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Schools

School wants a place where 'kids can shine'

Renovations at the D.W. Waters Career Center did not include improvements to the old auditorium.

By ELISABETH DYER
Published April 21, 2006

The auditorium of the county's first high school sits abandoned. Wooden chairs once bolted to the concrete floor are heaped in a corner. Textbooks line a back wall, and an armless mannequin lounges near a huge wooden stage.

The auditorium, an addition to the 1911 school, was left out of a renovation in 2002 that turned the school into a last-chance learning center for high school-age students.

It's a constant reminder of what could be to faculty members at D.W. Waters Career Center. They dream of gathering their 400 students for graduations, dances and pep rallies in one place.

They feel a neglect not tolerated by parents at other schools.

"It feels like our kids are being overlooked," says Windell Roberson, student intervention specialist.

The school has no athletic teams, no clubs, no parents on its PTA. It lacks school spirit.

"There has to be a place where our kids can shine,'' said principal Veronica Knight. "A place to build school spirit."

Her students are at risk of dropping out of traditional schools and have fallen several years behind their peers or are pregnant or new mothers.

Most are 15 to 19 years old. They read on an average fifth-grade level. Often they have been out of school for years and are accustomed to failure.

The faculty is unusually dedicated and often bonds with students, Knight said. They measure progress in daily increments.

Many of the students are talented.

American Idol finalist Jessica Sierra graduated from Waters, but without a place to perform, she never sang for the school. Nor has Roberson, who earned this year's Ida S. Baker Distinguished Educator of the Year award and sings with First Baptist Church of College Hill.

The school opened as Hillsborough County High and was renamed Jefferson High in 1927 until the 1970s. Later, it served as office space for district staffers. It was empty for several years and reopened as the career center in 2002.

Alumni and the community rallied in 1994 to restore the school using an $8-million grant, which stopped short at the auditorium. A partnership with the city was in the works to pay for the improvements so the auditorium also could be used for community gatherings. But the city backed out.

The auditorium renovation was estimated at $1.2-million at the time, said Cathy Valdes, the district's chief facilities officer. She expects it's higher now, at a time when most district funds are channeled toward new classrooms.

Knight understands the district's constraints, but can't accept less for her students.

"These kids are our future," she said. "You can't cast them aside."

Faculty members and alumni are seeking solutions from the community. They also need assistance some schools take for granted: volunteers, school supplies and mentors for their students.

Elisabeth Dyer can be reached at edyer@sptimes.com or 813 226-3321.

[Last modified April 20, 2006, 12:31:16]