Hillsborough County Public Schools facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hillsborough County Public Schools
Location
Hillsborough County Florida United States
District information
Type	Public
Motto	Preparing Students For Life
Grades	Pre K-12
Superintendent	Van Ayres
Schools	250
Budget	$3.3 billion
Students and staff
Students	206,841
Teachers	15,162
Staff	25,170 (includes teachers)
Other information
Employee union	Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association (HCTA)

Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS) is a large school district in Hillsborough County, Florida. It manages all the public schools in the county. The main office is in Tampa, Florida, in the United States. People sometimes call it the School District of Hillsborough County (SDHC).

This school district serves all of Hillsborough County. It is the third largest school district in Florida. It is also the 7th largest in the entire United States. A group called the School Board of Hillsborough County runs the district. This board has seven elected members. They also hire a superintendent to lead the schools. The current superintendent is Van Ayres.

History of Hillsborough County Public Schools

The Hillsborough County School District has a long history. In 2021, over 213,000 students attended its schools. This made it the seventh largest school district in the U.S. by student numbers.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida, schools faced big challenges. In 2021, soon after school started, many students and staff got sick. About 1,805 students or employees had COVID-19. This meant about 10,384 students and 338 employees had to stay home.

Schools in Hillsborough County

Student Demographics

Understanding the students helps the school district. In the 2021–2022 school year, students came from many different backgrounds:

• 4.52% Asian
• 21.06% Black
• 36.87% Hispanic
• 0.18% Indian
• 6.27% Multi-ethnic
• 31.10% White

School Board and Leadership

The Hillsborough County School Board makes important decisions. It has seven elected members. Five members are chosen by voters in their local areas. Two members are chosen by voters from the whole county.

As of November 2020, the board members were:

• Lynn Gray – District 7
• Stacy Hahn – District 2
• Nadia Combs – District 1
• Jessica Vaughn – District 3 (Vice Chair)
• Patti Rendon – District 4
• Henry "Shake" Washington – District 5
• Karen Perez – District 6 (Chair)

The board hires the superintendent. The superintendent manages the daily operations of the school system. They report to the school board. Since November 2023, Van Ayres has been the superintendent. He used to be the Chief of Strategic Planning and Partnerships. He was also the Deputy of Schools for Hillsborough County.

School Libraries and Learning Resources

Every school in Hillsborough County has a Library/Media Center. Each center has a full-time, certified Media Specialist. This specialist chooses and organizes books, magazines, and other learning materials. They also manage online resources and maker space items.

Each library's collection is unique. It should reflect the community and the needs of its students and teachers. All libraries have a public catalog. This lets anyone review the books available in the library.

The school libraries host three main programs each year:

• Poetry Jam: This is for middle and high school students. Local poets visit school libraries to lead writing workshops. Students then compete in a school-level poetry competition. The top three high school students go to a district competition.
• SLAM Showcase: SLAM stands for Student Literacy & Media. This event celebrates reading for all age levels. Students read books from special lists like the Sunshine State Young Readers Award. Then, they create art based on the books. Schools select students to attend a festival. Their art is displayed, and authors talk about their books.
• Storytelling Festival: This festival is for elementary students. Storytellers visit elementary schools to hold workshops. Students can then choose to tell their own memorized stories at the festival.

Athletics and Sports

Hillsborough County Schools offers many sports for high school students.

• For boys: baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis, track and field, wrestling, and lacrosse.
• For girls: basketball, cheer, cross country, flag football, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, lacrosse, and volleyball.

Strawberry Schools: A Unique History

Before 1956, some schools in the eastern part of the county had a special schedule. These schools were near Plant City, where strawberries grow. They closed from January through March. This was to allow students to help with the strawberry harvest. These schools were called "Strawberry Schools."

Some examples include the Glover School, Cork, Keysville, Pinecrest, and Turkey Creek. Even today, some schools in this area have a unique holiday. Instead of a spring break for the Florida State Fair, they have a holiday for the Florida Strawberry Festival.

School Integration and Fairness

Like many school systems in the southern United States, Hillsborough County schools were once separated by race. This meant some schools were only for Black students, and others were only for white students. For example, Don Thompson Vocational High School (now Blake High School) was for minority students.

After the U.S. Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954, things began to change. This decision said that separate schools were not fair. In 1962, a court found that Hillsborough County was still running a segregated system. The district tried to delay integrating the schools for many years.

Hillsborough County started integrating some schools in 1965. But in 1971, a judge said it was too slow. The judge ordered the district to create a full desegregation plan. The school system started a busing program. This program aimed to have the same percentage of students from different races in each school.

However, the busing often affected Black students more. Historically Black schools were sometimes changed to junior high schools. Students and teachers from these schools were moved to white suburban schools. Black students were often bused for 10 out of 12 school years. White students were bused for only 2 out of 12 years.

After integration, there were more disciplinary issues. Many Black students faced discipline, even though they were a smaller part of the student population. After people complained, the situation became fairer after 1974.

In 1991, the district tried a new plan to help students. They created magnet schools. These schools offered special programs to attract white students to historically Black schools. Single-grade schools were also changed to include more age groups, like middle schools.

In 1994, a group called the NAACP sued the district. They said schools were becoming separated by race again. A court agreed in 1998. It said the schools were not yet fully integrated. Federal monitoring of the process continued.

For the 2001–2002 school year, the district changed its busing program. They started a new school choice program. This aimed to reduce re-segregation. In 2001, a federal court said the district's schools were "unitary." This meant they were integrated enough, and federal monitoring was no longer needed.

School Security

The school district works with Hillsborough County Public Schools Security Services. They also work with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. These groups provide School Resource Officers (SROs) at many schools. SROs are armed security officers who help keep schools safe.

Other police departments also help when needed. These include Plant City Police Department, Temple Terrace Police Department, and Tampa Police Department. For some school sports events, other agencies might help. These include the Florida Highway Patrol and USF Police Department.

Gates Foundation Grant for Teachers

In 2009, the Hillsborough County School District received a big grant. It was $100 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This money was to help improve education. It focused on better support and evaluation for teachers. For six years, the grant funded a plan called "Empowering Effective Teachers."

Empowering Effective Teachers Program

"Empowering Effective Teachers" was a program to make teaching better. It aimed to help teachers be more effective. This involved new ways to assess teachers. It also included new salary scales and teacher training programs. The program started in 2010. The way teachers were evaluated changed a lot. It became a detailed system with different focus areas.

The new evaluation system caused some discussion. Across Florida, 40 percent of a teacher's final evaluation score now comes from how much students learn each year. This is a common policy in many states.

Teachers who joined the new system could get a pay raise. Most teachers received a few thousand dollars more. Those who got high evaluation scores received even more money each year. The new pay scale was announced in late 2013. Teachers hired before 2011 had time to decide if they wanted to join. Teachers who did not join still had the new evaluation system. However, their pay would not change based on their evaluation score.

See also

In Spanish: Escuelas Públicas del Condado de Hillsborough para niños