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‘We’re setting the mark here’
By LOGAN D. MABE © St. Petersburg Times, published May 25, 2001 WESTCHASE -- The sixth-graders really didn't want to be there because it meant leaving behind the familiar rhythms of elementary school. The eighth-graders were less than pleased to have been yanked out of their old middle schools. And the seventh-graders, well, seventh-grade is tough all over.
"We did very, very well," said principal Becky "Dr. K." Kaskeski. "Even though we know there are things that need to be revised and refined, overall everybody is just very, very happy about our year. We feel like we've become a cohesive unit." It's a far cry from Davidsen's busy beginnings when chaos reigned over cohesion. Designed to accommodate 1,229 students, the school opened in the heart of Westchase with about 1,300. Homeroom teachers found classrooms with double the number of students they had expected. Textbooks were late in arriving. And the media center was months from opening. But Kaskeski and crew took the challenges in stride. "The biggest speed bump that we had was getting the additional teachers that we needed and getting the schedule done," Kaskeski said. "We ended up with 500-plus more students than we were anticipating. We don't like to change kids' schedules, but we had to do that when you have 55 kids in a class." Mary Andrews, whose son David was an eighth-grader at Davidsen this year, said school district officials underestimated how popular the school was going to be. "There were more kids than they expected," said Andrews, who volunteers regularly at Davidsen. "Dr. K kept telling them they're not projecting enough kids." By midyear, Davidsen had 1,327 students, but by then Kaskeski had worked out her staffing problems by hiring "floating" teachers who used empty classrooms throughout the day. In spite of the predictable growing pains, Davidsen's first year was notable for the teamwork that rose from the challenging conditions, said PTSA president Joanne Gastler. "To me, it's been the most wonderful teamwork effort as the year went on," Gastler said. "The janitors, kitchen staff, teachers were all cooperative and easy to work with. It just made the year go so smoothly. I've opened many schools; Lowry (Elementary), Walker (Middle), Westchase (Elementary) and Davidsen. In all those years it's the first time that I've been in a school where they ask, "What can we do for you?' It's been wonderful." Even under the crowded conditions, students got along well, said School Resource Officer Wayne Crowell. "You'd figure with 1,300 kids you'd have a high frequency of things happen," said Crowell, who made just three arrests for minor marijuana violations. "But it didn't, which is impressive. That speaks well for the staff and the kids. It's just really good people here." Seventh-grader Lisa Rozanski agreed. "It was weird at first because I didn't know anybody," she said. "But then I started meeting people and it was easier." "It was hard at the beginning because you had to leave everybody at your old school," said eighth-grader Laura Newton. "I wasn't happy about it, and I didn't want to leave (Sligh Middle). But I made new friends and it's been pretty easy. I'm glad I got to come to this school. It's a good school. The teachers, the students, everybody." Ashleigh Burriss went to Ben Hill Middle School for sixth and seventh grades, and had to transfer to Davidsen for eighth grade. "The first two months, I wanted to go back to Ben Hill," she said. "But then I met these two (pals Newton and Shakirah Robertson) and they helped me through the year." "They were our most resistant group because of the fact that they really didn't want to be here," Kaskeski said. "But we gave them a lot of opportunities to get involved in things. They produced the most unbelievable yearbook, they headed up our (televised) morning program, and they were the ones that were gonna set our tradition. They realized that we're setting the mark here. It's been amazing to watch them during the second semester." Proudest of the bunch are Davidsen's sixth-graders who experienced challenges that older kids took for granted. "At the beginning of the year, it was a real transition," said sixth-grader Amber Lavigne. "It was like, "Okay, now I'm lost.' " And Brittany Raasch said it took awhile to learn how to use the lockers, adjust to a new bell schedule and deal with the noisy lunchroom. But the sixth-graders knew they were special, pioneers in establishing school spirit and becoming Davidsen "Dragons." "If you're in sixth grade, you'll be the first class to go all the way through," said Christine Gastler. "And that's pretty cool." -- Logan D. Mabe can be reached at 813-226-3464.
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