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Kimbell Gets Set To Open

Kimbell Elementary must be set up within 10 working days.

Tampa Tribune photo by JIM REED

Kimbell Elementary teacher Ashley Harden unloads school supplies from her car to take to her classroom.

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By KENNETH KNIGHT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 12, 2008

TEMPLE CREST - The pace of activity in the parking lot at Kimbell Elementary School was just as hectic as the unpacking taking place inside.

Last week, teachers in jeans and sneakers pushed carts filled with colorful books and binders across the hot pavement toward the two-story building on North 46th Street.

Loaded-down instructors crept past sweaty movers. The smell of fresh paint wafted across the breezeways that stretch past each classroom door.

It was moving-in time at Kimbell Elementary, and the campus was buzzing.

Principal Sheryl Marceaux, carrying a two-way radio, whipped down one corridor, then another. She zipped down a stairwell, then breezed out a back hallway toward the parking lot, where she greeted teachers coming in.

Marceaux is no stranger to the demands of opening a new school. She helped open Pizzo Elementary School on the University of South Florida campus in 1998, her first year as an assistant principal.

Marceaux

"It's a challenge," Marceaux said. "It's a lot of work. You feel as though you have accomplished something.

"The staff is coming together to get a lot done in a short period of time. It takes teamwork."

The building contractor, Batson-Cook Construction, turned over the school to Marceaux last week, compressing the time it takes to move in furniture and set up classrooms to about 10 working days before school starts.

On Aug. 6, teachers Brandy Cartwright, Miriam Everett and Amanda Harris sat on the floor in a second-floor classroom surrounded by stacks of boxes. They waded through each container, removing mounds of paperback math books and other reading materials. They organized and stacked the books along the wall for distribution.

Everett, a 33-year-old fourth-grade teacher, said the experience of getting the school ready for Monday's opening was a blend of excitement and organized chaos.

"It looks like everything isn't running smoothly, but it's well-organized," she said.

Cartwright, 27, also a fourth-grade teacher, said she believes the hard work will pay off. "We are [building] a family," she said.

Harris, 35, an exceptional student education specialist, said her mother may have said it best: The new school "is going to make a difference in the kids' attitude" about learning.

The three teachers and others who taught at Pizzo Elementary last year followed Marceaux to Kimbell Elementary.

The school is projected to serve 514 students who live south of Busch Boulevard, east of 37th Street, west of 50th Street and north of the Hillsborough River. Kimbell is expected to draw 269 students from the Pizzo Elementary attendance area and 245 from the Forest Hills Elementary attendance area.

Marceaux said she has put together a "great staff and great diversity in many different aspects, including in terms of teaching experience." Some are National Board-certified teachers and many have master's degrees, she said.

The principal said she will stress to teachers the importance of professional development.

"We will be doing a lot of training for staff related to the curriculum, instructional strategies and interventions," she said.

Teachers and the school staff have held meetings to talk about uniting to establish a school culture, set norms and develop shared values.

The school has a big reputation to live up to.

It is named for Sylvia Rodriguez Kimbell, a respected former Hillsborough County commissioner and public school educator remembered for her candor and ability to help bridge racial divides. She died of cancer in 1994.

The campus also is built on land occupied for nearly four decades by two community landmarks, Temple Heights Baptist Church and Temple Heights Christian School.

The school board purchased 7.5 acres of the church-school site at 46th Street and Regnas Avenue to build the public school. The district negotiated a purchase price of $4 million for property that had been appraised at about $7 million.

The school and church were torn down in December. Construction workers built the new school in six months.

The school is made up of three detached structures — the administrative offices, the classroom building and a third building housing the media center and cafeteria — connected by breezeways. The exterior and interior walls at Kimbell are painted in muted greens. Well-maintained plants and young trees adorn the lawn and common areas.

The Temple Crest Civic Association, which supported construction of the public school, has petitioned city transportation officials to add more sidewalks and traffic control devices on streets near the campus. Association members say a two-way stop on Regnas Avenue at 46th Street is insufficient to serve the needs of the new school.

Marceaux agreed. "A four-way stop sign would be more conducive," she said.

Temple Crest resident Gerald White said he hopes the city and school district can work out a deal to permit neighborhood children use of the school playground and basketball courts after school hours.

Marceaux said she is aware of the request, but it's a decision for school district officials.

Besides, her hands are full supervising the moving-in.

Marceaux said the work really begins next week, when some 70 teachers and support staff members welcome more than 500 students and parents to campus.

"We are looking forward to establishing an active PTA with a lot of parent involvement," the principal said. "I am also interested in forging relationships with businesses and community organizations."

KIMBELL ELEMENTARY

PRINCIPAL: Sheryl Marceaux

MASCOT: Cougar

SCHOOL COLORS: Hunter green, navy, gold

PROJECTED ENROLLMENT: 514

ADDRESS: 8406 N. 46th St.

PHONE: (813) 983-3900

Reporter Kenneth Knight can be reached at (813) 865-4842 or kknight@tampatrib.com.

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