Preparing students for that next big step

College bound or ready to get a job? The county's high schools can help shape a future before the plunge into adulthood.

[Times photo: James Borchuck] Dance students at Gibbs High School attend a mentor class taught by members of the Dallas Black Dance Theater.

By SHEILA MULLANE ESTRADA

© St. Petersburg Times, published October 29, 2000

Take a deep breath.

Your son or daughter is entering high school next fall.

In just a very few years, this child you nurtured and guided through elementary and middle school will become an adult facing all of adulthood's stresses and responsibilities. The educational choices you make now are exquisitely important in determining the direction and quality of your child's coming adult life.

The choices within the county's 16 public high school programs are complicated enough, even before considering the eight high school magnets or four career academies.

Then there are the dozens of academic and religious private secondary schools offering a sometimes starkly different educational approach. Or, you may be one of the few parents who is considering home schooling your son or daughter.

Add to this decision process the unavoidable fact that it's not completely your choice anymore. Yes, you may prefer a particular school or educational program, but your son's or daughter's opinion, motivation and commitment to that choice are integral to the success or failure of the high school experience.

What zoned high schools offer

Each of Pinellas county's public high schools adheres to a common curriculum and augments that educational foundation with a broad range of academic and vocational choices.

All high schools offer a full range of academic, elective, advanced placement and honors classes that meet specific areas of student interest or career goals while satisfying state graduation standards.

Also, all high schools participate in a dual enrollment program with St. Petersburg Junior College, allowing students to earn up to a full year of college credit by the time they graduate from high school.

Extensive after-school activity programs supplement this concentration on academics. Students can participate in a full spectrum of competitive sports from football to swimming.

There are academic organizations, as well as interest clubs such as multiculturalism, drama, junior crime watch, teen parenting, and television production, among others.

Individual zoned high school programs also offer opportunities:

Boca Ciega High School's music program features an award-winning jazz ensemble.

Dixie Hollins students can enroll in auto detailing as well as a range of technical programs.

Lakewood High School has both a strong drama and an environmental studies program.

Northeast offers a broad selection of foreign languages (French, Spanish, German, Latin and Greek) as well as a comprehensive list of business education courses and a culinary arts program.

Clearwater High School features a "themed" program focusing on international culture and commerce.

Tarpon Springs has a music conservatory.

Several schools offer ROTC programs for students interested in military careers.

As the school district moves toward unitary status (beginning in 2003), these "attractor" offerings will expand even more as all schools compete for their student enrollment.

One big advantage for attending a zoned school is transportation. If a student lives more than 2 miles from a school, the school system guarantees bus transportation to school. This service is provided on an arterial basis only for magnet school students. Students attending a school on a special attendance permit are not provided transportation.

The other, perhaps even bigger advantage of a zoned school is that your child is automatically accepted and guaranteed a space in his or her zoned school. The parent doesn't have to do anything.

The boundaries of some school attendance zones will change next year as the school district implements the last desegregation busing rotation before the implementation of unitary controlled choice status in 2003. Parents will be notified of any proposed school zone changes affecting their children by mail on Jan. 3, 2001, and can react to those changes during public discussion meetings Jan 16, 17, and 18. Times and places of these meetings have not yet been announced.

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