Hillsborough County Board of Education: A Comprehensive Overview

Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS) stands as a cornerstone of education in west central Florida, shaping the lives of countless students and contributing significantly to the community. As the third largest school district in Florida and the 7th largest in the United States, HCPS plays a vital role in the region. This article delves into the structure, history, and key aspects of this extensive school system.

Governance and Structure

The Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS) is a school district that runs the public school system of Hillsborough County in west central Florida and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida, United States. The district serves all of Hillsborough County. The governance of HCPS rests with the School Board of Hillsborough County, a body consisting of seven elected members and one superintendent, who is hired by the board. Five of the members are elected by voters in their respective districts, while two are elected on a countywide basis. The Hillsborough County School Board has the authority to hire and fire the superintendent, who oversees the day-to-day operation of the school system and reports to the board.

Library Media Centers

Each school in the county has a Library/Media Center and a full-time, certified Media Specialist. The Media Specialist is responsible for creating and curating the school's collection of online and physical books, periodicals, audio/visual materials, and maker space materials. Each school's collection is their own and should reflect the community around the school and the needs of the students and teachers at that site.

Enrichment Programs

Hillsborough County Public Schools enriches the educational experience through a variety of programs that foster creativity, literacy, and community engagement.

Poetry Jam

Poetry Jam is a coordination between the Hillsborough County Public Schools Library Media Services and the Arts in Education Department. Local Poets come to school libraries to host writing workshops with students who then participate in a school level Jam competition.

SLAM Showcase

SLAM Showcase is a celebration of reading based around the SSYRA Jr, Sunshine State Young Readers Award Junior, SSYRA, Sunshine State Young Readers Award, and Florida Teen Reads selected works each year. Students interested in participating read one of the works for their age level and then create art based on the book, either 2D, 3D, or digital art.

Storytelling Festival

The Storytelling Festival is put on by the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library and Hillsborough County Public School Libraries participates each year by bringing storytellers into elementary schools to host workshops for students.

Athletic Opportunities

Hillsborough County Schools provides athletic opportunities for high school boys in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis, track and field, wrestling, and lacrosse.

Historical Context

Strawberry Schools

Prior to 1956, many of the schools in the county in the eastern section near Plant City maintained an unusual schedule based on the strawberry growing season. These schools were closed from January through March and were referred to as Strawberry Schools. Among these schools were the Glover School, Cork, Keysville, Pinecrest, and Turkey Creek.

Desegregation

Like most public school systems in the southern United States, Hillsborough County once maintained a strictly racially segregated school system. Several schools had a population of 100 percent minority students, including Don Thompson Vocational High School in Tampa, (now known as Blake High School) and the Glover School in Bealsville, Florida near Plant City, while most public schools were for white students only. Following the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision of 1954, a federal district court found in 1962 that Hillsborough County was operating an "illegally segregated public school system". The district spent much of the next 9 years employing various strategies designed to delay integration of the schools.

Hillsborough County began integrating select schools during the 1965-1966 school year, but in 1971, a federal judge ruled that the pace was too slow and ordered the school district to initiate a comprehensive desegregation program.

The school system responded with a busing program designed to result in the same percentage of students by race in each school. The program put almost all of the burden of busing on the black community. Historically black schools, such as Blake and Middleton, were "demoted" to junior high school status and students and teachers, including many who had been there for decades, were reassigned to white suburban schools. Black students faced busing for 10 out of 12 years, while for whites they were only bused 2 of 12 years.

While a relatively small number of white flight schools were founded in this time period, three of the five schools hosted grades six and seven only (the grades in which white students were bused.) Immediately following integration the incidents of school discipline grew rapidly, with half of the students disciplined being black, despite making up only one fifth the student population.

In 1991, the district received court approval for a cluster plan to lessen disruption to students. As part of this plan, the district created magnet schools to attract white students to historically black schools, and single-grade schools were replaced with groupings of ages, such as middle schools. In 1994, the NAACP sued the district, alleging that the schools were being resegregated, with some schools being as much as 90% black. A 1998 court ruling agreed that Hillsborough County's school's were not yet "desegregated to the maximum extent practicable" and continued federal monitoring of the process. For the 2001-2002 school year, the district replaced its busing program with a new school choice in an attempt to reduce re-segregation.

Security Measures

The school district utilizes Hillsborough County Public Schools Security Services and the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office at many schools around the county. Known as School Resource Officers, they provide armed security along with other services where they are assigned. Other jurisdictions assist with service calls in a backup capacity. These agencies include Plant City Police Department, Temple Terrace Police Department, and Tampa Police Department. During some local school sponsored sporting events the district will utilize the Florida Highway Patrol, USF Police Department, and Tampa Airport Police Department in conjunction with the other agencies to provide security.

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Teacher Evaluation and Compensation

In response to the increased demands placed on teachers by the new evaluation system, teachers who opted into the new system would receive a pay increase. The initial increase for most was at least a few thousand dollars, with those earning evaluation scores of 4 or 5 receiving an additional $2,000 or $3,000 each year, respectively.

Technology Integration

The district required educational software that could enable students to catch up, keep up, and get ahead. This software needed to run on all educator devices, student devices, and classroom displays-and it had to be manageable at scale by the existing IT team. HCPS leadership required a plan for standardizing technology in the classroom, a program for training educators on how to optimize it, and for students to get the most benefit.

HCPS also wanted to embrace AI as an educational aid to all teacher-directed instruction. Microsoft 365 Education, Microsoft Teams, and Surface Laptop Go met its cost, longevity, and management needs, as well as the technical needs of its educators. Microsoft Teams, for instance, incorporates Microsoft Translator, Reading Progress, and PowerPoint Live-all of which can be used to increase engagement and understanding in the classroom.

To efficiently integrate these new technologies with Canvas, the district’s learning management system, HCPS enlisted the support of Microsoft and a coalition of experts from PowerUpEDU and Connection. Together, Microsoft, PowerUpEDU, and Connection created a training roadmap for educators and administrators across the district. Educators from 25 schools made up the first class at the academy. The professional learning curriculum focused first on pedagogical excellence developed through the lens of teaching and learning. It explained specifically how educators can leverage technology to enhance teaching methods that improve student learning. The curriculum also included segments on how to prepare and elevate content to enhance student learning experiences more efficiently and effectively. The entire course was developed through the lens of teaching and learning.

Influencers learned methods to elevate engagement using PowerPoint Rehearse with Coach and Sway, how to leverage accessibility tools like Immersive Reader and Translator, and how educators can improve reading comprehension and success with Reading Progress.

Students who could otherwise be left out of a shared classroom learning experience now have more opportunities to engage through Translate. This extends to group work as well, where Abby Roberts from PowerUpEDU has seen teachers begin collaboration sessions between monolingual students on their mobile devices.

For Karen Boone, Second Grade Teacher at Colson Elementary, a CTS pilot school, Reading Progress has been a major benefit during parent-teacher conferences. Other teachers are beginning to use Reflect, a student wellbeing tool populated by research-backed interactive Feeling Monsters who display emotions and allow students to relate how they feel during class.

Teachers at Hillsborough Schools can now confidently create, translate, and share learning content for their classes with ease. They can provide families with additional AI-assisted information and resources regarding the education of their children and spend more time on meaningful student interactions during the day, thanks to the aid of automation. Students will soon be empowered to take control of these same technologies, which will enable them to create their own presentations for class in the same way they have seen teachers demonstrate.

Focus on Resiliency, Character, and Life Skills Education

Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS) in Florida, educators are transforming school culture and student outcomes through an intentional focus on resiliency, character, and life skills education. Since 2020, HCPS has partnered with 7 Mindsets to scale mindset-based learning across their schools. The Hillsborough County Public Schools-7 Mindsets initiative officially launched in 2020 with a phased rollout and includes 50 Foundation- and Readiness-level schools, each receiving tailored coaching and implementation support. The 7 Mindsets curriculum helps educators rediscover the joy of teaching and build stronger relationships with students and colleagues.

Key Metrics

Hillsborough County Public Schools is one of Florida’s largest districts, serving over 224,000 students across the Tampa Bay region.

The AP® participation rate at Alonso High School is 50%.Graduation Rate 96%College Readiness 37.6%Enrollment 9-12 2,930

Graduation Rate 93%College Readiness 36.9%Enrollment 9-12 2,025

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