schools

From the St. Johns County School District:

On the recently-released Spring Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) retakes, St. Johns County placed fourth in the state in the percentage of students passing the reading portion of the test and tenth overall in students passing the math portion of the FCAT.

Students must pass the FCAT in order to graduate and are given several opportunities during their junior and senior years to take the test again if they didn’t pass it on their initial attempt.

Compared to last year’s results, St. Johns County moved up from 28th place to fourth place in reading and from 16th place to tenth place in math in the statewide percentage of juniors and seniors passing the Spring FCAT.

These figures reflect an 11 percent increase in the reading pass rate and a 10 percent increase in the math pass rate.

“We’re very pleased to see our students be successful on the retakes,” said Superintendent Joseph Joyner. “These positive trends indicate that our teachers are preparing our students well for their next step after high school.”

He added, “I am especially proud of the staff of our high schools for their dedication and persistence in helping students who previously struggled on the FCAT. This is a testament to the fact that we do not give up on children.”

St. Johns County had 475 high school students who retook the reading portion of the FCAT this spring to fulfill graduation requirements. Of that total, 28.5 percent of the students passed the exam. This is the same number of students who took the reading FCAT last spring.

There were also 177 students who retook the math portion of the FCAT. Of that total, 46.5 percent passed the exam. This figure represents a 17 percent decline in the number of students who took the math FCAT this spring.

Today, a major announcement was made to all schools' faculties and staffs regarding budget cuts for next year.  A combination of the downturn in the economy resulting in reduced sales tax revenue, along with property tax cuts from Amendment 1 and decisions by state leadership has caused a deficit in St. Johns County of $8 million.  We are also planning for a minimum of $2 million more to be cut during the upcoming school year.

Input on how to make the reductions was received from a wide range of stakeholders.  Dr. Joyner personally met with SAC groups throughout the district to hear their suggestions, and he also appealed to the entire school district staff to give input.  Dr. Joyner shared that this is the first time in 37 years that education spending has gone backwards.  He went on to say, "it is particularly detrimental to districts such as St. Johns that continue to grow.  The cuts will affect the number of staff we can afford and the quality of services we can provide.  However, our School Board is committed to making the classroom a priority as we work through these unprecedented budget cuts."

 The following is from a news release sent out by the St. Johns County School District on March 17:

Lisa Burney, administrative secretary/bookkeeper at Osceola Elementary School (OES), has been named St. Johns County’s 2007-2008 School-Related Employee of the Year. Her selection was announced by Superintendent Dr. Joseph Joyner at a special reception held Thursday evening at First Coast Technical College.

Ms. Burney was selected from among 37 nominees for her exemplary job performance, dedication, interpersonal skills, leadership ability, training to upgrade skills and contributions to the school and district environment.

Ms. Burney has been employed by the St. Johns County School District since 1985. She has held the same position at OES for the past 14 years and is affectionately known as “Mama B” to the students and staff members she works with every day. This is the third time her colleagues have tried to nominate her for this award but she has always declined the honor in the past.

OES Principal Nancy Little says, “Lisa is the glue that helps keep us together. What makes her so special is the ‘heart’ she brings to our school. Lisa is masterful at establishing relationships and building trust, and her positive attitude and wonderful sense of humor never disappear, even in the toughest situation.”

In addition to her strong interpersonal skills, Ms. Burney is always seeking to upgrade her abilities, exemplifying the lifelong learning that is part of the school district mission. She has kept up with the latest technological advances and has become the “go to” person at her school. She also lends her photographic and singing talents to the school during special events.

This year’s winner says that her greatest accomplishments are not recorded on plaques or hung on a wall but are the knowledge that she helped someone or made someone smile.   

This year the judges also presented a runner-up award, which was given to Carole Gauronskas of Ketterlinus Elementary School. Known as the “Energizer Bunny, Ms. Gauronskas is a dedicated parent, PTO member, SAC member, parent liaison, volunteer coordinator, computer resource teacher, newsletter editor, traffic control and safety patrol coordinator.

Ms. Burney’s name has now been forwarded to the regional level of competition, and she will be recognized at the April 8 School Board meeting.

Here is a news release sent by the St. Johns County School District about the Teacher of the Year finalists:

Three finalists for the 2007-2008 St. Johns County Teacher of the Year have been selected from among 31 nominees. They are Betsy Wetmore of Julington Creek Elementary School (JCES), Jeff Dodd of St. Augustine High School (SAHS) and Kim Rose of Wards Creek Elementary School (WCES).

The winner will be announced at the Teacher of the Year Celebration Banquet on February 19 at the World Golf Village Renaissance Resort.

Ms. Wetmore, a third grade teacher at JCES, has 17 years of teaching experience, with eight of those in St. Johns County. She incorporates Love and Logic into her classroom, a program involving communications techniques that encourage children to solve their own problems. In addition to academics, she teaches her students the importance of good character and doing things for others. Her students are always involved in a number of service projects, and this year they are serving as reading buddies for residents at a nearby retirement center/nursing home. Ms. Wetmore is also an educational leader at her school and is currently serving as Co-Chairman of the School Advisory Council (SAC).

Jeff Dodd, music teacher at SAHS, has taught for 22 years, all in St. Johns County. This is the second time he has been selected for this honor by his school. In addition to directing the SAHS Chorus, Mr. Dodd serves as the director of the St. Johns County Center for the Arts. He is also involved in various music associations at the state level, including serving as an officer of the Florida Vocal Association District 4, the Florida Federation of Color Guard, Winterguard International Board of Directors, Florida Music Educator’s Association and the American Choral Director’s Association.

Kim Rose, music teacher at WCES, has taught music for eight years, including four years at Ketterlinus Elementary School, one year at Mill Creek Elementary School, and two years at parochial schools in Virginia. As the first music teacher at WCES, Ms. Rose volunteered to compose the school song. She taught it to the chorus, who then performed it for the first time during the school dedication ceremonies. At her previous schools Ms. Rose served as SAC Co-Chair for two years and also formed a faculty handbell choir that won first place in the annual Faculty Variety Show.

In addition to the District Teacher of the Year, the Teacher of the Year Celebration will honor the Rookie Teachers of the Year. For the first time two rookie teachers, one for elementary schools and one for secondary schools, will be recognized during the event.

The awards banquet is sponsored by the St. Johns County Education Foundation to recognize excellence in the teaching profession. Proceeds from the banquet will be used to fund Horizon Grants for teachers.

Submitted to My St. Johns Sun by RON ANGERER

The Nease Panthers varsity Lacrosse team, led by Head Coach Jack Francis and assistants Pete Kemp, Craig Tucker and Adam Silva, will open the 2008 season at Landrum Middle School, Ponte Vedra, February 5 against Fleming Island High School.

The team looks to build upon last year’s District Championship and overall 15-8 record. There are twelve returning players from last year’s squad that advanced to the regional finals, before losing to Lake Brantley 11-10. The team’s goal this year is a State Championship.

Key returning players include Captain’s Craig Carson (attack), Brian Cosgrove and Andy Reed (defense) and Kevin Chapin (midfield). The attack returns all three starters. Senior Taylor Avery and Junior Brett Angerer join Craig Carson. Chapin along with Senior Nick Hanson and Junior Matt Leighty will lead the midfield corps. Cosgrove and Reed will anchor the Defense along with Juniors John Gallagher and Thad Foster. Junior Nick Colon returns in goal. Several talented new players including Juniors Joe and Brian Manarte, Sophomore Logan Hansen and Freshman Michael Power will compliment the returning players.

The Panthers will play 17 games during the regular season. Games of note include; Local rivals Bartram Trail, Episcopal and Bolles, 2007 Florida State Champions St Andrews, Orlando powerhouses; Bishop Moore and Winter Springs and strong squads from Matanzas and Lake Highland Prep. Out of state opponents are; Greenwich CT, Plano TX, Desmitt Jesuit, MD and St Marys, MD.

This season marks the first Lacrosse will be a FHSAA-sanctioned sport. Nease High School will host the District playoff games the week of March 31. Joining Nease in its district are Fleming Island, Bartram Trail, Pedro Menendez, PK Young and Oak Hall. Regional playoffs are scheduled for April 8-11. Walt Disney World Wide World of Sports Complex, April 18 and 19 will host the state finals.

The complete Varsity and Junior Varsity rosters and schedules, plus additional information can be found on the teams Web site: www.neaselacrosse.com.

Since naming the schools is a topic of interest....did you hear about Liberty Pines Academy?  That's the new name for the K-8 school.  Wolves, navy blue, hunter green and silver.  We are ready for the Wolf Pack or  Den.  Something like that.  I'm not too sure of the name, Liberty Pines Academy (LPA).  We can live with it.  We are ready to learn more about the school, not just the name.

But, if you haven't met the new principal, Mr. Randy Kelley he seems like a great guy.  Highly motivated, professional but also a good fun guy for the job.  That's important.  I think the climate at the school will be positive.  That's good!

Julington Creek Elementary Principal Michael Story announced this week the school will hold classes on Friday, Nov. 2 while the rest of the St. Johns County School District gives students a break for a District Inservice day.

However, Story said he was told by the district that Nov. 2 will also be an early release day, meaning students will be released at 1 p.m.

"That means we'll have two early release days next week," Story said, referring to the school's usual early-release day of Wednesday.

Julington students have to go to class in order to make up the day they missed earlier this month due to heavy rains and flooding on Race Track Road, which made road conditions in front of the school unpassable for several hours.

The first day of school for St. Johns County students was Aug. 24, so we thought that Superintendent Joseph Joyner should be the St. Johns Sun's difference maker for our Aug. 25 issue.

Some readers accepted our invitation to ask their own questions of the St. Johns County School District's leader. Joyner graciously accepted the opportunity to answer these questions -- his responses are in two different sections below. Each section was necessary due to the time necessary to gather all information to provide the answers.

The first set of Joyner's responses appeared in the Sept. 1 issue of My St. Johns Sun. He and district staff provided the second set of responses after deadline for the printed Sept. 8 issue, so they appeared here on MyStJohnsSun.com first though we plan to print them in the Sept. 15 issue. Thanks to all who participated, and a special thank you to Dr. Joyner.

One of my e-mails this morning was from School Board Chairman Beverly Slough. She forwarded an e-mail she received from PACT Prevention Coalition of St. Johns County Coordinator Julia Kelly. Both women are concerned about an article and poll in Parade magazine related to a movement to lower the drinking age from 21 to 18 that is gaining momentum.

During the Vietnam War, many states lowered drinking the drinking age to 18 because the popular sentiment at the time was that if an 18-year-old was old enough to fight for his country, he should old enough to buy a beer. 

 St. Johns County School Board Chairwoman Beverly Slough and community and school activist Kim Kendall submitted letters publicly this week about the issue of whether to elect School Board members by single member district, as is done now, or at-large, as was the case prior to 1986.

The County Commission has proposed shifting the county to a charter form of government. One of the changes being considered is to change how school board members are elected.