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Once an under-performing school, Sanderlin K-8 is a hit with Pinellas parents

 
First-grade teacher Amanda Johnson instructs student Alyse Wilson, 6, in mathematics. The class is aided by Smart Board technology. Johnson was recently nominated for Pinellas County’s Outstanding Educator award.
First-grade teacher Amanda Johnson instructs student Alyse Wilson, 6, in mathematics. The class is aided by Smart Board technology. Johnson was recently nominated for Pinellas County’s Outstanding Educator award.
Published Dec. 27, 2014

ST. PETERSBURG

Rumors had been swirling that people would start arriving before dawn, so R.J. Garbowicz packed a lawn chair and an iPad for the long night ahead. ¶ He showed up after midnight, securing the first spot in line. At 3 a.m., another person arrived. By 6 a.m., 20 people sat in lawn chairs, many with coolers at their feet, Black Friday-style. ¶ But the draw wasn't a holiday sale. It was a prekindergarten seat at Sanderlin PK-8 IB World School. Sanderlin gives its 4-year-old students priority for kindergarten admissions, a big edge in Pinellas County's notoriously competitive school lottery.

For the Garbowicz family, the overnight vigil was worth it.

"Waiting in line for five or six hours to pretty much guarantee that both of our children can go to that school until eighth grade, that's a small price to pay," Jennifer Garbowicz said.

All the attention is relatively new for Sanderlin, which opened with high hopes about a dozen years ago at 2350 22nd Ave. S, then limped out of the gate as a perennial C or D school where 40 percent of the students scored below proficient in reading.

More recently, however, the countywide magnet has become one of Pinellas' most in-demand schools, with International Baccalaureate programs in kindergarten through eighth grade. And in many ways, its success is a model for how district officials could improve other struggling schools.

Sanderlin earned its first A grade from the state this year — with double-digit gains among its black students in reading and math — making it one of the most successful integrated schools in Pinellas. More than half of its students are minorities.

At the same time, it has attracted families from Tierra Verde to Tarpon Springs and has become more difficult to get into than some fundamental schools. On a recent tour of Sanderlin, some parents said they were considering the rejuvenated magnet alongside Shorecrest Preparatory School and the Canterbury School of Florida, two of the toniest private schools in the county.

"We have parents calling with 2 year olds," said Sanderlin principal Denise Miller.

District officials have taken note of the school's success.

As part of an aggressive, multi-year push to expand school choice options in Pinellas, superintendent Mike Grego announced in July that three schools would work toward authorization for International Baccalaureate programs, in part because of Sanderlin's popularity. Mildred Helms Elementary, Largo Middle and John Hopkins Middle will open international studies programs in the 2015-16 school year, a first step in that direction.

Stephanie Joyner, principal of Largo Middle, said she was "ecstatic" about the decision.

"It's the magnet that I truly wanted for this school," she said.

But, like Sanderlin, the three schools could be a tough sell to parents in the beginning. Mildred Helms is a C school, while Largo Middle earned a D last year, and John Hopkins earned an F. More than 70 percent of students at each school are living in poverty; at John Hopkins, the rate swells to 92 percent.

John Hopkins already has magnet programs in journalism and the arts, but they haven't improved the school's tough reputation.

Sanderlin struggled with image problems too after it opened in 2003, one of three schools built in southern Pinellas as part of a legal settlement with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to end court-ordered busing.

Students, most of them low-income, came from more than 80 schools in the first year, Miller said. At that time, there was no preschool and no middle school IB. Miller, who has been the school's only principal, described the early years as "tough."

Susy Wannemacher, a mother of five who has been at Sanderlin since it opened, remembers how her first child, now 20, came home in third grade talking about a classmate who threw a desk. Some families fled after hearing similar stories, she said.

The history of those early years dogged Sanderlin for a while. "That word of mouth — it takes a while to minimize that," Miller said.

But the school has since built its program and its reputation slowly, year after year. The pre-K program was added five years ago, followed by the middle school program, which started with sixth graders. Last year's eighth graders were the first class to leave Sanderlin for high school.

One of the biggest changes came in 2008 when Sanderlin became a countywide magnet, allowing the school to draw from other parts of Pinellas. Of 588 students enrolled this year, 121, or about 21 percent, come from neighborhoods in the school's ZIP code. Nearly 100 students are from wealthier neighborhoods in St. Petersburg, such as Snell Isle and Shore Acres.

In seven years as a magnet school, Sanderlin has seen a decline in its poverty rate. More than 70 percent of students were on subsidized lunch in the early years. This year, just below half were, Miller said.

Tom Richmond, who toured the school recently, said his 5-year-old son goes to Shorecrest for preschool. But he said he liked Sanderlin's academic rigor, diversity and collaborative teaching style.

"When I went to grammar school, it was like, 'Shut up and learn,' " he said.

At Sanderlin, every class — from preschool to middle school — is imbued with a global flavor. The campus has signs saying how far it is to Beijing — 7,596 miles — and small garden areas marked "African Savannah Garden" and "Brazilian Rain Forest."

The program, though, is more than a few international flags and posters. IB emphasizes critical thinking, curiosity, environmental awareness and independence. Miller, on recent tour, gently told parents that if they wanted to carry their 5-year-olds to class every day they might want to consider another school.

One day earlier this month, Amanda Johnson's first-graders sat outside and discussed the effects of pollution. They took turns pouring cups of dirt, leaves, oil and other substances into a water-filled container. In a preschool room, Cari Barnes taught students about structures and communities by making houses on paper with Popsicle sticks. Evelyn Pettigrew, 4, said she built a house in Germany, "where the snow falls off" the roof.

"I just made it up. It's a story," she said.

Creating an IB program like Sanderlin's at three new schools will take years. Schools undergo a rigorous two- to three-year process to become authorized by International Baccalaureate, a nonprofit organization based in Switzerland. The process is meant to ensure that IB schools anywhere in the world follow the same standards.

Mildred Helms Elementary in Largo will start its new magnet program next year with students in kindergarten, first and second grade. Largo Middle and John Hopkins will start with sixth grade. The number of seats will depend on interest from students — the first year of any new program is unlikely to draw as many applicants.

Students zoned for the schools won't be pushed out by the new magnets, according to the district. IB strongly encourages all students at an authorized school to participate in its curriculum, and district officials said they will follow that model. The degree of involvement could vary, though, depending on a child's academic abilities.

Mildred Helms principal Shannon Brennan said she has fielded many questions from parents about the new magnet, and she reminds them that her school is "just getting started."

"It's going to take a while to be as good as Sanderlin," she said.

Contact Cara Fitzpatrick at cfitzpatrick@tampabay.com. Follow @Fitz_ly.