Hillsborough County School District officials kicked off the 2024-2025 school year on the brand new Kenneth E. Adum Magnet School campus in South Tampa Wednesday.
At the start of a press conference, Principal Scott Weaver asked a group of students if they were excited for school to start on Monday. A mixed chorus of "nos" and "yesses" rang out.
As the third largest district in the state with more than 200,000 students, getting every one to campus on time and keeping them engaged is an undertaking.
District officials outlined several initiatives aimed at achieving that goal.
One of the top priorities is tackling student absenteeism, an issue that skyrocketed after the covid-19 pandemic and one that districts across the country are still recovering from.
According to superintendent Van Ayres, nearly 30% of Hillsborough students are chronically absent, meaning they miss around two days of school each month.
"As attendance drops, student achievement drops and test scores drop," said Ayres.
To boost attendance, the district is launching the Every Day Matters campaign, which will involve incentives to encourage students to come to school.
That can include gift cards, pizza parties or a trip to a classroom "treasure box," said Deputy Superintendent of Operations Chris Farkas.
"Kids are motivated by different things, depending on age level," he said, adding that each school will be developing their own tailored plan to get students in the classroom.
Reading proficiency is also a major priority. About half of Hillsborough's third graders are reading at grade level, which is on par with the rest of the state.
But Ayres said they'll continue pushing for better literacy rates.
"We will not rest, we will not be finished until we have 100% of our students proficient in grade three," said Ayres.
The district will continue using a curriculum developed by the University of Florida to improve reading skills. The program, called UFLI, is rooted in the science of reading, a new method of instruction that researchers say best teaches a child how to read.
In another move to encourage that love of reading early on, the district is rolling out a new mobile classroom. The bus, which is named "Page Turner," contains a computer lab, library and other educational activities.
Page Turner will be visiting elementary schools across the county in the upcoming school year.
Ayres also highlighted some wins for the district. In one year of state grading, the county's public and charter schools improved from 33 D and F-rated schools to eight with D's and no F's.
That means about 96.5% of the district's more than 200 schools posted a grade of either A, B or C in the Florida Department of Education 2024 school grades report. That's compared to 84% the previous year.
