Online Art School

RIVIERA BEACH — Parents and teachers tonight told School Board Vice Chairwoman Debra Robinson to make sure the district’s new superintendent pays attention to the needs of students across the county and restores teacher morale.

Robinson hosted the first of five forums aimed at getting public input on the selection of a new top executive after the board fired 10-year superintendent Art Johnson last month. Robinson asked parents for input on what questions she should ask candidates.

Residents like Cinthia Becton said the district in the past has ignored the needs of students in poorer communities like Riviera Beach and the Glades. The school board needs to choose a superintendent who understands those areas so they won’t be “left out in the cold,” she said.

Patricia Copeland-Johnson said the new superintendent needs to be strong enough to stand up to politically empowered parents in more affluent parts of the county and make the decisions that are right for all students.

Rose Anne Brown, vice chairwoman of the Riviera Beach Education Advisory Council, said the new superintendent needs to have a plan to adapt teaching styles and curriculum to black students because they typically have performed lowest on tests.

Several teachers like JFK Middle School language arts teacher Celena Johnson said the new superintendent needs to work harder to restore the morale of teachers who, she said, have “thrown in the towel.”

“We feel like we are at the end, at the bottom, stepped on and unappreciated,” Johnson said. “We are beat down. … I get paid like I am nothing.”

The board hired the district’s former chief operating officer, Bill Malone, as its interim superintendent while a permanent replacement is found.

Robinson said no deadline has been set for application. But she said the executive director of the Florida School Board Association will be at Wednesday’s school board meeting and the board will discuss the selection process.

The district plans to hold four more forums so the public can give input on the choice for a new superintendent.

jason_schultz@pbpost.com

Whitney is a Master of Science in Accountancy candidate, and one of our newest guest bloggers. I find that the most interesting guest posts come from this program, and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. If youre a new reader, you may want to see what Lisle had to say about the program and what King Street has to offer. Then, learn more about Whitneys experience in the program below.

Already half way through my second semester as a MSA (Master of Science in Accountancy) student, I am already getting sad that these days will soon be over.  Moving to a new city (from Raleigh), not knowing a single soul, and beginning this new chapter of my life has made me so much more independent.  I just can’t believe it has flown by SO fast!!

Although I am working in PWC-Atlanta’s tax practice after graduation, the flexibility of the program allows us to branch out and take whichever classes we want. This is why I chose to expand my knowledge of auditing this semester. Taking a couple classes related to audit has only confirmed my choice of tax!

Although school has been ruling the majority of my life, I have been able to enjoy so much of the city of Charleston. I am from Cary, NC and went to NC State for my undergrad, which is very (maybe “a bit too”) close to my home. Moving four hours away from my family and friends has been quite the change, but only in the best sense of the word. I mean, who wouldn’t want to spend a year of their life learning and living in one of the greatest places in the country? Being able to walk outside of my downtown apartment and see a horse and carriage and tons of people walking around literally always puts a smile on my face. It is also a plus to live so close to the beach – getting a tan in February is not a bad way to live.

My experience here in Charleston and in the graduate program would not be the same without the amazing people I have met. Our program consists of under 30 students, which makes us one big (dysfunctional) family. We have had several social events ranging from happy hours to oyster roasts to weekend getaways. Our most recent getaway was over this past Christmas break. About eight of us took a road trip to Asheville, NC to celebrate a successful first semester. Being snowed-in a cabin on top of a mountain, we learned more about each other than I think we ever wanted to know. Nevertheless, board games, ping pong, air hockey, and a nice big hot tub kept us occupied and we all had such a great time. However, after getting our car stuck in the snow while on a curvy mountain road and almost falling off the side of the mountain, I think we were all ready to get back to Charleston!

I’m looking forward to enjoying the next few months here in Charleston and finishing up my education in June! Then it is off to Atlanta for me to begin my career! As excited as I am about starting a new career, I will be so sad to leave this amazing town, wonderful program at the College, and great friends.

ATTENTION ALL GRADE 12s…

It is now time to be poetic and immortalize your brilliance in this year’s yearbook.  To enter your yearbook quote you will need to visit the link below and fill out the entire form.  PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS!  Only quotes 300 characters or less will be accepted (you will need to check your count before submitting – there is a link provided).  All messages must respect the rules of Ross Sheppard High School.  The School Administration will be checking all quotes and reserve the right to pull your quote without informing you.  This will result in your picture being included in the yearbook without a corresponding quote.   

GO TO FORM

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION IS:  March 25, 2011

Today is the final day for Portland Public Schools students in grades eight through 11 to enter the district lottery to attend a high school outside their neighborhood.

Last year, more than 1,100 students sought and won a spot at a high school other than the one designated for their part of town. That included almost 400 students accepted at citywide vocational magnet school Benson High and another 92 who transferred to Franklin High, most of them from the adjoining Marshall High neighborhood. Lincoln, Grant and Cleveland each said yes to 27 students wanting in.

The number of students whose transfer wishes are granted this year is expected to be far lower — probably half as many as last year. The district is trying to make its seven surviving neighborhood high schools more alike in size and course offerings — and as part of that, is requiring more students to attend their neighborhood school.

The school board voted to close Marshall and to shrink Benson from about 1,000 students down to 850 or smaller. It also declared Jefferson High a citywide community-college-oriented magnet school intended to be less than half the size of other high schools.

So, with the district dialing back on transfer options, where is a student who doesn’t think their neighborhood high school is a good fit for them to turn?

By the numbers, the most openings are at Benson (240 freshmen slots, 10 sophomore slots), Jefferson High Middle College for Advanced Studies (100 freshmen slots, 75 sophomore slots) and Roosevelt High (90 freshmen slots, 30 sophomore slots).

Students wanting to transfer to the city’s five highest achieving neighborhood schools (Cleveland, Lincoln, Grant, Franklin and Wilson) are pretty much out of luck. Cleveland, Franklin and Wilson have no available spaces for transfer students, and Grant and Lincoln each will accept just 25 freshmen transfers and 5 transfer students in the other three grades.

As with other games of chance, this lottery is one that students must enter to win. The deadline to file, whether on paper or online, is 5 p.m.

Tomorrow is the Graduate Student Associations annual spring oyster roast. If you havent purchased your tickets, you can get them at the door for $15 if youre a student, $20 if youre the average Joe. Tickets include all you can eat oysters and the ticket sales will benefit the Charleston Parks Conservancy. There will be other food options available for non-oyster lovers, including vegetarians. So, bring your shuckers and well see you at OMalleys at 5:00.

BOCA RATON — Mark Brandenburg kneels in the sand, using a garden fork to search for any eggs near the top of a gopher tortoise burrow. Finding none, he probes the burrow with a 10-foot pole and gives the go-ahead to backhoe driver Mike Oliver.

Oliver deftly scrapes a few inches of topsoil off the top of a gopher tortoise burrow.

The burrow, along with several others, sits on a strip of land on Florida Atlantic University’s Boca Raton campus, right where the university plans to build a new four-lane road, FAU Boulevard. The gopher tortoises and burrowing owls in the area must be moved according to strict state environmental regulations. Since 2003, Brandenburg has moved 19 gopher tortoises out of harm’s way and into to the FAU conservation area.

Brandenburg, regional manager of environmental services for Miller Legg, also updated the university’s environmental management plan and every six months re-surveys the campus for gopher tortoises and burrowing owls, which state law protects.

“He has been a very valuable asset for how we can better manage the area,” said Azita Dashtaki, FAU’s associate vice president for facilities. Dashtaki estimates FAU has paid about $100,000 in the past two years for Brandenburg’s services.

It’s painstaking work in the hot sun. Each burrow must be probed all the way to the bottom.

As Brandenburg peers into a burrow, a big tortoise stares right back at him, close to the entrance.

“Hello!” Brandenburg says.

He swiftly pulls her out, weighs and measures her, then uses a fine drill bit to mark the edge of her shell. Once recorded, the tortoise is placed in a plastic storage crate with a dollop of sand from the toilet area at the end of her burrow, providing a homey aroma.

From his high perch, Oliver spots a tiny burrow. “Good eye,” Brandenburg says. Oliver helped relocate about 1,000 tortoises last year alone.

“I love my job,” says Oliver, who learned his trade from his father-in-law.

Because few young tortoises survive to adulthood, the law does not require tortoise wranglers like Brandenburg to count them.

By mid-afternoon, Brandenburg finds one more small tortoise. After inspecting all burrows, he places the adult and two juveniles in the conservation area.

“I’m happy to see the juveniles,” Brandenburg says. “That means there is a thriving population here.”

Brandenburg also must make sure that there are no burrowing owls in the roadway area, using a fiber-optics infrared camera to scope the burrow.

Brandenburg got his undergraduate graduate degree at FAU, so the work has been a homecoming of sorts.

“I’m always personally invested in my projects, but FAU has a spot in my heart,” Brandenburg said.