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School Passes Its First Test

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By KENNETH KNIGHT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 27, 2008

TEMPLE CREST - Shadae and Corey Lewis could hardly sit still as the first day got under way at Kimbell Elementary.

Neither her children's fidgetiness nor the standing-room crowd in the administration office could deter Morlisa Lewis from enrolling Shadae, 7, and Corey, 8, at the new neighborhood school.

"I was trying to decide whether to let them go here or to Clair-Mel Elementary, where they attended school last year, Lewis said.

She expects they will miss their teachers and friends at Clair-Mel, but the change is worth it.

They will attend a new school with veteran teachers who taught at other elementaries last year. And better yet, the school is only blocks from their home.

"They will be able to walk to school," Lewis said.
Shadae tried to ease her mother's concerns.

"This is a new school, and I like it," the first-grader said.

The first day at Kimbell Elementary, 8406 N. 46th St., went off without a hitch. Principal Sheryl Marceaux said 356 students were enrolled the first day. School district officials project a first-year enrollment of 514 at a school built to accommodate about 600.

Schoolchildren and their parents began arriving before dawn Aug. 18 to get their first peek inside the school named for Sylvia Rodriguez Kimbell, a former Hillsborough County educator and county commissioner.

"Why does it smell like new paint?" said Jamil Brascom, an 8-year-old second-grader.

The faint scent of fresh paint didn't bother Jamil's grandmother Bertha Williams, who was more concerned about getting her three grandchildren enrolled.

"It's going to be a great day for them to go back to school," Williams said.
Marceaux and her 70 teachers and support staff members swarmed the campus, greeting students and parents as they walked in. Relatives were encouraged to tag along as each student was escorted to his or her homeroom class.

Karen Williams, who initially expressed frustration at having to complete paperwork for a second time to register her nephew and foster son for school, left campus happy a short while later. She learned her foster child, second-grader Solomon Clemente, had been assigned the same teacher who taught him during summer school at Sulphur Springs Elementary.

"It's wonderful," Williams said. "I don't have to explain everything to a new teacher. My day is turning out good."

Laura Foster had a similar experience.

"Everything is working out just fine," she said after returning to campus shortly after 10 a.m. for a quick check on her daughter, Mykeria Harris, a 5-year-old kindergartner.

Foster left campus hours earlier to find a notary public to witness her signature on a proof of residence form before her children could be enrolled.

The first day at Kimbell was a new experience for everyone. Teachers and members of the administrative staff said they are still getting to know one another and figuring out their way around campus.

"That's part of the excitement," fourth-grade teacher Miriam Everett said. "We are all learning about Kimbell together."

In an effort to ensure the children's safety, Tampa Police Officer J.D. Wyche was assigned to be on the lookout for speeders and other traffic violators. He said he issued one warning citation for speeding near campus the first morning of school.

Crossing guard Estella Holloway showed up for work before sunrise to begin a new job at a new school in a new city.

"I came here from Fort Lauderdale, where I was a school crossing guard," Holloway said while waiting for students and adults to gather on the sidewalk where she stood.

Holloway blew her whistle and walked to the center of 46th Street at Regnas Avenue, holding a stop sign above her head. Holloway grabbed quick glances over each shoulder while streams of schoolchildren and adults crossed behind her.

"They all seem to know where they are going," Holloway said with a chuckle.

The crowd that filled the school administration office and traffic that clogged nearby streets were gone by midmorning. Kimbell, the home of the Cougars, had successfully opened for business.

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

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