Category: District News

St. Lucie County middle school students from Southern Oaks and their teachers were recognized for achieving first place in the national competition of the Zero Robotics Challenge held on the International Space Station on Tuesday, August 13, 2013. The students recognized were Jaeger Johnson, April Vasquez, Maria Blaszkiewicz, Grisel Cabrera, Hansly Ledger, Michael Lefrancois, and Brooklynne Pimpo. The teachers who facilitated the teams are Kevin McInerney and Brian Jones. Also pictured are School Board Chair Debbie Hawley, Superintendent Genelle Yost, and Assistant Superintendent Kerry Padrick and Principal Lisa Sullivan. Congratulations!

Marcella Bianco, Wellness Program Manager FL Department of Health, along with two SWAT youth members, Vance Taylor and Victoria Binner gave a presentation to the School Board on September 10, 2013. SWAT members, SWAT advisors and partnership members were recognized for their accomplishments with the new Tobacco Free Environment Policy #2.90 that was recently passed on July 23, 2013.

St. Lucie County students rank number one in the nation for the Middle School Zero Robotics Challenge held on the International Space Station on Tuesday, August 13th. Two teams of students participated in the 5-week summer program held at Southern Oaks Middle School. Kevin McInerney and Brian Jones facilitated the teams to learn about and write programs that could control satellites in space.  The participants competed with 26 other teams across the nation to win a technically challenging game by programming their strategies into a SPHERE satellite.  A series of elimination tournaments were conducted with astronauts on the International Space Station and the event was … Read More

Two additional candidates for Superintendent of Schools will visit St. Lucie County on August 29, search consultant Jim Huge informed the St. Lucie County School Board. Ronald Scott Fritz, currently chief Academic Officer for the Orange County, Florida, School District, and Constance Ann Jones, currently Executive Director of School Development for the Lee County, Florida, School District, have joined the list of potential successors to Michael Lannon, who retired June 30, 2013, after a decade of service leading St. Lucie Public Schools and a 45-year career in public education. Former Deputy Superintendent Genelle Yost is the Interim Superintendent until a … Read More

Kudos to the St. Lucie Public Schools Human Resources Department, which has experienced another busy summer season providing excellent customer service for over 500 new hires including full-time, substitute, and summer school positions. Processing includes reviewing applications, scheduling drug screens, and completing finger printing for background screening as well as data entry of each newly hired employee into the Skyward system. Pictured is finger print specialist Lynn Louderback, right, assisting a new employee in the process.

The St. Lucie Public Schools Student Assignment department has experienced another busy summer, providing customer service to thousands of parents and students in the registration process for the new school year. Pictured is Cynthia Howard assisting a parent registering her child. Ms. Howard is a bus driver during the school year but helps during this very busy time for the department.

The Office of Title I/School Renewal hosted a three-day institute for teachers and administrators from nine St. Lucie schools on August 7, 8 and 9 at Samuel Gaines Academy. The institute provided the opportunity for additional guidance, support and motivation to those supporting these schools as they work together to increase student achievement. Each day there was a keynote speaker, as well as a full day’s agenda of breakout sessions for teachers and administrators. Pictured is Sam Foerster, who currently serves as the Deputy Chancellor of School Improvement and Student Achievement for the Florida Department of Education (FDOE). In this … Read More

Fort Pierce, FL — From Monday, August 5, through Thursday, August 8, the Child Nutrition Services program of the St. Lucie County School District is hosting Open House events at various school sites for parents to complete an on-line or paper application for free and reduced meal prices prior to school starting. Parents must complete an updated application every year, though only one application per family is required, and are encouraged to do so prior to school opening for the 2013-2014 school year August 20 so that each student will have an updated meal plan. New students to the district … Read More

At the May 28, 2013, St. Lucie County School Board meeting, the American Cancer Society (ACS)and the organizers of the St. Lucie West Relay For Life recognized the contributions of the staff, parents and students at 12 local schools who participated in the April, 2013 event, and thanked them for their hard work, volunteer service, and dedication. Many of the 14 teams that participated this year have done so for several years. Eric Finkel, Lori Finkel, and Robyn Young representing ACS presented a “You Make a Difference” Certificate of Appreciation to team leaders from St. Lucie West Centennial High School, … Read More

The winners of the fifth annual Dr. Samuel S. Gaines essay contest were recognized at the May 28, 2013, St. Lucie County School Board meeting. The contest, sponsored since its inception by The Morganti Group which provides cash prizes for the winning entries, is part of the district’s recognition and celebration of African American history month. Local students in grades three to 12 may write an essay describing an African American person in St. Lucie County who has made a difference in the student’s life, explaining what the person did to make such an impact. The contest is named for … Read More

The St. Lucie County Education Foundation, through its Teacher of Excellence Utilizing Technology Grant, presented laptop computers from corporate sponsor Dell, to honor teachers who are currently utilizing technology to both enhance the curriculum in an innovative manner and to motivate engaged student learning in the classroom. Northport K-8 principal Glenn Rustay made the presentations at the St. Lucie County School Board meeting May 28, 2013, to Weatherbee Elementary teacher Jennifer Lehmann, Northport K-8 teacher Jennifer Carey, and Lincoln Park Academy teacher Josephine Cappelletti. In addition, 2014 St. Lucie County Teacher of the Year Harry B. Williams also was presented … Read More

The two 2013 Business Partners of the Year for St. Lucie Public Schools were recognized at the May 28, 2013, St. Lucie County School Board meeting. The 26th Annual Commissioner’s Business Partner recognition reception, sponsored by the Florida Department of Education, will be held June 13, 2013, in Tampa where the state winner will be named. School districts throughout the state may nominate one, two or three businesses, depending on student population, for the state honor. St. Lucie Public Schools selected the school district’s Facilities and Maintenance Department (with FLDOE approval) for its annual summer student internship and scholarship program, … Read More

St. Lucie West Centennial High School athletic director John Messina was recognized at the May 14, 2013, St. Lucie County School Board meeting for his recent induction into the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) Hall of Fame. Coach Messina has a long list of distinguished achievements in the coaching category. As head baseball coach at Pace, Port St. Lucie and Jensen Beach high schools, he compiled a 465-160 record and totaled three state championships with two state runners-up while coaching two national Player of the Year standouts, Alex Fernandez in 1988 and Rick Ankiel in 1997. He was named … Read More

Seventh grade Lincoln Park Academy student Jamya Wiley was recently honored by Duke University at a reception at Florida Atlantic University for students the university has identified for its Duke University Talent Program (Duke TIP). Jamya scored a 20 out of a perfect 36 on her first attempt at the college entrance exam, at the 99% percentile of students who took the ACT, and is college ready now according to ACT guidelines.