*Recent Article*

“Highlands County Florida: Public Schools”

Moving forward with resilience
SUPERINTENDENT CORNER
Dr. Brenda Longshore

The following article was printed in the “Viewpoints” section of the Highlands News-Sun on January 31, 2021. It was selected for presentation here by the staff of FloridaRidgeManuafacturing, LLC – a registered Florida company in Highlands County Florida.

The first semester of the school year is in the books, and I can confidently say that in my almost 30 years in education, I have never experienced a school year quite like this. We have overcome the challenges presented by this ever-changing year through the perseverance and dedication of our teachers, staff, students and families. The past year’s events have shown a light on the critical role that public schools play in the lives of our students and our community, and I am incredibility proud of the work of Highlands County schools.

Beginning this new semester, many of our students have chosen to return to the traditional school setting. We currently have approximately 11,000 students in our face-to-face model and about 1,100 students enrolled in Highlands Virtual School.

In last month’s Superintendent’s Corner, I shared with you that we were about to participate I our school district accreditation process. That process is now well underway.  Accreditation is critical for school districts for many reasons. Being an accredited school district allows us access to federal and state education funding. Additionally colleges and universities recognize diplomas and credits awarded by accredited districts and students from accredited schools are eligible for scholarships and financial aid when applying to college.

Finally, the accreditation process provides the district the opportunity to self-assess and look deeply at the structures and practices in place to ensure that we are meeting our student’s needs. Teams from the district office and school sites have been meeting regularly to assess district progress and collect evidence to show how the district meets our district performance standards’ goals. The standards assessed are in the domains of Leadership Capacity, Learning Capacity, and Resource Capacity. These standards are based on research and best practices and serve as a powerful tool for driving institutional change. During a typical accreditation, we would be visited in person by an accreditation team. We would present our self-assessment and our evidence of progress. The team would visit sites and conduct interviews with focus groups consisting of a variety of stakeholders.

This time, as like with most other things this year, the process will not be typical. Meetings, interviews and presentations will be conducted virtually. Upon completing the accreditation process, I will share the outcome with you in a future Superintendent’s Corner. The shift to a virtual format has added to work placed on district and school leaders, but again, I have the utmost confidence in our teams. The same resilience that has gotten us through the first half of the year will no doubt sustain us over the next semester.

This week I shared my thoughts on resilience with all employees and expressed my appreciation for the strength they have all shown. In preparation for an upcoming virtual concert, Avon Park High School choir director Loomis shared a song about resilience, and I thought it was a perfect fit to include in my monthly Superintendent’s Update video on our School Board of Highlands County Facebook page. I encourage you to take a moment to visit our page to hear the choir’s performance at the end of my video. I will close this month with the lyrics to the song, simple but power words that capture the “can-do” spirit of our teachers, staff, students, and families

Resilience
We are strong
Shoulder to shoulder keep moving on.

Resilience
Make a new plan
Stand up again and say, “Yes we can!”

Hold on
We’re gonna make it, and I know we will
Yes, it’s hard to keep going, but

IT’S WORSE TO STAND STILL.

Resilience

Dr. Brenda Longshore is superintendent of the Highlands County School District.

– February Update –

“Highlands County Florida: Public Schools”
SECOND UPDATE IN THIS SERIES

“Plenty of reasons to celebrate”
SUPEREINTENDENT CORNER
Dr Brenda Longshore

Highlands News-Sun February 28, 2021

As I mentioned last month,

We have been moving through our school district accreditation process. This process has now been concluded, and we are pleased with the findings of the accreditation team.

In total, they have interviewed over 200 stakeholders, including teachers, school staff, students and parents. As an integral part of the greater community, a school district has a significant impact well beyond the schoolhouse doors.  As such, the accreditation team also interviewed community members and local business leaders to assess how the district was progressing in meeting Highlands County’s needs as a whole.

The initial findings indicate that our district demonstrates a strong alignment of actions to our district’s mission, vision, and purpose. We also received positive comments related to our District Strategic Plan and how that document actively drives leadership and instruction in meeting the academic and social-emotional needs of students and families.

As with any such close inspection of a large system, we know there will be areas upon which we can improve. We will receive the complete report with recommendations in about two months.

“The School Board of Highlands County” is an organization committed to continuous improvement, and we look forward to using these recommendations to enhance the system currently in place.

The second subject I would like to share information is on the half-cent sales tax approved by voters to support our district.

Our district has faced significant challenged in recent years because of

1 Hurricanes,
2 Safety protocols mandated by Marjory Stoneman Douglas Act.
3 And COVID-19.

Schools are tasked with educating students and ensuring the safety of our most precious resource: Our Future Generation.

The community has played a significant role in that mission through your support of the half-cent sales tax and as Superintendent of Schools and a grandparent of current students, I thank you.

1 Hurricane (of 2017) supported by theses dollars allowed us to complete over $1 million in roof repairs to fencing, air conditioners and other maintenance projects that were affected by the storm.

2 In response to campus-hardening mandates stipulated by Stoneman Douglas legislation the half-cent tax allowed our school district to fund the installation of over a half million dollars in security cameras and equipment, over $1 million for fencing and gates, and other safety measures to secures our campuses.

3 Finally, in response to COVID-19 in March 2020, Florida schools closed to face-to-face instruction as the entire state shifted to an online learning platform Money raised by the half-cent sales tax had already allowed us to purchase enough Chromebooks for the majority of students to have access to one-to-one virtual learning. Upon the closure, additional funds utilized to purchase technology allowed all students to have access to online learning. Our district shifted the entire learning platform for over 12,000 students from face-to-face to online in under two weeks. Highlands was well ahead of other districts in the ability to make this shift promptly and limit the interruption of instruction to students. Your support of the half-cent tax made that possible.

I want to close this Superintendent’s Corner on a note of celebration.

Last Thursday evening, the School Board of Highlands County, in partnership with the Champion for Children Foundation, presented the Second Annual Champion for Children youth award.

Even at a young age, these students have demonstrated a servant’s heart and commitment to improving the lives of those around them,

This year 17 students were nominated by their schools or community members for their service to others. Finalist ranged from fourth through 12th grade. 

I congratulate this year’s recipient, as well as all of the finalists. One need only look toward this small group, representing so many of their peers, to know that we are blessed with amazing young people throughout Highlands County.

I will give updates on the final report of the accreditation team and other topics of interest from our school district in future editions of Superintendent’s Corner.

Dr. Brenda Longshore is Highlands County Superintendent of Schools.