TAMPA, Fla. — It’s considered one of the most ambitious plans yet to turn around dozens of low performing schools in Hillsborough County.
But before school leaders can move forward with the district's "achievement schools" plan it must first get teachers into those schools and it's not looking far to find them.
Today, Hillsborough public school officials are inviting current teachers to apply to transfer to one of the district’s newly-dubbed “achievement schools.”
District leaders have designated 50 Hillsborough public schools as "achievement schools" where students have consistently been testing below grade level in reading and math.
The idea now, school leaders say, is to reallocate some of the district’s best and brightest teachers and administrators to these schools to get students there performing at or above grade level in math and reading within three years.
It’s not the first time the district has tried to turn around some of its struggling schools, but this is seen as the biggest undertaking yet. The plan is not without its critics either, some of whom argue similar past initiatives didn’t yield results that had been promised.
Either way, the district will hold a recruitment event this morning:
- WHAT: The Showcase of Achievement Schools event
- WHERE: Instructional Services Center, 2920 N. 40th St., Tampa
- WHEN: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m
A district spokesperson says principals and their teams will be at the event conducting interviews.
District leaders also expect to be offering positions on the spot to qualifying teachers in an effort to speed up the transfer process in time for this next school year.
Some teachers might also be eligible for hundreds of dollars in incentive pay for transferring to what the district considers to be a “high needs” school, according to a district spokesperson.
►Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the 10News app now.
Have a news tip? Email desk@wtsp.com, or visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.
