Q: Is it too early to register children for the next school year?
A: Not at all. We really need parents to register their children, especially incoming kindergarteners, as soon as possible. Unless parents register, we have no way of knowing how many teachers we will need to hire for next year. Also unknown to us at this point is how many students we will lose to vouchers due to the recently passed HB 1.Â
We had two teacher job fairs this spring and feel so fortunate that we were able to hire 103 teachers from outside the school district — from all over the United States, actually.
Q: How can parents register their children for school?
A: They can check with their local school, and most of the paperwork is done online. There is an address locator on our main website (www.stjohns.k12.fl.us) that will let residents know exactly which schools their home is zoned for. We encourage parents to register as soon as they can.
Q: What is the status of the new schools under construction?
A: The walls of the Shearwater school have been tilted up and it is beginning to look like a school. At Twin Creeks, the horizontal construction is finishing up and walls will be tilted up soon.
We discussed this last month, but to recap, the RiverTown school has been postponed for one year. We will open the bid process in early June and award the bid later that month. Construction can start immediately after that, giving a two year window before the school is scheduled to open at the start of the 2025 – 26 school year. We are hopeful that this will result in us getting multiple bids for the work.
Q: What else is happening in the school district at this time?
A: We are gearing up for graduation, which will be here before we know it. This is the time of year that we have student recognitions. We just had our Star Awards for the top 3 percent of graduating seniors and learned about their future plans. Coming up is the Honor the Graduate ceremony, where two seniors from each high school are nominated by their peers as spiritual leaders of their class. This is sponsored by the Christian Educators of St. Johns County. Also coming up is the American Youth Character Awards banquet. Seniors will receive scholarships and juniors will be recognized, all based on their character. At this event, we recognize both public and private school students. Of course, each school will also be holding its own Senior Awards.
Finally, the third annual Pedro Menendez National Signing Day will be held on May 4. Similar to an athletic signing, academy students going straight to the workforce will sign on with their future employers and commit to skilled trades careers or advanced training.
Q: How can our readers contact you?
A: They can email me at beverly.slough@stjohns.k12.fl.us or call me at (904) 547-7510.
