Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Schools

School brings world to kids

And many of the students come from or have visited faraway spots on the globe.

By ELISABETH DYER
Published October 6, 2006

WEST TAMPA - Susan Wilson wasn't surprised when a pregnant woman walked into Macfarlane Park School for International Studies hoping to get her unborn child on a waiting list for the school.

Sure, such lists exist at exclusive prep schools, but a public elementary in West Tampa?

Not unusual, says Wilson, the school's registrar. She receives calls from parents every day seeking a spot for their child at the district's only elementary magnet school with an International Baccalaureate program.

"We already have two full classes of kindergarten applicants for next year," Wilson said.

The school takes names of students who want a spot in the two kindergarten classes and gives preference to those who have siblings at the school. For the four first-grade classes, the district's magnet office does an annual lottery. Applications for next school year will be accepted Dec. 1 to Jan. 26.

IB programs at any level and performing arts programs in middle school have proven the most popular of the district's magnet themes, said Susan King, the district's supervisor of magnet schools and programs. The district's next magnets may include elementary IBs in the Town 'N Country area and eastern Hillsborough, King said.

Macfarlane, a 3-year-old magnet school on N MacDill Avenue, focuses on inquiry, critical thinking and global studies, said principal Denyse Riveiro. "You feel like you're in another country here," she said. "It could be any country."

Indeed, a walk through Macfarlane is a cultural experience.

The school's 400 students come from 34 countries, and many have traveled extensively.

Akash Bhatia, 10, usually spends summers in India.

"I like the fact that we learn about everything in the world, not just the U.S.," he said last week, as he worked the solution for the distance from the sun to Mars.

Teachers likewise come from faraway countries and have traveled the world.

Elementary IB teaches students to be open minded, caring, principled and risk takers. Each classroom has a Wonder Chart where students post questions before they study a new topic.

Nine-year-old Kristen Montesano, of Brandon, likes learning about different cultures and hopes to one day travel to the Italian town of her last name.

Her mother, Michelle Harrison, wants Kristen to go on to the district's only middle IB school, Williams Middle Magnet School for International Studies. She hopes it will give Kristen an edge getting into one of the district's IB high schools, Hillsborough, King or Robinson.

"It's cool here because we learn about respect and curiosity," Kristen said. "And I am curious about a lot of things."

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

[Last modified October 5, 2006, 06:42:36]