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Divided school fires three
Two opposed the principal over trips with students. Parents picket for his ouster.[8/5]

Parents unite in hopes of saving 'unique' day care
TAMPA - Laura Clark thought she'd found the perfect preschool for her 16-month-old son when she enrolled him at Learning Horizons Academy, a 5-acre complex with a bilingual curriculum, a kid-friendly petting zoo and a working garden.[8/5]

FCAT scores increase, while SAT scores slide
The diverging trends are puzzling, teachers say.[8/3]

Neighbors wants say in plans for new school
Their main concern: that the school be primarily for neighborhood children.[8/3]

Jail program awards first diploma
No pomp, but unusual circumstances surround a teen killer's graduation just before he goes to prison.[8/2]

Bubbling with enthusiasm
Children starting school for the first time showed excitement. Moms were a different story.[8/2]

Police shoot back at 3 men
TAMPA - Tampa police got into a shootout Friday morning after officers tried to stop a Chevrolet Malibu near 22nd and Nebraska avenues.[8/2]

Six new principals will call the shots
They range from age 36 to 53. All have quite a bit of experience. All are eager to put their imprints on their schools.[8/1]

Schools new and remodeled open doors
A magnet school, two charter schools and an expanded Montessori School are new options for students in South Tampa.[8/1]

Bash puts kids in the mood for school year
With more than 50 interactive exhibits, the Back to School Bash at the convention center gave parents a wealth of information and free goodies.[8/1]

Creating traditions
No fight song, no rivalries, no homecoming memories. Newsome High's debut class gets to "set the bar."[8/1]

Lack of shots a sticking point to entering school
Updated records are required for students new to Florida schools. New seventh-graders also need their tetanus and diptheria boosters.[8/1]

Neighbors fight to control school traffic
Posts are going up near Mintz Elementary to keep parents from parking in the grass and in driveways.[8/1]

Pavilion puts science on kids' horizon
The Cargill Coastal Education Center is working with teachers to prepare fourth-graders for the FCAT.[8/1]

Schools filling up as fast as they open
Six of eight new schools opening in Hillsborough are in "new New Tampa," which is seeing explosive growth.[8/1]

New Principals
Alafia ElementaryPRINCIPAL: Pam Locke[8/1]

New Principals
Crestwood Elementary School[8/1]

This year's mantra: doing more with less
With nearly $30-million cut from the budget this year, schools across Hillsborough will be figuring out how to serve students with less cash and fewer extras.[8/1]

Workers put finishing touches on magnet school
The $40-million Muller Elementary, which will eventually include a career center, health clinic and social services building, should be a boost to the troubled University North area.[8/1]

After-care programs to put focus on homework
Special classes - pottery and golf, for example - go by the wayside in the school district's after-school programs.[8/1]

Back-to-school party offers freebies, fun
Morning Star Church hosts a free party for Citrus Park, where school supplies and haircuts will be given away and fun events will cushion the end of summer vacations.[8/1]

Busy hands prepare new school
Heritage Elementary will be ready to open Wednesday, the principal says, thanks to help from parents, staff and students.[8/1]

USF reshapes, merges aging studies programs
The university will bring together three departments to create a School of Aging Studies. [7/31]

Vouchers are great, crowd says
The state education commissioner hears from parents, students and private school leaders at what a critic calls a pep rally and charade.

SAT prep workshop offered
High school students looking to improve their SAT scores can attend a workshop and practice test session from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 30 at Wharton High School.[7/25]

Classes challenge, relax drummers
Classes at two Tampa locations bring the African musical form to participants of all ages and skill levels.[7/25]

New school plans dropped
Organizers of a Christian-based South Tampa private school couldn't finalize a lease or find enough teachers.[7/25]

Downtown school coming
The K-8 school is for nearby workers' children. Also new to the scene are a hotel, a signmaker and a spine guy.[7/25]

School meeting set for parents of athletes
GIBSONTON - A meeting for parents of all students interested in playing sports at East Bay High will be from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the cafeteria. Paperwork will be distributed and medical release cards will be notarized. Parents should bring their child's original birth certificate. For more information, call 671-5134.[7/25]

Electrical fire burns part of high school
Smoke and flames did $300,000 in damage to classrooms and equipment in King High School's media center. Portable classrooms will be brought in and the building closed for repairs. [7/24]

Dispute over school's name dates back to '50s
TAMPA - In the 1950s, when the University of South Florida was being planned, some people wanted to call the school Orange State University, Tampa Bay University or Sunshine State University. [7/23]

USF ponders life without the 'South Florida'
The Bulls brand themselves with a shorter, and they hope less geographically confusing, title: USF.

Parents say school choices limited
After the district names five alternatives for students from Shaw, parents complain. [7/22]

Improved schools may lose students
Where the state sees progress the federal government sees failure, allowing for transfers out of four schools.[7/21]

Patriots will play at home opening day
The Freedom High athletic field will be finished, though concession stands and restrooms may take a bit longer. [7/20]

Principal helps quell Heritage grumbling
Parents of children at the new elementary school say they have faith their principal will make sure every student excels.

Budget cuts target school aides
A fresh round of money-saving proposals eliminates 108 helpers; teachers lament the loss. [7/15]

Choice plan comes knocking
Canvassers go door-to-door to inform parents they can pick schools outside their neighborhood for their kids. [7/13]

Longtime USF professor in coma
TAMPA - Jack B. Moore, a retired University of South Florida professor who helped create the school's American Studies department, is in a coma in a New York hospital after having a heart attack. [7/10]

Charter school's request for money stirs concern
The Trinity School for Children seeks $500 per student. Donations are okay. Fees aren't.[7/9]

Charter school seeks hearing
Pepin Academy is challenging findings that it received too much money for disabled students. [7/1]

School grades are family magnets
Area schools performed even better than they did last year, as measured by the FCAT.[6/27]

Making time to study, grow
Children of migrant workers swap farm work for homework. A University of South Florida program is raising their aspirations. [6/26]

Camp's skills help students pass
After failing the FCAT, 33 third-graders cram to improve their chances at passing the SAT-9 and becoming fourth-graders.[6/20]

Two F's, more A's
The district's only remaining F schools are two independent charter schools, but five public high schools sank to D's. [6/19]

DOT, school board reach deal on school sale
Oak Park Elementary students will soon get a new building after the state buys the property to make way for construction on Interstate 4. [6/18]

Say so long, old red schoolhouse
The state will pay $11.6-million to the school system so Oak Park Elementary can face the bulldozers. I-4 must grow. [6/17]

NAACP focuses help on schools
Responding to pressure from the national organization, the Back-to-School/ Stay-in-School program will be relaunched.[6/13]

Professor digs for historic gold
A USF archaeological team is unearthing a downtown Tampa park where a black neighborhood thrived for more than a century.[6/11]

Area fifth-graders receive awards
Outstanding local fifth-graders were presented with awards by the American Legion Post No. 147 of Odessa and the Korean War Veterans Association of Tampa. The students demonstrated qualities of courage, honor, leadership, patriotism and scholarship. [6/8]

The end of the beginning
Three first-year teachers pack up their classrooms and look toward the future. While some say the first 200 days are rough on new teachers, these educators wouldn't trade it for anything. [6/1]

Wharton High School
A list of the 2003 graduates

Chamberlain High School
A list of the 2003 graduates

High expectations greet Wharton football coach
Melvin Cunningham has faced down injuries and hopeless football seasons. Now he's ready for his next challenge.

Leto High School
A list of the 2003 graduates

North Tampa charter school to close
The private corporation that was running the school said it could not continue operation with what the state was paying. [5/29]

Budget cut not as deep as expected
It's not the $50-million the school district anticipated, but officials still must find a way to trim about $28-million.

Road, schools close after ammonia leak
FishHawk Boulevard and the two schools will remain closed this morning after a ruptured pipe spewed ammonia Tuesday.[5/28]

High school sophomore drowns in pond
The Sickles High student who died in a retention pond in the Van Dyke Farms subdivision "was an awesome athlete," a neighbor says.

Furiously fast
For students' cars at Wharton, speed and style are uppermost. Their rides cost a bundle, and they wouldn't leave home without them. [5/25]

Braulio Alonso High School
An alphabetical listing of the 2003 graduates.

Sickles High School
A list of the 2003 graduates.

Thomas Jefferson High School
A list of the 2003 graduates.

Prepared for the worst, it comes
Hillsborough school officials planned for many of the cuts they'll be forced to make.[5/24]

'My heart will always be here'
On Thursday, after 40 years of teaching, Mrs. Barnes will bid farewell to Chamberlain High.[5/23]

Teacher ranks with best
TAMPA - All Debbie Gil Leslie knew was that the principal was having problems with her PowerPoint presentation. Again. [5/22]

Presses stopped at Gaither High
An unflattering profile of the softball program and new coach spawns troubles for the award-winning student paper. [5/20]

Gratitude to teachers becomes fancier
Spa and restaurant gift certificates are among the trendy ways of showing appreciation for a job well-done in the classroom. [5/19]

Wharton student newspaper rakes in honors at convention
NEW TAMPA - From backstage, Terry Sollazzo could hear the announcer naming the Florida Scholastic Press Association winners. [5/18]

County exceeds FCAT average
Hillsborough reports its average math score and average reading score for nearly every grade level beat the state's average.[5/16]

School board agrees to swap land
The board would give up 10 acres south of Robinson High to get Rembrandt Gardens. [5/13]

Plant High School senior earns title of 2003 Presidential Scholar
TAMPA - Plant High School senior Betsy R. Scherzer is Florida's female representative among the 2003 Presidential Scholars, one of the most prestigious scholastic measures in the nation.

School Board vexed by sad, tough choices ahead in budget cuts
TAMPA - In an exercise of synchronized teeth gnashing, Hillsborough County School Board members chewed through a 32-item list of possible budget cuts Monday night. Their intent was finding $50-million in savings to accommodate a "worst-case scenario" should the Legislature pass a trimmed-down state budget.

Schools a world away draw nearer every day
In a hallway at Hillsborough County's Randall Middle School, dozens of multicolored Chinese lanterns fashioned from construction paper dangle from the ceiling.[5/10]

1 in 5 fail in reading on FCAT
But Hillsborough's third-graders will have other chances to show they are ready to move on to the fourth grade. [5/6]

Schools beat state average
All three levels post good FCAT writing scores, and some middle schools made an especially good showing.[5/3]

No 'mystery meat' served here
Mojo pork, black beans and rice. Southern-style breakfast. Vegetarian pizza and V8 Splash. School cafeteria meals are getting tastier, healthier and more high-tech. [5/4]

Friends tussle with speed's dire result
HOPEWELL - The waves of Durant High School students at Shaun Corbett's funeral signed the casket as they would a yearbook.[5/2]

USF rededicates King bust
Vandals damaged the bust in February. Tuesday, the university reaffirmed its commitment to diversity. [4/30]

Workers warned of deep school cuts
The district rolls out what the worst-case scenario would look like under a frugal House bill. One expert warns it's too late to complain. [4/29]

School's history lives on in hall name
The auditorium at Blake High is renamed for a school that represented educational opportunity for blacks.[4/27]

Schools face cuts to the bone
County officials scrutinize spending to make the cuts, possibly even some layoffs, to save $54-million. [4/26]

Schools could alter choice assignments
Parents of students specially assigned to schools outside their neighborhoods want to be grandfathered in when choice begins. [4/23]

Panel calls for limits on homework
Guidelines suggest a limit of 80 minutes a night in Grade 8 and a limit of 2 hours a night in Grade 12. [4/17]

At 12 schools, a teacher bonus
If their evaluations are satisfactory, teachers at schools with many needy students will receive a 5 percent pay differential. [4/9]

Popularity is the problem
Citrus Park Christian School gains new admirers every year, and that's the trouble from Keystone's perspective.[4/6]

Poor schools may pay teachers more
Teachers at those schools would earn 5 percent more if the School Board okays a plan using federal money. [4/3]

Namesake ushers in performing arts school
Dr. Pallavi Patel and her husband breathed life into a TBPAC dream that is about to get started.

Thing to toot about: music education
Hillsborough's program was the only one in Florida to make a top 100 list. [4/1]

Obituary: Jesuit administrator taught respect, humility
"He was as good as they come," J.J. Fernandez' wife said of the teacher, coach and principal. [3/21]

Crash kills Riverview High School teacher
Jim Noonan's wife, Karen, is in fair condition after their Corvette goes airborne and flips over. He taught physical science and was a youth sports coach. [3/20]

Wrangler reunion
Six Gaither High students, part of the charter class of Little Wranglers, visit the preschool they once attended. [3/16]

Odyssey leads students to state finals
The Odyssey of the Mind competition asks students to use creativity, thinking skills and teamwork to solve problems and come up with skits.

District rejects bid to end dress code lawsuit
TAMPA -- The fight to erase gender-specific clothing rules from local schools landed in the lap of the Hillsborough County School Board on Tuesday night. [3/12]

Schools keep control over students' year-end clothes
Hillsborough schools won't have districtwide rules regarding yearbook and graduation attire. [3/5]

School choice the topic of meetings
The Hillsborough County School District will wrap up its series of town hall meetings this week to bring parents up to speed on the controlled school choice plan to be implemented in 2004. [3/2]

State: School inflated ailments
The ruling could mean Pepin Academy must repay thousands in funding it got for pupils with learning disabilities. "It's a travesty," says one parent. [2/28]

Marlene Sokol: Easing stress -- with math
NORTH TAMPA -- The school has been here since 1922. This can't be the original building. But it's real brick, not prefab or concrete. The houses are Old Seminole Heights. The narrow streets date way before the minivan.

Students find their creativity in 'Hobbit'
A drama teacher helps Carrollwood Day students bring Gandalf and Bilbo to the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.

On the edge of adolescence
These fifth-grade girls are on "top of the world." They play football and bounce on pogo sticks -- but middle school looms.

Schools weigh what to give up
The board wants classrooms untouched despite a third year of budget restraints, but one proposal cuts the days spent in class. [2/27]

USF researcher who quit sues female accuser
Michael Mullan claims that a woman accusing him of sexual harassment subjected him to ridicule. [2/26]

More money from state for schools not enough
TAMPA -- Hillsborough School Board Chairwoman Carol Kurdell has one word for the budget outlook for county schools next year. [2/25]

County to consider UF research center planned in Balm
If the zoning is approved, construction for the agricultural center on 475 acres could begin in April.

Inventive minds
Fifth-graders come up with their own inventions, some realistic and useful, others driven purely by imagination. [2/23]

Series of meetings will focus on new school choice plan
The Hillsborough County School District will host a series of town hall meetings in February and March to bring parents up to speed on the controlled school choice plan to be implemented in 2004.

Watercolors win recognition
Two Wharton sophomores reach the final round of a statewide art contest. [2/21]

Dress code might be due some alterations
The School Board will hash out what kids must wear for two key events. [2/20]

Schools, Pepsi near deal worth millions
The bottler would have the exclusive right to sell its beverages in Hillsborough schools. [2/19]

5 students to pursue national honor
TAMPA -- Five local students have been named candidates for the United States Presidential Scholars Program, a top national honor for high school seniors. The five are among 2,600 candidates selected from nearly 2.8-million students.

Students learn black soldiers' role in history
TAMPA -- When Frank Bell Jr. found out his father fought in World War II's Battle of the Bulge, he decided to do some research. [2/13]

Teacher of the year: She's a model teacher
Debbie Gil Leslie is named the county's teacher of the year. [2/7]

Offices open to inform about controlled choice
TAMPA -- School officials formally opened three offices Wednesday designed to inform parents about the new student assignment plan called controlled choice. [2/6]

Charter school parents queue up in its defense
They plead to keep funds flowing to Pepin Academy, a school for learning-disabled pupils. [2/5]

School choice gets in gear
Meetings and surveys in the mail are part of an effort to inform Hillsborough parents of choices they must make by next fall for the 2004 school year. [2/3]

Fresh-faced principal puts his heart into it
Listen to Benito Middle School's new young captain, and it's clear that teaching isn't just a job. [2/2]

Series of meetings will focus on new school choice plan
The Hillsborough County School District will host a series of town hall meetings in February and March to bring parents up to speed on the controlled school choice plan to be implemented in 2004.

Chamberlain AP program, two students win awards
Of about 20,000 U.S. students taking a WordMasters test, 110 get perfect scores. Two are right here.

Series of meetings will focus on new school choice plan
The Hillsborough County School District will host a series of town hall meetings in February and March to bring parents up to speed on the controlled school choice plan to be implemented in 2004. [1/31]

Inspection of school will persist
County officials will examine how Pepin Academy classifies exceptional students, despite a challenge by the school's officials. [1/29]

If they ruled, classes might start hours later
High school leaders speak up on subjects close to their hearts: start times, crowded schools and testing. [1/22]

Students moving to fill new school
A third of Durant High's population, despite pleas from its students, will be among those going to the new Newsome High.

Schools find lesson on choice in Pinellas
TAMPA -- Hillsborough educators need only look across Tampa Bay to see the perils of school choice, the most drastic change in how students are assigned to schools since court-ordered busing. [1/20]

Wharton High's new chief settles in
After more than two decades in the school district, former Adams Middle principal George Gaffney readies for his job as head Wildcat. [1/19]

Plant City teacher resigns after alleged misconduct
PLANT CITY -- A Plant City High School physical education teacher resigned this week after school officials began investigating allegations of "inappropriate conduct with a student," said district spokesman Mark Hart. [1/18]

Feds refuse to drop charges against student
However, INS officials in Tampa say they will revisit the case of a Mideast student at USF who might be deported. [1/15]

USF hires new vice president of research
TAMPA -- The University of South Florida has hired internationally recognized scientist M. Ian Phillips as its new vice president of research.

Give students a break, mom says
The mother of two elementary students asks the Hillsborough School Board to make recess mandatory. [1/15]

Union assails USF over ending contract
The faculty union says the pact that USF has decided to stop honoring Jan. 7 is valid until the academic year ends. [12/24]

USF trustees give Genshaft a five-year, perk-laden deal
The five-year contract includes a 37 percent pay raise and college tuition for Judy Genshaft's two young children. [12/19]

Who will be top teacher?
TAMPA -- Everyone in the Chiles Elementary School front office thought it was so sweet that principal Shari Beaubien's husband showed up Tuesday morning with a gorgeous bouquet of red roses. Such a nice guy, they said. [12/18]

$2-million gift to fund art center
The art department at the University of Tampa, with a large crop of students, is grateful to get some space to breathe. [12/16]

School Board to televise public comment
For the next six months, comments will again be televised. The School Board will then evaluate and compare the results. [12/11]

Educators fear many unprepared for college
But some Hillsborough School Board members caution against putting too much emphasis on standardized tests.

Team adds spring to New Tampa's step
TAMPA -- Six years after Wharton High School was carved from wetlands and mangroves, New Tampa's white-collar suburbanites have found a place to rally, a reason to cheer. [12/7]

Schools grant religious days for Muslims
TAMPA -- Just in time for the end of the Muslim observance of Ramadan, Hillsborough school officials have decided they no longer will penalize high school students who take time off to observe a religious holiday. [12/5]

Superintendent is tops in state
TAMPA -- Hillsborough school superintendent Earl Lennard has been named Florida's superintendent of the year.

Students put home cooking in firehouses
TAMPA -- Angel Hines knows it takes more than sweet potato casserole, blueberry cobbler and banana pudding to make Thanksgiving complete. [11/28]

Hillsborough students voice fears about threats to school safety
Gangs, bomb threats, drugs and more were hot topics at the school safety meeting. Students got the message: Come forward; talk to a deputy. [11/27]

Colorful college leader returns; anchorman keeps at it
For Andreas Paloumpis, it was a classic case of jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. [11/26]

Life after school
After 34 years as an educator, Wharton High principal Mitch Muley is moving on. [11/24]

Civic Association pledges to bring in money for school
The Old Lutz School's Halloween fundraiser was shut down two years ago. Efforts are under way to raise funds for the school.

School officials warn of Web site
Several students have posted their pictures on FaceTheJury.com. Police say a Bradenton man molested a 12-year-old girl he met on the site. [11/21]

Bridging history with giggles
Nearly 50 youngsters, inspired by Sacagawea, wolves, beavers and a bear or two, retrace Lewis and Clark's 19th century expedition to the Pacific at the Port Tampa Library. [11/20]

Lennard case spurs conflict policy review
TAMPA -- Hillsborough school officials said Tuesday they are revamping the school system's conflict of interest procedures because of recent questions about the superintendent's son doing business with a high school.

Board member leaves long legacy
Hillsborough County schools have changed since Joe Newsome joined the board 24 years ago. [11/19]

Teach-in gives students peek at many professions
Wednesday's national event will let kids at all grade levels hear about jobs -- and pastimes -- from successful people in all walks of life. [11/17]

Some see red over Blue Ribbon School change
Just two standards apply now, and some otherwise great schools don't meet them.

School chief's son is paid consultant
Hillsborough superintendent Earl Lennard's son prepares a disclosure form. [11/16]

Culinary class crafts tempting treats
CITRUS PARK -- Brittany Beaudoin and Heather Schroeder were tickled pink over their watermelon peacock. The Sickles High School juniors fashioned the fruit salad server out of a fresh watermelon, then filled it with succulent melons, pineapple and strawberries. [11/10]

Clubs provide extras to kids' learning
Whether your children are learning in a public school, a private school or at home, youth development clubs and programs can provide them with immense enrichment opportunities.

Schools chief thins administrator ranks
The board okays the superintendent's plan to streamline his staff and also approves raises. [11/5]

Family of dead teacher hires lawyer for answers
Al Greenway's family wants to know why mistakes were made during the robotic surgery, said lawyer Steve Yerrid.

District may reshape staff
The ranks of Hillsborough schools' top administrators may be reorganized. [10/30]

Clothes pose question: Are gay students safe?
A male student who wore a skirt to school was sent home. At the same time, many schools are learning they have to protect gay students. [10/29]

Genetic research to target drug addiction
A $5.85-million federal contract will allow researchers to trace the effects of drug abuse on the body. [10/18]

Political candidates answer to Robinson students
The night's main theme was education, as student leaders brought issues to candidates for local and state offices. [10/17]

Schools set policy on fences
The board hopes its new plan for approving fences improves safety and consistency. [10/16]

2 King High seniors ace SAT
The students accomplish what only one in 2,000 students do -- score 1600.

Schools to pay over boy's death
TAMPA -- The Hillsborough County School District has reached a settlement in the case of Eric Martin, a Walker Middle School student who died after a bus driver dropped him off 5 miles from his Odessa home. [10/12]

Pact gives teachers average 3% raises
Terms of the contract awaiting approval still leave the county lagging Pinellas and Pasco.

Crowded Essrig will get some breathing room
A $1.3-million wing will be constructed at the school, which was built to serve 865 students but has about 1,110. [10/6]

Schools roundup
ADAMS MIDDLE: Birthday announcements can be posted on the school marquee for $10. Order forms are available in the front office. Notices are posted on a first-come basis and run for a week. Call 975-7665.

Schools get millions for choice
While the Hillsborough district will get a federal grant worth up to $13.2-million, Pinellas' application is denied. [10/4]

District leaders hope money will help raise schools' grades
TAMPA -- The county's four lowest-rated schools are getting extra teachers, training, materials -- and even backpacks -- as part of the school system's plans to improve student test scores. [10/2]

It's food. It's free. Why not?
Since the county began to offer free breakfast to all kids this fall, lots more students are starting out on a full stomach. [9/29]

Low-income kids gain access to computers
A computer center will be used first by dropouts and suspended students.

Al-Arian case not first to bedevil a USF chief
TAMPA -- Forty years ago, Sheldon Grebstein found himself in a situation similar to the one now faced by Professor Sami Al-Arian. [9/20]

Genshaft's annual address sticks to the high points
TAMPA -- University of South Florida president Judy Genshaft announced a new program Thursday to give pay raises to 100 top faculty members and a successful year of research that brought in record-breaking dollars last year.

USF speech canceled in protest
TAMPA -- A prominent Islamic scholar at Georgetown University has canceled a speech at the University of South Florida next month because of the school's handling of the case of professor Sami Al-Arian. [9/14]

In School Board race, signs now a prickly subject
District 4 candidates suspect one another and supporters of pilfering campaign signs.

Push came to shove
Middle schools had become congested caldrons of pubescence. A building boom allows room for more human contact of the meaningful kind.

Alonso High again goes pro for football coach
He's Mike Heldt, a Leto High grad and former NFL player who was with the San Diego Chargers and Indianapolis Colts.

Gator expelled from middle school
The 8-foot carnivore wanders onto the grounds, too close for officials' comfort. Students in 16 buses stay put until it's moved. [9/6]

For high school football fans, tonight it's official
The 2002 prep football season officially begins tonight with all eight north Tampa area schools in action. And there will be plenty of action to keep fans interested.

Schools fill as fast as they can be built
Classrooms pack in 5,325 more students this year, with more coming. The "baby boomlet" has sparked a building boom. [9/5]

Schools to open a year early
Rapid growth in New Tampa is forcing the School Board to open two new schools just south of the Pasco County line. [9/4]

Ex-teacher won't face federal charges
Berkeley Preparatory School teacher Robert Yarnell left his job during an FBI investigation of his e-mails with a student. [8/28]

Move-in week at USF stirs emotions
Students ready to start life in a college dorm bustle around while parents try to let go -- perhaps for the first time. [8/23]

Board suspends three teachers
Two are accused of child abuse, the other faces prostitution and drug charges. No charges are job related. [8/21]

USF names dean for public health
Laurence Branch is a research professor and lecturer for the school's Institute on Aging. [8/20]

Schools get early start explaining choice plan
Although the system will not be implemented until the start of the 2004 school year, a marketing campaign is already under way. [8/13]

'Gift' supplies to free up teachers' cash
A store for Hillsborough teachers of underprivileged kids will provide free supplies. [8/10]

Centers bridge classes, training
The county's newest educational creation gives equal time to books and hands-on training. [8/10]

Teacher shortage? Not exactly
Pinellas, for the most part, has what it needs. Hillsborough and Pasco counties still have openings. [8/7]

Not a skip or miss
Yvonne Hoover graduated Sickles High after 13 years' of perfect attendance.

Superintendent promises to keep schools competitive
At his back-to-school news conference, Earl Lennard vows to improve F-ranked schools and keep public schools an attractive option for parents. [8/6]

Back to School August 2, 2002 Middle schools get room to breathe District officials' hopes have become reality with three new middle schools opening this fall. Martinez Middle ready for opening bell The principal is looking forward to the grand opening of a neighborhood school. Marlene Sokol column Lessons uniformly learned TOWN 'N COUNTRY -- Waters Avenue and Hanley Road. The last place you want to be at rush hour. Shared campus ready to welcome students Freedom High School and Liberty Middle School will open with an emphasis on the patriotic for which they are named. Lending their good names to schools Most Hillsborough County schools are named for employees of the school district, but the process of choosing a name can sometimes lead to controversy. School Board members New Principals 2002-2003 district calendar Schools How to behave, how to dress By the numbers

County prepares to debut 9 new schools
TAMPA -- Nine new schools -- the most in recent history for Hillsborough County -- will open in August. [7/28]

Threats at USF more ugly than deadly
A study of threats made against a USF professor shows that while many were profane or racist, few were actually violent.

USF event draws teens to explore Indian culture
TAMPA -- The teenagers sat quietly inside their University of South Florida classroom. Boys in khakis and polo shirts sat on one side of the room; ebony-haired girls in flowing pastel saris on the other.

Audit assigns a good grade to school district
TAMPA -- The Hillsborough school district deserves a grade of B for its operating practices and the way it spends tax dollars, according to a yearlong audit released this week. [7/26]

Educator, preacher Dr. Roland Lewis, 86
TEMPLE TERRACE -- Dr. Roland H. Lewis, co-founder of Florida College and longtime member of the Hillsborough County School Board and Temple Terrace City Council, died Friday (July 19, 2002). He was 86. [7/22]

District tops in test comparison
Hillsborough was among four urban school districts to exceed state averages on every level of standardized tests. [7/16]

Newspaper to unhitch from USF
The daily on-campus publication, the Oracle, will wean itself from student activity funds. [7/15]

Residents' concerns delay K-Bar ranch annexation vote
Neighbors complain a development deal negotiated by the city would overburden roads and schools in the area. [7/12]

Timeout results in reprimand
TAMPA -- A Lockhart Elementary School teacher who placed a 5-year-old boy into a dark timeout room in May was reprimanded this week for what school officials called "unprofessional behavior." [7/4]

Class size drive given NAACP nod
The group's education director speaks at USF to support the constitutional amendment initiative. Students, teachers and schools are being shortchanged, he says. [6/27]

Two area schools appeal their F's
Two Tampa Bay area schools are appealing their recent F grades. [6/22]

Fired transsexual teacher sues church
Church officials cite a gun charge as their reason, but the former catechism instructor disputes that. [6/20]

Center to be focal point for area's revitalization
The University Area Community Center, which has become home to several classes, will be dedicated Saturday. [6/19]

Schools lift ban on cell phones
Students may bring mobile phones, but can't use them during school hours and on buses, the district rules.

School grades puzzle some, please most
In the first year of grading by a new scoring system, 11 area schools improve and five decline. [6/16]

Tuition to rise for USF students
The trustees' executive committee agrees on the increases, which must be approved by the full board to take effect. [6/13]

Scholars skipping summer school
Though required to attend, the students can't use their Bright Future scholarships this summer. [6/11]

Educators take a short course on choice plan
A two-hour workshop on choice in the Pinellas County School District aims to recruit principals to sell the idea to parents.

Tampa student expelled in aftermath of affair
Officials say the Blake High junior threatened a student who exposed her liaison with a teacher. [6/5]

Beloved drama teacher takes a bow
Parents, faculty and Maniscalco alumni filled the school cafeteria Tuesday to pay tribute to Lynn Leahy and enjoy her last play written just for them. [6/2]

In art, a window on the world
Linked to fun lessons on history, science and math, art is more than something to look at.

• Jefferson High's 2002 Graduates
• Chamberlain High's 2002 Graduates
• Sickles High's 2002 Graduates
• Wharton High's 2002 Graduates
• Gaither High's 2002 Graduates

Tears, cheers fill final day
Hillsborough County students bid farewell to their friends and teachers on the last day of school, then say hello to summer vacation. [5/31]

'A veteran of life' gets his diploma
At 17, Raymond Duke Chambers quit high school to join the Navy. At 75, he's the senior of senior graduates. [5/25]

At just 17, this boy is tech tycoon
His company expects to gross a million this year. Oh, and he just graduated from high school. [5/24]

University wins another bar fight
College administrators, aggressively fighting student drinking, persuade the City Council to deny a liquor license for a newly renovated Kennedy Boulevard bar.

USF dig offers clues to the past
Students study the site of an ancient Indian campsite that will someday be home to dormitories.

Student in sex scandal expelled
The girl's attorney says she is twice victimized; the school alleges she threatened another student.

USF bias suits in mediation
TAMPA -- The lawyers involved in the University of South Florida's discrimination lawsuits have entered into mediation to help solve the cases filed by current and former players and a former coach from the women's basketball team. [5/21]

Single punch alters future
A Sickles High senior, set to graduate Friday, instead is lying critically injured in a Tampa hospital. [5/20]

Fee peeves students who use Internet off campus
USF will institute a $5.99 monthly fee to save $184,000 a year. Students aren't the only ones who are upset. [5/19]

200 volunteers spruce up school
A group celebrating its seventh anniversary helps out after a recent expansion at Alexander Elementary.

School for at-risk kids planning Tampa branch
Academy Prep, a private school that charges no tuition, is seeking a site in Tampa's enterprise zone. [5/18]

No extensive waste found by schools audit
TAMPA -- Independent auditors didn't find the $100-million that a former administrator claimed was unwisely spent by Hillsborough school officials over a dozen years. But they did find plenty of ways the district could beef up its business practices.

School visit brings out the child in Gov. Bush
TAMPA -- Hundreds gathered at the University of South Florida on Thursday morning to watch Gov. Jeb Bush sign a law rewriting the way schools are governed. [5/17]

Chamberlain staffers honored
Seventeen Chamberlain High School teachers were nominated this year for "Who's Who Among America's Teachers." A teacher and a security officer won area awards. [5/12]

Freedom, Liberty make progress
Staffers at both schools expect to move in on June 10. But only the middle school will be done by then.

Bellamy students get concrete solution
A sidewalk will line Wilsky Boulevard. Some hope it will soon extend to the Upper Tampa Bay trailhead.

Reporting misconduct has board's initial okay
A proposed School Board whistleblower policy would discipline those who don't report wrongdoing. [5/8]

Plan for Robles, Oak Park rattles their teachers
They tell the School Board they object to the changes, which would require them to reapply for their jobs.

Fast-buzzing Westchase team wins Battle of Books
Quick with the correct answers in a contest on books, the elementary school's team whips six others from Hillsborough at Tropicana Field.

Mother says teacher locked up her son, 5
The school district investigates an incident at Lockhart Elementary. [5/7]

Thousands support firing Al-Arian
A petition with 15,000 signatures will be presented to the chairman of USF's Board of Trustees. Al-Arian's lawyer says the impact will be small.

3,720 USF grads celebrate commencement success
The spring ceremony included students from age 19 to one in her 70s who are from 33 states and 77 countries. [5/5]

Exchange students exchange ideas
While their schooling abroad was tougher, students find their American learning experience prepares them better for life.

Boy honored for actions after crash
A seventh-grader at Ben Hill Middle School won an award for heroism for coming to the aid of an injured motorist.

Schools roundup
ADAMS MIDDLE: Birthday notices can be placed on the marquee for $10. Order forms are available at the office. Birthdays are posted first-come, first-served. For information, call 975-7665.

School deal with Children's Home moves forward
The home for neglected and abused children offers the school system 15 to 20 acres of its property for free to build an elementary school. [5/3]

Low water pressure plagues two schools
Wesley Chapel High and Weightman Middle schools truck in water, and students use portable toilets after a dip in pressure.

Pupils recreate rigors of arrival in America
Clark Elementary School fourth-graders dramatize the difficulties new immigrants faced on Ellis Island.

Teacher faces drug charges
TAMPA -- Police arrested a Williams Middle School teacher who lives in Wesley Chapel on Thursday and charged him with smoking marijuana in the school's parking lot.

Quick changes proposed for lagging schools
Plans are to transform two D-rated elementaries into academies two years before school choice begins. [5/1]

Minority lawyers invest in teenager
The Edgecomb Bar Association gives a gifted high school sophomore a full scholarship. [4/30]

Exceptional kids practice for their prom
At Dover Exceptional Center, the dancing exercises take a serious turn as students prepare for the big night. [4/27]

Schools' savings to come out of vice principals' pay
Each assistant principal for student affairs will lose 21 days of pay over a year's time. [4/24]

Brainy teams go head to head
Months of studying pays off for African-American students at the Brain Bowl finals. [4/21]

Book backlash turns new page
Violence becomes an issue in calls to ban books from school libraries. But sex and profanity remain most common.

School might land near Children's Home
The home, on Old Memorial Highway, is willing to swap land if the elementary school includes a special ed center.

School briefs
Benito Middle takes first at math competition

Schools roundup

Reading takes stand at Ybor school
TAMPA -- As children gathered around her feet Thursday night, Norma Matassini opened the book Abuela and brought a chapter of Ybor City history to DeSoto Elementary School. [4/19]

Two top USF administrators to retire after 30-plus years
Two high-ranking University of South Florida administrators who have worked at the university for more than 30 years are retiring.

Touch screen's class act
Hillsborough County's new touch screen voting system aces Bloomingdale High School's test.

Education group dishes out awards
TAMPA -- The Hillsborough Education Foundation awarded numerous honors Wednesday night at its 12th annual All-Star Education Gala.

Do schools ignore off-campus incidents?
Athletes seem to receive stiffer punishments for on-campus transgressions than those that occur away from school. [4/16]

A virtuoso visits
Young musicians have a brush with greatness, a prolific composer who has collaborated with Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonius Monk. [4/14]

New Essrig principal a familiar face
Karen Zielinski has served as an assistant principal and district office official, but now she is in charge of the elementary school her daughter attended.

Schools roundup
ADAMS MIDDLE: Birthday notices can be placed on the marquee for $10. Order forms are available at the office. Birthdays are posted first-come, first-served. For information, call 975-7665.

Benito student wages war on bacteria
His experiments with household products take him to the state science fair a second time.

Budding actors' singular sensations
High school thespians feel the hot glow of footlights and, perhaps, tinges of stardom. [4/11]

District pulls 2 books on killers
Hillsborough schools remove books on serial murderers after a complaint from a candidate for the County Commission. [4/9]

Assistant principals dread cut in salary
Hillsborough may reduce 12-month contracts to 11 this year, shaving about $5,454 off each employee's pay. [4/4]

Hairdos (and don'ts)
Courts have not handed the shears to schools, but they back rules that govern student appearance. For decades, hair self-expression has been limited. [4/1]

School purchases new home
The Cambridge School purchased the Idlewild Baptist Church site for $10.9-million. [3/29]

Family may sue over forced haircut at school
A student says a teacher and an aide held him down and cropped his long hair. [3/22]

Leto High waging war on rats
Students say they're fed up with rodents scurrying around. A school official says the problem is under control. [3/20]

Change in command
Walker Middle School welcomes a new principal and a sharp drop in enrollment. [3/17]