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Pinellas Launches Its Storm-Delayed School Year

Tribune photo by JULIE BUSCH

Patricia Tapias walks with her son Julian Blanchard, 4, as she drops off her kids Kyara Blanchard, 8, and Terrance Blanchard, 5, on the first day of school at North Ward Elementary.

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By STEVEN GIRARDI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 20, 2008

CLEARWATER - It came a day later than planned, but this morning, about 105,000 Pinellas County public school students and 15,500 employees headed back to school for the new year.

Beginning before dawn, with high school students heading to bus stops and cars, the year got off to a smooth start, school officials said.

Tropical Storm Fay, which forced a delay in the scheduled start of classes Tuesday, was a distant memory for students and staff arriving at campuses as old as a century and as new as this morning.

Principal Sandra Cowley began the day directing traffic outside North Ward Elementary School. That's something the school's first principal didn't need to do in 1915 when local children walked to school.

North Ward, a red brick schoolhouse with polished wood floors, lofty ceilings and cast-iron radiators, houses 93 years of history. Cowley has been there for only two of those years, but now she never wants to leave.

With just 320 students, it's more like a family reunion when the children come back to class in the historical school, at 900 N. Fort Harrison Ave.

"It's very nice," Cowley said while greeting parents and students. "By the time the kids get to the fifth grade, the teachers know them all. And they know the teachers."

Inside, second-graders in Terri McLemore's classroom – one of several overlooking Clearwater Harbor -- sat quietly at attention, their eyes focused on her.

"They seem like high school friends," McLemore said, noting how they had changed from a year ago.

The school has no central air conditioning. Window units were added in the 1970s. The cafeteria holds only three classes at a time. There is a single bathroom on each floor that boys and girls learn to share by calling out from the open doorway before they enter.

Quirks and all, teachers here wouldn't have it any other way.

"It's the best school in Pinellas County," said special-education teacher Terry Bouchard. "Anybody who walks in there wants to stay."

At Tyrone Elementary School, 2401 66th Street N., St. Petersburg, about 640 youngsters returned to classes at an older school that they'll have to leave in just 3½ months.

At age 50, Tyrone is shutting down during the Thanksgiving holiday break and will reopen at a new place with a new name when children return for classes Dec.1.

"It's 4.1 miles" away, said Principal Sandra Kemp, who already has made the trip several times. "Our staff has been looking forward to moving for quite some time. We're excited."

The new school, at 3901 37th St. N., will be called New Heights Elementary – a name chosen by a committee based on suggestions from the community.

For now, teachers are keeping half their classroom materials in boxes, taking out only what they'll need the first half of the year, Kemp said.

Despite the inconveniences, no one is complaining.

Teacher Diana Lare, who teaches children with autism spectrum disorder, has never worked in a new school and is excited about the change.

She has more preparation to do than most, though, and is making videos of the new building to get her students ready for the change.

"They need the routines," Lare said. "So we'll bring it to them about a month before, and we'll look at it every day or every other day."

At Tarpon Springs Elementary, 555 E. Pine St., students don't have to wait. Tarpon Springs is one of three new replacement schools that opened in Pinellas County, a $24.6 million complex with high-tech everything — computers in each classroom, for starters.

It's also one of the first green schools in the county, which means its operating systems are environmentally friendly.

At Bayside High School, Principal Patricia LaVoy Fuller was pleased with the first day of classes at her alternative campus.

"They are all very happy to be back to school," Fuller said. "The kids who are here are here for the right reason."

Bayside, 14405 49th St. N., across from the Pinellas County Courthouse, is a refuge for students who otherwise might not have a chance at education. They come by choice, many with home problems or a history of chronic truancy. Some just have an aversion to traditional schools, Fuller said.

"We design a program to help them graduate," she said. "They get hope and purpose, and they graduate."

The school has a little more than 300 students, about 225 of whom made it today.

"But they'll be here," Fuller said, smiling. "They'll find their way."

The students range in age from 14 to 21 and in grades nine to 12. They are in small classes taught by about 30 teachers. Fuller is in her third year here.

"These were kids who otherwise wouldn't graduate," she said. "They need a second chance."

Reporter Chip Osowski of News Channel 8 contributed to this report. Reporter Steven Girardi may be reached at (727) 451-2333 or at sgirardi@tampatrib.com.

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