Q: What can you share about some of the school district sponsored summer camps that have recently taken place?
A: I had the opportunity to visit and observe a couple of these camps that several of our students were able to participate in. Some of the students from the northern part of the county attended sessions at Webster Elementary in St. Augustine and students from all over the county in fifth through 12th grade attended camp at the link in Nocatee over a five week period. School district personnel provided curriculum and instruction in camps focusing on culinary entrepreneurship, robotics/drones, a girls’ engineering program and camps for English language learners. Camp teachers told me that they were impressed with the collaboration of students from a variety of backgrounds and schools who were able to form bonds and relationships. One of the unexpected takeaways was that the teachers, too, felt inspired by the camps. They told me they felt they could take some of the creativity of the summer curriculum and use it in their classrooms in the fall.
Q: Can you give any information about the most recent school district rankings?
A: I’d like to address a rumor that has been brought to my attention — the rumor is that St. Johns County has fallen from first place to second place in the state. This information is coming from a website called School Digger, which is not a primary source and actually has a number of inaccuracies listed about our school district (such as the incorrect number of high schools that we have). The Department of Education will determine in the fall each school district’s ranking; these rankings have not been determined yet. We do know that out of 21 different categories, St. Johns County scored first in the state in 15 and tied for first in another. None of this would be possible without the hard work of our teachers, students, administration and support of our parents. Our faculty will be diving into all this material to determine how to help each individual student in their academic growth.
Keep in mind that this is the first year of new standards and the FAST (Florida Assessment of Student Thinking) testing. Certainly there will be areas to improve as we become more proficient with these new assessments.
Q: Do you have any kudos to share?
A: I’d like to spotlight Landrum Middle School this month. Students there participated in a vocabulary.com Spring Training contest and Landrum was in the Top Five of rookie (first year participating) schools in vocabulary assessments. Also, last spring, 37 Landrum students participated in a World Language Festival competition at Mandarin Middle School. Students performed in drama, composed music, and created art, all in different languages. Landrum students earned 16 Superior ratings, nine Excellent ratings and numerous honorable mentions. Congratulations to all these students.
Q: Do you have anything else to share with District 4?
A: The first day of school will be Aug. 10. The excitement this year isn’t about opening new schools, but about welcoming our students back for a new school year. Teachers and employee training across every department has been non-stop this summer, all in anticipation of starting the school year off right. We think it’s going to be a great year!
Q: How can our readers contact you?
A: They can email me at kelly.barrera@stjohns.k12.fl.us or call me at (904) 547-7510.
