Student Spotlight – September 2024

Volunteers from the ECPS IT Department, United Way, ECPS Social Workers, Navy Federal, Community Involvement, Student Services, Warehouse staff and community members came together to sort and package donated school supplies from the ‘Stuff the Bus’ event.
We are so grateful to these volunteers, those who served in collecting donations at the area Wal-Mart stores, and, of course, the generous citizens of Escambia County who donated to this worthy cause.
United, we will improve outcomes for our students, their families, and this community.

Every year the American Legion Department of Florida host a Boys State event. This annual educational event is offered to students who just completed their Junior year and introduces them to the actual workings of local, county, and state governments. Students gather with other school representatives from all across the State in our capital city, Tallahassee. During the nonpartisan week-long event students learn the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of franchised citizens. Pensacola Catholic High was represented at Boys State by Carter Adams, Aidan Baker, Jack Barter, and Alastair Casler. They each gained hands-on experience by taking part in the political process through role-playing in civic exercises. The program’s intent is to help students to better understand their individual roles in the democratic ideals that are the foundation of our government.

Montessori School of Pensacola began another school year on August 12th. MSP started in 1977 and serves children toddlers through 8th grade. These are Elementary students at the MSP Montessori Drive campus off Scenic Highway.

Campers at MSP (Montessori School of Pensacola) Summer Camp used creativity to turn everyday objects and clay into creatures from their imagination. Summer Camp activities allow children to create and collaborate in fun and inventive ways. Campers shared their creations with others and brought a lot of smiles.

The 100th episode of Escambia County Public Schools’ ‘Voices United in Education’ podcast is set to drop on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Our Voices United in Education Podcast is a powerful resource for parents, guardians, teachers, staff, students, graduates, volunteers, mentors, and residents of Escambia County. It allows us to practice what we teach by sharing stories about innovative collaborations, exciting programs, and important partnerships that impact the success of our students and community. In this milestone episode—titled, Teachers Rock, LITERALLY—hear how West Florida High School’s juniors went from shock to awe when they found out their AP English teacher is in a band! Joey Truncale is the lead singer of the alternative rock band, Unicorn Wranglers. Listen in to hear how his unusual hobby has helped him better connect with and educate his students.
More than 350 families attended our first Podcastapolooza in March at Booker T. Washington High School. It was a special day and an incredible opportunity for parents and guardians to talk with the guests behind our Voices United in Education Podcast about free tutoring, after care, scholarships, and other programs and resources available to them and their children. The event included teachable moments with different species of wildlife, a live presentation by Animal Tales, and a heroic book reading by one of our ECPS graduates, local author and entrepreneur, Jamal Sharp.
From Podcast to Podcastapalooza, none of this would have been possible without the talent and efforts of our podcast host and producer, Meredith Hackwith Edwards and all the incredible guests and participants who stand united in our vision for every student to succeed. It also takes a team to produce every episode and document the different storylines on video. Special thanks and credit goes to Rodney Durost and Jonathan Suarez, ECPS District Audio/Visual IT Support; Pine Forest High School Teacher of the New Media Academy, David “Bryan” Dawson; and Aaron Jett and Adrian Leonard, now graduates of the New Media Academy at Pine Forest High School.
We have seen more than 20,000 downloads and have recorded more than 100 episodes, which can be accessed at https://linkin.bio/escambiacountypublicschools, VoicesUnitedinEducation.com, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Before school resumed at Montessori School of Pensacola, campers at MSP Summer Camp got to wind down with silly and fun times. The Lazy Days of Summer camp days involved dressing up, making crafts, and more.

Since 2008, Aletheia Christian Academy has participated in Student Leadership University. The vision of SLU is one that is optimistically looking forward towards the goal of empowering, enabling, and equipping students around the globe to rise to the call of leadership. This past summer, select Aletheia high school students had the privilege of attending SLU 101 in Orlando, FL and SLU 201 in Washington, DC. Next year, students will attend these conferences as well as SLU 301, which takes students to London, Oxford, Normandy, and Paris.

The Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) released district and school grades today, and Escambia County Public Schools has maintained a grade of ‘B,’ despite rising state standards. Along with the new higher scale scores adopted last year for reaching proficiency on each exam, the state has raised the percentage cut score for each grade of the school grading system for districts and for some schools.
Elementary schools retained the scale used since 2015 while all other levels saw the score ranges increased by two to three points. To maintain the overall ‘B’, Escambia was required to score at least three points higher than in 2022. Ninety percent of ECPS schools upheld or exceeded past years’ performances. Overall, 13 ECPS schools earned a letter grade of A, 12 schools earned a letter grade of B, 25 schools earned a letter grade of C, and one school earned a letter grade of D, surpassing Escambia County Public Schools’ 2019’s pre-COVID data. No ECPS schools earned a grade of F. “We are so proud of our schools for all their hard work,” said ECPS Superintendent Keith Leonard. “These school grades are a testament to the commitment of our administrators, teachers and students. While we are very proud, we intend to keep our eyes forward and continue to improve. We owe a special debt of gratitude to all of our students, employees, community members, and our
fully supportive and engaged school board. It takes all of us, united, to achieve our goals ”
At the elementary school level, Cordova Park has earned an A every year since 2002, as has Brown Barge at the middle school level. At the high school level, West Florida High School has earned an A since 2005. Bellview Elementary, Holm Elementary, and McArthur Elementary each jumped from a grade of C last year to As this year. Bellview has improved from a D in 2022 to an A in 2024. Montclair Elementary, Warrington Elementary, Lincoln Park Elementary and Global Learning Academy each raised their school grades from Fs to Cs. Individually, an impressive 90% of Molino Park Elementary’s students showed learning gains in math. Similarly, 91% of N.B. Cook’s third graders were proficient in English Language Arts.
Escambia County Public Schools’ middle school acceleration rate was the fourth-highest in the state of Florida. The middle school acceleration rate measures proficiency on high school level courses taken by middle school students, such as Algebra and Biology, as well as high school level industry certifications earned by middle school students. More information on school accountability can be found at https://www.fldoe.org/accountability/accountability-reporting/school-grades/index.stm.

Pensacola Catholic High School welcomed a record number of students “Back to School” as classes began on August 8. On the day before classes, a total of 197 new Freshman Crusaders assembled in the gymnasium for their official orientation day. They, along with 35 upper classmen who entered CHS as either 10th, 11th, or 12th graders, spent the day getting the “lay of the land”, picking up their laptops, and learning some of the important “ins and outs” of student life at Catholic High. Student Council members and student Ambassadors helped new students find their way. All students, a total of 729, kicked-off the 2024-2025 school year with two half-days filled with attending classes to receive course requirements and understand the course/teacher expectations. On Monday, August 12, full class days began. The ‘Crusader Life’ is in full swing again and we can’t wait to see what it will bring.

Exciting developments are underway at Aletheia Christian Academy with the construction of a new high school building. This facility will house classrooms for grades 9 through 12 and is set to be completed this fall. Last May, high school students were invited to write their prayers and favorite Bible verses on the beams of the new building. This added a personal and spiritual touch to their future classrooms that they can’t wait to be in.

The Pensacola Catholic High School Robotics team, aka Crubotics, with their submersible robot, “CAT-5” competed in the MATE (Marine Advanced Technology Education) World Championship, June 18-22 in Kingsport, Tennessee. Crubotics’ Ranger division team consists of 12 members, ranging from Sophomores to Seniors, with one to three years of experience. In April, they competed and secured second place in the Northern Gulf Coast Regionals, hosted by Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Dauphin Island, AL. The team, organized as an engineering company, spent approximately 750 hours over the course of the school year planning, building, and testing a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) underwater robot to accomplish simulated real- world scenarios such as scientific observations, the removal of obstacles on the ocean floor, and the placement of simulated SMART sensors along telecommunications lines. The ROV, piloted from the surface, also simulates the restoration of fish species back into their natural ecosystem and biome. Additionally, the team created a float that collects data in a vertical column of the water and then transmits the data to scientists on the surface. Not only does the Pensacola Catholic Crubotics company have to demonstrate their ROV and the Float as products in the pool, they also have to create technical documentation, present the ROV to judges within the profession, and create a marketing poster highlighting features of the ROV as well as the company. The team’s third appearance at the World Championship resulted in several top ten finishes including 3rd in safety, 7th in Technical Documentation, 9th in Marketing Display and 10th in Engineering Presentation. Congratulations Crubotics! Pictured left to right at the 2024 MATE World Championship, Marriott Meadowview Conference Center, Kingsport, TN, team members Fred Strawitch, Brandon Hoppe, Mac McKinley, Ace London, Caleb Bobe, Lucas Kasianov, Carsyn Neff, Luke Foster, Dylan Nguyen, Grant Robertson, Nicole Peterson, Nate Flores. Photo credit goes to their Mentor and Moderator, Dana Lupton, CHS Stem and Innovation Director.