle of the road, so students living across the street attend different schools.

At other times, the school district includes both sides of the road in the new boundaries.

The third option wouldn't require families on the road to change schools at all.

It's hard to tell which provision applies before the School Board approves the boundaries, which then are explained in a detailed legal description that gets posted online. Before then, families can learn more by calling Hillsborough's pupil assignment office at 272-4090.

[Last modified December 16, 2005, 20:37:20]