Disston School to End Special Ed Services

Students with disabilities will be sent to Clearwater and Pinellas Park, as the Gulfport school's focus changes..

Students with disabilities who now attend the Hamilton Disston School in Gulfport will be sent to Clearwater or Pinellas Park schools in a move that will save the school district $6.5 million. Pinellas County Schools Superintendent Mike Grego made the announcement on Tuesday at a school board meeting, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Students in special education programs at Hamilton Disston School will be transferred next year to Calvin Hunsinger School in Clearwater or Richard L. Sanders School in Pinellas Park, the Tampa Bay Times reports. The Gulfport school will not be closed but transformed into a school with alternative or vocational programs. Hamilton Disston staff, which number about 40, would also be transferred to the new …

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What's Tampa Bay Saying?

Paddling in Schools: Would You Support It?

One Florida County has given elementary school principals the green light to paddle misbehaving students. What do you think about this, Tampa Bay?

A trip to the principal’s office in Marion County elementary schools might mean more for misbehaving students than a call to parents and possible detention detail. Principals there have been given the green light to paddle unruly pupils. The county’s school board decided April 23 that it was high time this once banned practice was brought back into the educational system. Citing repeat disciplinary problems with students where nothing else worked to get kids on track, board member Carol Ely, a retired principal, put the idea on the table. While the measure passed, principals don’t have carte blanche to paddle kids. Principals must first obtain standing written permission from parents, and they must get verbal permission before each …

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What? No More Early Release Days?

It's not just a school rumor. The Pinellas County School District has decided to end the practice.

You can almost hear the collective groan: There will be no more early release days at Pinellas County schools. Starting next school year, the early dismissals on Wednesdays will go away. Pinellas County Schools posted the announcement on its website along with a listing of bell schedules for campuses across the district. To find out the bell schedules for individual schools, just visit the district’s website. “The new school bell times for 2013-14 reflect minimal changes,” district officials said on the website. “However, next school year, schools will not have early-release Wednesdays.” Students end this school year on Wednesday, June 5. Get the Gulfport Patch newsletter delivered to your email.

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Pinellas County 2013-14 School Calendar

The new academic year begins Aug. 19 for Gulfport students.

Parents from Gulfport hoping to get a jump on planning activities around next year's Pinellas County school calendar are in luck. The school district has released its list of important dates for the 2013-14 school year. This school year (2012-13) ends Wednesday, June 5, 2013. Students only have two more days off before the year ends. The first one is Monday, April 29, which is a teacher professional development day. That means kids get to stay home, but teachers have to hit the books. The last holiday off of the school year is Monday, May 27 for Memorial Day, according to the district’s calendar. Here’s a look at the 2013-14 school schedule: Source: Pinellas County Schools

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Pinellas Schools to Revamp Dropout, Behavioral Programs

A district review of dropout prevention and alternative education programs showed there was room for improvement. What changes would you like to see made, Gulfport?

Pinellas County School Board members want to see the district do a better job in handling troubled students. Specifically, board members want the district improve the way it handles disruptive kids and those who are at risk for dropping out. A recent countywide review of programs geared toward troubled kids showed the district’s programs are not used as much as they could be, The Tampa Tribune reported. To remedy that, the district hopes to add programs meant to get students who have fallen off track back on grade level faster. It also wants to boost its technical education programs. Plans are also in the works to revamp programs that target kids who are chronically disruptive in classrooms. School Board Vice Chairwoman Peggy O’Shea said …

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Thurgood Marshall Fundamental Student Heading to State Geography Bee

Three Pinellas County students will compete in the state competition in Jacksonville April 5.

Will Shedden, an 8th-grader at Thurgood Marshall Fundamental Middle School will be heading to Jacksonville April 5 to compete in the 2013 Florida National Geographic Bee. Shedden, who is coached by Social Studies teacher  Mark Gibson, won't be traveling alone. Two other Pinellas County students are also taking part in the competition.  The three students won their individual school bee and passed the qualifying test for the state bee.  Sign up for the Gulfport Patch email newsletter to stay connected to your community.

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School Board Concerned by 'Parent Empowerment Act'

What should happen to underperforming schools in Pinellas County?

A proposed 'Parent Empowerment Act' has raised concerns with multiple members of the Pinellas County School Board who say the bill would hurt the school district. The bill, according to TBO.com, would "allow parents to request that school districts rehabilitate schools that earn consecutive failing grades from the state instead of leaving the decision up to the school board; in many cases, that would mean converting the schools into charter schools." In an interview with TBO, school board member Chairwoman Carol Cook said the proposed legislation is more harmful to the district than it is helpful to parents.   “We aren’t just a bunch of yahoos that have been elected; we are constitutional officers and we are responsible for the education …

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Elizabeth Neily

10:01 am on Thursday, March 28, 2013

I find this a really disturbing trend in American schools. Under performing schools receive the least resources. Many, or even most, of the students do not have a parent or parents who care to be involved in their child's education or development. Many students do not have enough daily nutrition to provide for their brain development. Many students live in the poorest neighborhoods where crime is…   more ›

Police: Student Brought Stolen, Loaded Gun to Boca Ciega High School

A 16-year-old student was arrested Thursday morning after Gulfport Police say he brought a gun to school.

A school resource officer found a semi-automatic pistol in a 16-year-old student's car Thursday at Boca Ciega High School, Gulfport Police say. The gun was loaded with one bullet, according to a media release. The student, Shemar O. Scarlett, was arrested and charged with possession of a weapon on school grounds, a felony. According to the release, the resource officer intervened in an altercation between two students and heard that one of them may have a weapon in his vehicle, which was parked on campus. After the officer received permission from a parent to search the vehicle, he found the gun in the truck, according to police. The pistol was reported stolen out of Clearwater. Investigators with both agencies are working to return the …

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KK:)

10:53 am on Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Steve, I would like to know if you have children, and Also if you have a child that goes to this school. Becuase I do and I am SO GLAD the name is printed .. Lets hope that it will make others think before doing the same.. AND TO Jason B... GREAT JOB. !!   more ›

Gulfport Elementary Locked Down Due to Threat to Student

Gulfport Elementary was put on a modified lock down Thursday after police say a threat to harm a student at the school was made during an ongoing domestic related investigation.

The Pinellas County School District put Gulfport Elementary on a modified lock down Thursday morning after police expressed concern regarding a student at the school, according to Mike Puetz with St. Petersburg Police. Puetz says threats were made over the phone to a victim involved in an ongoing investigation by St. Petersurg Police. They were not made to the school, Puetz said. He added that the threats were not singling out the student at the school. Puetz says someone made a broad statement about harming a person's family. “This did not rise to any kind of immediate threat in the school. We we try to keep the lines of communication open, we wanted to make the school aware of the threat," Puetz said. Melanie Marquez Parra, Public …

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