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Hillsborough County Voluntary Public School Choice Project

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Hillsborough County Voluntary Public School Choice Project

Article by Pansy Houghton, Director of Student Planning & Placement

First semester of 2009-10 was filled with activity for programs in Hillsborough County sponsored by the Voluntary Public Schools Choice Grant. Some of the highlights include,

Tony Daniele and Ron Kline, teachers who are part of the STEM Institute at Madison Middle School, were given a cash award from the Florida Council of Teachers of Mathematics last fall for their winning lesson plan that was submitted to the Florida Department of Education. Daniele and Kline created a lesson that integrates mathematics and science for students in grades 6-8 for the 2009 Math and Science Day for the state of Florida. Their lesson was posted on a website for teachers statewide to download for use.

Denise Scott, teacher at James Elementary School, was invited to make a presentation at the National Single Gender Conference in Atlanta, Georgia last October. Her presentation entitled “Making Writing Jazzy & Hip for Boys in K-5” offers strategies tailored for boys’ interests and learning styles. It involves strategies to help boys develop authentic, purposeful writing that addresses their interests. It also includes strategies to help boys prepare for state writing assessments, as well as practical writing activities to be used daily in K-5 classrooms. Scott has been invited to be a presenter again at the 2010 National Single Gender Conference.

McLane Middle School’s STEM Institute includes a competitive Robotics Team sponsored by Technology teacher, Mike Wilson. His students competed last fall at the University of South Florida in the annual TNT (Tempest N Tampa), an off-season VEX Robotics tournament, utilizing the new game for the 2009-2010 season, Clean Sweep. The McLane team was the only middle school team competing alongside more than a dozen high school teams. They held first place for three rounds but were defeated in the final two rounds when the high school teams formed alliances to qualify themselves for the world championship. Nevertheless, McLane Robotics walked away with a third place trophy. The team moved on to the Vex Robotics All-Star Challenge held at Disney’s Wide World of Sports in November where they competed internationally. The event featured 24 teams from all over the world. Again, McLane Robotics was the only middle school team at the event. The team’s knowledge of robotics and technology impressed the judges enough to win the Educate Award for team curriculum integration.

Bank Street at Temple Terrace Elementary School, modeled after the Bank Street School in New York, has expanded this year to include grades kindergarten through 5. The school is in the process of starting an Urban Gardening and Farming Project. The purpose of the project is to produce an abundance of food for people in need by planting a garden on unused land and space while increasing diversity, educating youth, and providing an environmentally sustainable system to uplift the Temple Terrace community. The students will design and develop a garden. They will plant and cultivate a variety of fruits, vegetables, and garden plants which they will then harvest. Finally, the students will distribute and donate produce from the garden to specified charitable organizations in the area.

Article by Pansy Houghton, Director of Student Planning & Placement

First semester of 2009-10 was filled with activity for programs in Hillsborough County sponsored by the Voluntary Public Schools Choice Grant. Some of the highlights include,

Tony Daniele and Ron Kline, teachers who are part of the STEM Institute at Madison Middle School, were given a cash award from the Florida Council of Teachers of Mathematics last fall for their winning lesson plan that was submitted to the Florida Department of Education. Daniele and Kline created a lesson that integrates mathematics and science for students in grades 6-8 for the 2009 Math and Science Day for the state of Florida. Their lesson was posted on a website for teachers statewide to download for use.
Denise Scott, teacher at James Elementary School, was invited to make a presentation at the National Single Gender Conference in Atlanta, Georgia last October. Her presentation entitled “Making Writing Jazzy & Hip for Boys in K-5” offers strategies tailored for boys’ interests and learning styles. It involves strategies to help boys develop authentic, purposeful writing that addresses their interests. It also includes strategies to help boys prepare for state writing assessments, as well as practical writing activities to be used daily in K-5 classrooms. Scott has been invited to be a presenter again at the 2010 National Single Gender Conference.
McLane Middle School’s STEM Institute includes a competitive Robotics Team sponsored by Technology teacher, Mike Wilson. His students competed last fall at the University of South Florida in the annual TNT (Tempest N Tampa), an off-season VEX Robotics tournament, utilizing the new game for the 2009-2010 season, Clean Sweep. The McLane team was the only middle school team competing alongside more than a dozen high school teams. They held first place for three rounds but were defeated in the final two rounds when the high school teams formed alliances to qualify themselves for the world championship. Nevertheless, McLane Robotics walked away with a third place trophy. The team moved on to the Vex Robotics All-Star Challenge held at Disney’s Wide World of Sports in November where they competed internationally. The event featured 24 teams from all over the world. Again, McLane Robotics was the only middle school team at the event. The team’s knowledge of robotics and technology impressed the judges enough to win the Educate Award for team curriculum integration.
Bank Street at Temple Terrace Elementary School, modeled after the Bank Street School in New York, has expanded this year to include grades kindergarten through 5. The school is in the process of starting an Urban Gardening and Farming Project. The purpose of the project is to produce an abundance of food for people in need by planting a garden on unused land and space while increasing diversity, educating youth, and providing an environmentally sustainable system to uplift the Temple Terrace community. The students will design and develop a garden. They will plant and cultivate a variety of fruits, vegetables, and garden plants which they will then harvest. Finally, the students will distribute and donate produce from the garden to specified charitable organizations in the area.