City Council Learns About Elementary Schools

The Temple Terrace City Council at their meeting Nov. 15, finishing up their and the programs they offer.

Although the city and local schools are two separate entities, Mayor Joe Affronti and city council members said they wanted to showcase each school to the community. Principals from Lewis, Riverhills and Temple Terrace elementary schools spoke.

The council meeting was broadcast on Verizon channel 39 and Bright House channel 950. It will be rebroadcast on Mondays and Thursdays at 7 p.m. and Wednesdays and Fridays at 2 p.m.

Principal Kristin Tonelli said the first priority at the beginning of the school year was to identify the students who needed extra academic help and kicked off an extended learning program. She invited anyone from the community to help tutor students during the school day on a volunteer basis.

Lewis has hosted veterans for Veterans Day, had a successful that raked in more than $20,000, and will be offering programs to help teachers and families who speak English as a second language.

“We’re very proud of our fine school,” Tonelli said.

Principal Todd Connolly said the school’s vision is success is the only option and it’s embedded in everything students, staff and parents do.

Students are challenged by curriculum during the school day, as well as before and after school and on Saturdays through tutoring and enrichment. Teachers also spend extra time in the evenings and on weekends taking special training.

“One of the things that I am most proud of is from this time last year to now, we’ve decreased our discipline referrals by 71 percent,” Connolly said. “So, kids are in the classroom, they’re learning and they’re not out of the classroom being dealt with as far as discipline referrals.”

Principal Carol Brown said the school is the only one in the district designated as a Bank Street school, which allows students to explore hands-on activities in the real world. One of the schools most popular clubs is the Garden Club, and students help cultivate the garden and try new vegetables and fruits.

In addition to crops, the school also cultivates a sense of camaraderie.

“I can truly say that our teachers are more than employees,” Brown said. “They are family. Families return to let us know each and every day how much Temple Terrace meant to them, and that let’s me know and my teachers know that we’re doing the very best job that we can.”