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Reddick Elementary Opens

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By LOIS KINDLE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 27, 2008

WIMAUMA - Just before 7 a.m. Aug. 18, Evi Gonzalez and his wife, Marlen, sat waiting for assistance in the Reddick Elementary School office. With them were their sons Ryan, 6, and Evi Jr., 5.

The couple thought their children were supposed to go to Cypress Creek Elementary, where Ryan was a student last year. They assumed Evi would be enrolled there but were taken by surprise when they got a notice in the mail. Both boys were to become Reddick students.

The Gonzalez family was not the only one confused by the change of assignments. Scores of others encountered similar problems and had to wait in line for help at the start of the school day. Some had simply procrastinated on registering, staff members said. Others found their children's transfers had not come through from their previous schools or were confused about bus assignments. But the Reddick support staff swarmed to register the students and figure out their transportation needs.
Hillsborough County Schools Superintendent MaryEllen Elia pulled up promptly at 7 a.m., met briefly with Principal J. Thomas Roth, and then walked around the campus, greeting teachers and students who had arrived early.

"It's a beautiful school," she said, entering its expansive courtyard. "I come to all new schools on their first day. I'm here to greet everyone and to make sure the administrators have everything they need."

"It's gorgeous," said Sherrie Sikes, director of south county schools. "It has one of the prettiest designs I've ever seen. I think it will be the main focal point of the community."

As students were dropped off by parents or bus, teachers dressed in shirts with Reddick Rays logos were there to greet them. The first bus arrived at 7:25 a.m. Driver Donna Walker said she had fewer than 20 students on her bus and had expected 50.

"Many parents drive their children to school on the first day," Walker said. "And with the weather situation Tropical Storm Fay being what it is, I wasn't surprised."

By 10 a.m., the line in the office had thinned and 491 students were in their classrooms. The cafeteria staff estimated about 300 of them had been served a reduced-cost or free breakfast.

The enrollment was a bit less than the 550 to 600 originally expected, said Roth, but there were several factors involved.

"Traditionally, in this area, there are some parents who don't bring their children until the second or third day," he said. The first day of school "sneaks up on them. I'm anticipating another 50 or so by Wednesday."

By 2:15 p.m., school officials had figured out the appropriate buses for students needing a ride home. Students wore color-coded bracelets teachers and staff members had made out of construction paper, and dismissal, which was a bit frenetic at first, went quickly and smoothly.

Bus driver Victor Rodriguez expressed concern that he had more children on his vehicle in the afternoon than he had in the morning, but that was because many students rode to school with their parents.

"We did it," said one teacher, breathing a sigh of relief as the last child boarded a bus.

As of Aug. 21, Roth said enrollment was up to 550 and transportation problems had abated.

"Yesterday, we had all students gone by 2:30 p.m.," he said. "No one has gotten lost or dropped off at the wrong stop. Everything's going smoother by the day."
REDDICK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
WHERE: 325 W. Lake Drive, Wimauma

ENROLLMENT: 550, as of Thursday

STUDENT BODY: Mostly nonwhite; 88 percent eligible for free- or reduced-cost meals

CAPACITY: 950

PRINCIPAL: J. Thomas Roth
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL: Yolanda Guerra

INFORMATION: (813) 634-0809

Reporter Lois Kindle can be reached at (813) 865-1553 or lkindle@tampatrib.com. For more photos, visit southshore.tbo.com and click on recent photo galleries.

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