- Attendance Figures In, Differ From School Numbers
- Friday Frustrating, MOSI Teacher Says
- Witter Elem. Principal: Today is not a ‘play day’
- Madison Middle Missing Students, Bus Drivers
- Pierce Has The Teachers, Just Not The Students
- At Hammond, No Throng Of Vehicles Dropping Off Kids
- Quarter Of Cypress Creek Students Show Up
- Slow Start To Day At Progress Village, Symmes
- Bryant Rewards Bus Drivers With Care Packages
- Chamberlain Has Buses, Just Not Many Students
- 8 a.m.: Parents Drop Off Children
- Summerfield Elementary Buses Traveling Light
- Temple Terrace Principal ‘Just Glad The Students Are Here’
- District Official: No Last-Minute Leaves Taken By Bus Drivers
- 2 High Schools’ Parking Lots Nearly Empty; Temple Terrace Elementary Quiet
Here’s the school district’s list of today’s attendance by school.
One caveat: Figures our reporters received directly from the schools differ from these figures.
For example:
Durant High School:
School: Today’s attendance: 220; Total enrollment: 2,600
District: Today’s attendance: 611; Total enrollment: 2,500
East Bay High School:
School: Today’s attendance: 348; Total enrollment: 1,795
District: Today’s attendance: 427; Total enrollment: 1,785
Eisenhower Middle School
School: Today’s attendance: 392; Total enrollment: 1,570
District: Today’s attendance: 687;Total enrollment: 1,552
Lennard High School
School: Today’s attendance: 210; Total enrollment: 1,080
District: Today’s attendance: 268; Total enrollment: 1,066
Riverview High School
School: Today’s attendance: 253; Total enrollment: 2,031
District: Today’s attendance: 259; Total enrollment: 2,031
Shields Middle School
School: Today’s attendance: 214; Total enrollment: 1,235
District: Today’s attendance: 238; Total enrollment: 1,239
Wimauma Elementary
School: Today’s attendance: 200; Total enrollment: 640
District: Today’s attendance: 408; Total enrollment: 640
The MOSI Partnership School in Tampa was without three of its four buses Friday. The lone bus that pulled into the elementary that morning had just a dozen students aboard. It normally carries about 50.
“I really thought more would come but I guess our families had no way to get here,” said MOSI Principal Cheryl Dafeldecker. Out of the school’s 268 students, 109 were absent.
With classes only half full, teachers doubled up rooms. While one teacher lead instruction, another teacher would handle calls to absent students’ homes or tackle paperwork for the upcoming report card distribution next week.
Fifth-grade teacher Katrin Thiebe said she knew students wanted to come to school Friday but had no means without a bus.
“I literally had students in tears because they weren’t going to be here today,” she said. “They had friends who could get rides and they couldn’t and that made them so upset.”
Thiebe called Friday’s situation frustrating.
“We just got done with FCAT and want to push forward in our lessons,” she said. “We really can’t do that when so many students aren’t here.”
Most teachers at the school used the day to reemphasize skills by holding spelling bees and other academic competitions or drills. The MOSI students also spent part of the day at the adjacent science museum.
More than half of the students at Witter Elementary were absent Friday. The elementary school had no bus service for its traditional students affecting how many attended.
Principal Anna Brown said 391 students out of 758 were absent.
“I really believe many students would be here if we had buses,” she said. “Many of our families don’t have other transportation options.”
Witter serves families in the University Area where many residents don’t have vehicles and rely on public transportation.
Brown and her staff were busy Friday confirming absences and verifying that each student had a way home and a place to go after school. Some of the local after school child care programs were closed for Good Friday.
Brown said her teachers used this opportunity to combine classes that only had a handful of students and offer academic activities between classes. For example, some classes held mock math competitions.
“This isn’t a play day or a free day,” she said. “It’s business as usual. Our students have come to learn and that’s what they are doing.”
Brown said she hopes the students return on Monday because that is the final day for Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test makeup exams. If students miss taking the test, it can affect a school’s grade from the state.
News Channel 8 image by Michael Egger
The bell rings at Madison Middle School at 9 a.m.
Parent’s didn’t know what to expect. Earlier in the week, Hillsborough County school officials reported 35 out of 57 teachers were expected to take Good Friday off.
Madison’s principal, John Haley, says the reality is, only eight teachers ended up taking the day off, and only two of those didn’t have substitutes to cover their classes.
Although teachers reported for work at Madison, many students took the day off. Four out of 16 buses delivered students to Madison this morning, and most of those buses had far fewer students than normal. The other 12 buses’ routes were canceled because drivers did not show up.
One bus that arrived had only four students onboard, and it arrived nearly 20 minutes after the 9 a.m. bell. On a normal day, Madison’s principal says, that bus should have had 45 students onboard.
Some parents drove their middle school students to Madison this morning, saying they waited for 20 minutes at the bus stop and finally gave up.
Like all Hillsborough County schools today, Madison will be open until 6 this evening so children can stay if their parents cannot pick them up at the normal time. Madison’s staff expects to be gone long before that, though, because of the small number of students at school today.
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