School Board Makes Personnel Changes In North Escambia
September 17, 2008
The Escambia County School Board made several personnel changes at North Escambia Schools during their Tuesday night meeting.
The board made the following appointments and reappointments at North Escambia schools:
- Robert Cassevah, Ernest Ward Middle
- Alison Collier, Molino Park Elementary
- Mark Forsman, Ernest Ward Middle
- Michael Gay, Ernest Ward Middle
- Keith Griffin, Ernest Ward Middle
- Chad Hetherington, Molino Park Elementary
- Sharon Kite, Molino Park Elementary
- Tadd Corder, Carver/Century K-8
- Farron Simpson (part time), Ernest Ward Middle
- Brandy White, Ernest Ward Middle
- Barbara Luker, Northview High
The board made the following transfers:
- Sharon Kite, from Molino Park to Bratt Elementary
- Courtney Reaves, from Carver/Century to McMillan
- Jesse Wolfe from Ernest Ward to Ransom
The board approved a leave of absence without pay for Detria Harris, teacher, at Carver/Century and Shelley Prince, counselor, at Molino Park.
Alisa Chancery was promoted to School Data Specialist II at Northview High. Jo Ellen Gunn was named a teacher’s assistant at Ernest Ward Middle.
The board approved the resignation of Judi McElhaney, a teacher’s assistant at Ernest Ward; and Bonnie Reaves, a teacher’s assistant at Carver/Century.
Northview Holds Open House
September 10, 2008
Northview High School held its annual open house Tuesday evening.
Parents had the opportunity to visit with their child’s teachers, tour the school and learn more about what Northview High School has to offer.
Pictured above: NJROTC welcomed parents to the annual open house Tuesday at Northview High School.
Many Teachers Receiving $2042 Bonus
September 8, 2008
Later this month, 908 Escambia County teachers will have a little something extra in their paychecks…$2042 to be exact.
The teachers will receive a merit pay bonus based upon evaluations using district approved standards negotiated by the school district and the teacher’s union. It is a plan that links the bonuses to the professional accomplishments and performance of students, particularly how the teacher’s students perform on the FCAT. Not every eligible teacher receives the bonuses.
The $2.1 million in checks will go out next Monday to the eligible teachers. There are about 3,200 teachers in the Escambia County School District. About 1,850 were eligible for the bonuses, but only 908 will ever see the money for the 2007-2008 school year. The check stubs are due to be mailed next Monday, with the money deposited with regular paychecks at the end of the month.
Of the teacher initially eligible for the bonus, about 500 opted out of the program. Each eligible teacher will receive the same bonus, after FICA deductions.
The district will be paying out $2,094,929 in bonuses to the teachers and 36 school district employees. The money comes from the state.
Escambia County was one of just nine school districts out of the 67 in the state eligible to provide merit bonuses to teachers.
“B” Is For “Benny’s Bar-B-Q”; Chamber Honors Carver/Century School For Recent Gains
September 4, 2008
The letter “B” was for “Benny’s Bar-B-Q” Wednesday at Carver/Century K-8 School as the faculty and staff were honored for their part in improving the school’s state grade.
The Century Chamber of Commerce provided the lunch for the entire staff at Carver/Century to thank them for their hard work in taking the school from an “F” school to a “B” rated school in just one year.
“Principal Jeff Garthwaite, teachers and staff of Carver Century K-8 Elementary School in recognition of their hard work and dedication to bring our school from and “F” to a “B” in just one year. ‘Thank you’ from the entire community of Century,” a certificate presented to Carver/Century Principal Jeff Garthwaite said.
The faculty and staff enjoyed barbecue pork sandwiches, baked beans, potato salad, coleslaw and cake, all served up by a smiling and grateful Benny Barnes, president of the Century Chamber of Commerce. Sporting a red “Benny’s Bar-B-Q” apron, he piled barbecue high on each sandwich while offering up words of praise to each faculty member for their part in the school’s improvement.
Several community leaders were also on hand for the event sponsored by the Century Chamber of Commerce. Two local businesses also helped out with the event…Whataburger in Century donated buns, and Century’s Piggly Wiggly provided the cake.
Pictured above: Century Chamber President Benny Barnes, in the red “Benny’s Bar-B-Q” apron, serves up smoked pork Wednesday to Carver/Century K-8 staff and faculty. Pictured below: Century Mayor Freddie McCall, Carver/Century Principal Jeff Garthwaite and Barnes with a certificate presented to Carver/Century honored them for their work in improving from a “F” to a “B” school. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Bratt Elementary Holds Open House, Shows Off New Media Center
August 29, 2008
Bratt Elementary showed off a new media center Thursday night.
The annual open house was held at Bratt Elementary School. Parents and guardians joined their children to meet teachers and tour the facilities.
The highlight of the tour for many was the new school’s new Media Center. The modern building includes a library, a computer center, a closed circuit television studio and more.
Carver/Century K-8 School will hold Open House Thursday, September 11 at 6:00 at the school.
Molino Park Elementary School will hold Open House Thursday, September 11 at 6:30 at the school. Molino Park will hold a PTA board meeting on September 4 at 5:00 in the afternoon at the school.
Byrneville Elementary will hold Open House on Thursday, September 4 at 6:00 following a 5:30 PTO meeting.
For a photo gallery from open house at Bratt Elementary School and the school’s new media center, click here.
Pictured above: Students and parents tour the new media center at Bratt Elementary School Thursday evening during the school’s open house. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
ACLU Sues Santa Rosa Over Prayer; Seeks Records From Escambia Schools
August 28, 2008
The ACLU and two students have filed suit against the Santa Rosa County Schools over prayer, and NorthEscambia.com has learned that the ACLU has requested documents concerning prayer from Escambia County Schools.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit in federal court Wednesday against the school district, Pace High School Principal Frank Lay and Santa Rosa Superintendent John Rogers. The suit alleges that Santa Rosa County Schools “persistently and persuasively promote their personal religious beliefs in the public schools and at school events”.
Events specifically mentioned in the lawsuit, which was brought on behalf of two students at Pace High, include baccalaureate services, prayers at graduations and other school events. The suit seeks a specific end to baccalaureate services.
The lawsuit, which was filed Wednesday in federal court in Pensacola, names specific events at several Santa Rosa schools, including Jay. The suit states that Jay High School held an invocation and benediction prayer each year from 2004-2008 led by students from groups such as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. The ACLU also complains in the suit that Jay High School has held baccalaureate services that were religious in nature.
“Religion is best served when parents — not the public schools — are responsible for directing their children’s religious education,” said Benjamin Stevenson, staff attorney with the ACLU of Florida’s Northwest Region office. “Religious freedom is eroded when the government endorses any particular religious viewpoint.”
The ACLU has also requested documents from the Escambia County School District that might relate to religion or prayer. Specifically, the ACLA requested records from Escambia Schools about graduations and baccalaureate services. The ACLU public records requests also asked for the notes of all speakers at the event as well as any audio or video recordings of the events. The ACLU request extends to all schools in Escambia County, including Northview High School.
The Santa Rosa suit alleges that the school district violated students’ rights by “endorsing and promoting religion”. The ACLU seeks a “permanent injunction forbidding the School Board, the Superintendent, Pace High School Principal and other School District from sponsoring, facilitating or promoting prayer at school events, including graduation; organizing, promoting, or otherwise supporting religious baccalaureate services; holding school-sponsored activities at places of worship when appropriate secular venues are available…”
Click here to read the ACLU’s lawsuit against Santa Rosa County.
Click here to read the ACLU’s public records request in Escambia County.
Pictured above: The Class of 2008 Baccalaureate Service at Northview High School. NorthEscambia.com file photo.
IP Awards Grants To Ernest Ward Middle, Quintette Park Association, Other Groups
August 21, 2008
Ernest Ward Middle School and the Quintette Community Center were among the recipients of grants from the International Paper Pensacola Mill. The grants, totaling $50,000, were presented to 15 groups in the area.
The 2008 Foundation grant presented to Ernest Ward Middle School will be used to purchase InterActive Reader workbooks for one grade level for the 2008-2009 school year. The InterActive Reader program is designed to reward excellence and help mid to high-level readers take their skills to the next level where most programs leave off.
The grant presented to the Quintette Community Park Association was used for their Youth Summer Enrichment Program that served over 120 children in the Quintette and Cantonment areas this summer with academic tutoring, sporting events, arts and crafts and other fun-filled activities. In addition, each child received a nutritious meal which they may not have otherwise received during the summer months.
Of the 34 applications accepted, 15 were chosen by the mill’s grant review committee to receive funding for part or all of a program or project benefiting the community.
“The selection process is rigorous, and it’s difficult to choose since all of our applicants are worthy of receiving their request,” said Jessica Morris, mill communication manager. “We’re confident that the projects we’ve chosen to fund this year reflect the values of the Foundation, the company and the employees.”
Grants are awarded through the IP Foundation in Memphis, TN, which focuses primarily on education – specifically environmental education, literacy and minority career development opportunities. The company also supports organizations where its employees actively volunteer and critical civic needs in the communities where our employees live and work. Applicants must be a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization or qualifying federal entity to apply.
This year’s grant recipients were:
- American Cancer Society
- American Heart Association
- Baptist Health Care Foundation
- Civitan International
- Ernest Ward Middle School
- Escambia County School Readiness Coalition
- Greater Pensacola Symphony Orchestra
- Jim Allen Elementary School
- Junior Achievement
- Partnership for Community Programs / Bay Area Resource Council
- Pensacola Historical Society
- Pensacola Junior College Foundation
- Pensacola Opera
- Quintette Community Park Association
- Wildlife Sanctuary of Northwest Florida
The Pensacola Mill observes one grant deadline per calendar year.
For more information about IP Giving, visit www.internationalpaper.com or call (850) 968-4203.
Pictured above: International Paper Pensacola Mill employee Joe Mack accepts a certificate of appreciation for the mill’s support of the Quintette Community Park Summer Enrichment Program. Pictured below: The Quintette Community Park Association Youth Summer Enrichment Program hosted over 120 children this year in the Quintette and Cantonment area. Each child received a nutritious meal every day and participated in academic tutoring, sporting activities, and arts and crafts. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com.
First Step In Closure: Rezone Carver/Century Students To Other Schools
August 20, 2008
The Escambia County School Board did not vote to close Carver/Century K-8 School Tuesday night, but they did vote to begin the process of deciding where to send students once the school closes.
The board voted 4-1 to have the School Attendance Zone Advisory Committee (SAZAC) rezone the Carver/Century school zone to send the children to other North Escambia schools including Bratt Elementary and Ernest Ward Middle School. Board member Claudia Brown-Curry cast the lone no vote.
“This is not closing the school”, board member Patty Hightower said. “This is just a step to take us there.”
She, along with Superintendent Jim Paul, said the only hope to save the school would be an increased enrollment. “You have time to build up your enrollment,” Hightower told the two dozen or so Carver/Century supporters at Tuesday night’s board meeting.
As of Tuesday, there were 125 enrolled in the elementary at Carver/Century, six more than the district had projected. There were 95 students in middle school, 18 more than the district’s projected enrollment.
A K-8 school with just over 200 students, now that’s inefficient,” board member Jeff Bergosh said.
“This is not an easy decision,” Bergosh said. “I think the students will have more opportunities,” he said, adding that he believes Carver/Century students will improve once they are exposed to more opportunities at top rated Bratt Elementary and Ernest Ward Middle.
Bergosh commented that closing Carver/Century would not really be closing the last school in Century. “I believe Bratt Elementary has a Century address,” he said. Bratt Elementary does have a Century mailing address, according to the school’s website, but it is nine miles outside the Century town limits.
“We have to be more efficient,” Bergosh said. “Those children (at Carver/Century) don’t have the opportunities that they will have at Ernest Ward.”
“I feel like closing that school is taking the life out of that community,” board member Claudia Brown-Curry said.
“I gave them another year,” Paul said. “Those students can come back on their own choice. I’m still hoping to see that. There are enough students in Century to bring that school back.”
Several Century residents attended the board’s meeting in Pensacola Tuesday evening, and a few addressed the board.
“Give us a chance, please don’t close our school tonight,” Century Mayor Freddie McCall told the school board members.
“Does this seem like prejudice to you?” Century resident Annie Savage asked. “We are not happy at the north end of the county because you show us no respect.”
Savage said she owns four pieces of property in Century ,and she pays school tax on each. But if the board closes Carver/Century, she plans to refuse to pay those taxes.
Century Council President Anne Brooks told the school board that they had changed their reason for closing the school several times. First, she said, the board was going to close the school because it was an “F” school. But, she said, that changed after the school’s grade improved to a “B”. Then, she said, Century residents were told the school was closing due to money.
But then, she said, the district was discovered to be paying tens of thousands of dollars of utility bills on a building leased for $1 per year to New Life Baptist Church. She called that “gross mismanagement” of district funds.
Then, Brooks said, the reason became low enrollment. “The county and the state allowed them to go elsewhere,” she said. “The answer is to send the students back to the school where they came from.”
“You are going to destroy our town,” Brooks told the board.
Century businessman Jack Moran told the board that closing the school would take away the only approved hurricane shelter in the area, presenting a potential problem for the community.
The process toward closing the school begins with SAZAC creating the new school attendance zones. Hightower said that at least one of the upcoming SAZAC meetings should be held in Century to allow area residents to attend the meeting. If the board is to eventually vote to close the school, she said that at least one school board meeting should also be held in Century to allow public input.
Pictured top: School Superintendent Jim Paul (left) listens as Century Mayor Freddie McCall pleads Tuesday night with the Escambia School Board to save Carver/Century K-8 School. Pictured middle: Century resident Annie Savage address the school board in support of Century’s school. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Ernest Ward Students Over 30 Minutes Late Leaving School; Few Other First Day Problems Reported
August 19, 2008
Few problems were reported across North Escambia as students headed back to school on Monday. There were some transportation problems, with Ernest Ward Middle School students leaving campus over half an hour late.
“It really was not that big of a problem,” said Nancy Gindl-Perry, Ernest Ward principal. “Middle school is the last on the buses, and we always have a little problem every year.”
Ernest Ward was to have dismissed at 3:10 with buses pulling out at 3:15. But many buses were late, with some not arriving at the school until 3:30. Buses finally pulled out of the school about 3:50.
Perry said the buses were late because of typical first day of school problems getting elementary school students home. She said that the situation should improve as the week goes on.
“But overall, it was one of the smoothest opening days I’ve ever had,” she said.
School students across North Escambia all now have different start and dismissal times.
Most elementary schools in Escambia County have a morning start time of 7:30 and an afternoon dismissal time of 2:00. The earliest students can be dropped off at the elementary schools, including Bratt and Molino Park, is 7:05.
Carver/Century has an 8:55 a.m to 3:25 p.m. day for both elementary and middle school students, with an early drop time of 8:30. Byrneville Elementary has a start time of 7:45 a.m. with an early drop time of 7:15. Dismissal time at Byrneville is 2:00.
At Ernest Ward Middle School, the morning start time is 8:30 and the afternoon dismissal time is 3:10. The earliest student can be dropped off at is 8:15. Most of the other middle schools in the county are running 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
At Northview High School, the school day is now 7:40 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. The earliest students will be allowed on campus is 7:25 a.m. Most other high school in the county have an 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. day.
Pictured above: Buses were still arriving on campus at 3:30 Monday afternoon at Ernest Ward Middle School. Students were to have boarded their buses at 3:10 to leave campus at 3:15, but it was about 3:50 before the buses pulled away from EWMS. NorthEscambia.com photo.
New Northview Student Traveled 7,000 Miles This Weekend To Attend School This Morning
August 18, 2008
There is a new sophomore at Northview High School this morning, and she traveled about 7,000 miles this weekend to get there.
Her name is Seira Kosakai, 15, and she is an exchange student from Tokyo, Japan. She arrived in the United States Saturday night. She’ll be spending her tenth grade year at Northview while living with her host sister Mallory Bell, the daughter of Alan and and Gail Bell. Mallory is also in the tenth grade at Northview.
Seira is fluent in English. She enjoys music, especially guitar and piano; cheerleading; Disney movies; animals and studying the English language. And, like most 15 year olds, she likes shopping. She hopes to one day become a “music star”.
Alan said Mallory’s arrival at the Mobile airport Saturday night was preceding by an amazing sequence of events.
He said not only was daughter Mallory reading the newspaper just a few short weeks ago, an unusual event for her, she was reading the classifieds. It was there that she saw an ad looking for host families for exchange students.
“Gail and I were very apprehensive about this, and considered it to be a passing interest that Mallory wasn’t really committed to being a ‘host sister’,” Alan said. But Mallory did all of the research and registered the family only as a host family. The American Intercultural Student Exchange organization called the Bells on August 2 to begin the process of getting an exchange student to the Bells in the United States.
Seira will become part of the Bell family for the next 10 months, through June of next year. The exchange program expects host families to treat the exchange students as family, even so far as to call each other host mom, host dad, etc. In the AISE exchange program, the host family provides room and board for the student, while the student’s family provides money for clothing, souvenirs, health insurance, etc.
After the August 2 phone conversation, Mallory went to the AISE website at aise.com and found four girls with similar interests. At the website, the Bells could see each student’s school transcripts, pictures and personal interests. All that led the family to choose Seira.
While in the U.S. under the AISE program, Seira will visit area middle and elementary schools to share her culture with other students in the area. She will also attend the First Baptist Church of Bratt with Mallory and the rest of the Bell family.
During the school year, NorthEscambia.com will check in with Seira and the Bell family and keep you updated on Seira’s life in America and school in Bratt.
Pictured above: Mom Gail Bell, Seira Kosakai, Mallory Bell and Alan Bell at home. Pictured below: Mallory Bell, family friend Bailee Deese, Seira Kosakai, Alan Bell and Gail Bell at the Mobile Airport Saturday night. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
