Dundee Elementary Academy celebrates 'A' status as fall classes begin in Polk County

DUNDEE — As students shuffled into Dundee Elementary Academy on the first day of classes Monday, many wore backpacks so weighted with school supplies that the bags drooped to the backs of their knees.

Some students also carried items intended for others.

Lucas Santmyers emerged from the car drop-off line clutching a bouquet of red roses, which he soon presented to his first-grade teacher, Anali Martinez.

Aaliyah Beward, a fifth-grader working the car line before the start of school, brought along a small metal bucket filled with gifts for her teacher, Kari Hitchcock. In addition to a candy bar, chocolate drops and a miniature whiteboard, Aaliyah carried a pencil box hand-labeled “Mrs. Hitchcock” and a lanyard with a badge holder.

Those gestures, indicating the students’ attachment to their teachers and school, might help explain why Dundee Elementary Academy this year received its first "A" grade. The school began celebrating in the spring with a bowling trip, Principal Lana Tatom Headley said, and will continue the celebration this fall with an axe-throwing session — "A" for “axe.”

Students, though, will not take part in that endeavor.

Polk County Public Schools welcomed approximately 120,000 students back Monday for the first day of fall classes at more than 120 schools. Students at Dundee Elementary Academy seemed generally upbeat, exchanging high-fives with Headley, sharing hugs with teachers and greeting friends with smiles.

As would be expected, though, tears wet the cheeks of some of the younger students. One girl turned away from the entrance, darting back to her parents for final hugs before leaving them to start the school year.

To ease the anxiety, teachers directed students and parents to the Owl Café, the school cafeteria, for the traditional “Boo Hoo Breakfast.” The school served up tissues, along with donuts and juice and coffee.

In the car line snaking toward the drop-off point, Amelia Rogers, a first-grader, sat in the back seat of her mother’s vehicle. Asked how she felt about starting school, Amelia shyly replied, “Excited.”

Upon further prodding, she added, “I am ready to make friends.”

Amelia, 6, wore a new pair of gray Converse sneakers and had a backpack covered with images of unicorns. She attended an orientation the school held last week and came away excited about the art room, said her mother, Laura Rogers.

“I’m excited — ready for her to be learning again,” Rogers said.

Feeling 'kind of nervous'

Essence Johnson, a third-grader, sat in her mother’s car beside her brother, Knowledge Johnson, who attends a different school.

How did Essence feel about starting school?

“Kind of nervous because I don’t know anybody in my class except one person,” she said.

Even so, Essence said she did not have any trouble rising early Monday morning after a summer away from the school schedule.

“It’s the first day of school — you know how it goes,” said her mother, Andramia Jackson. “Give them about two weeks and it’s like" — in a whiny voice — "'I don’t want to get up. I don’t want to go to school.’”

Jeremiah Phillip, a kindergartner, displayed a fresh haircut that his father had given him. He held a Spiderman backpack and matching lunchbox, and he sported bright-red sneakers.

Jeremiah, 5, emitted an adult-level yawn as he stood outside the school building, either out of nervousness or lack of sleep. He offered a one-word summary of his outlook on starting school: “Good.”

His mother, Wanda Phillip, said that the school’s STEM focus — science, technology, engineering and mathematics – appeals to the youngster.

“He's interested in cars; he likes to take them apart and put them back together,” Phillip said. “And he likes environmental stuff, like animals and all that stuff. So I think it will fit his personality well.”

Jeremiah seemed pleased to learn that Dundee Elementary Academy has introduced an agriculture program that allows students to engage with some resident goats.

Watching the older of her two boys venture off to school, Phillip said, “It’s bittersweet. I mean, it's not his first; he went to daycare. But seeing him grow up — time is going fast.”

Oliver Daniels, a fourth-grader, assisted his father, Phillip Daniels, the school’s IB coordinator, in hoisting the American flag on a pole fixed in front of the school.

Bristol Agius, a kindergartner, left her parents’ car accompanied by her sister, Brylee, a fifth-grader. Bristol drew further familial comfort from the straw-colored teddy bear she clutched to her chest, named Papa because it contained ashes from her grandfather.

Superintendent gets his wish

Students donned either blue or red school-issued polo shirts, but they expressed their individuality in various ways. Many girls wore bows, ribbons or hair clips in a range of bright colors. Students’ backpacks conveyed the enthusiasms of the 5-to-12 age group: “Frozen,” “The Little Mermaid,” Captain America, Hello Kitty!, Super Mario, Minecraft, “Paw Patrol,” Barbie, Pokemon, dinosaurs, sunflowers, baseball and Michael Jordan.

One young girl wheeled a large pink bag toward the cafeteria, resembling an adult in an airport.

Polk County Superintendent of Schools Frederick Heid made an appearance, wearing a chartreuse Safety Patrol belt over his striped blue dress shirt. As Heid explained, he had aspired to be part of the patrol unit as a student but had never been picked. After sharing that history with the district’s principals, he found the Safety Patrol belt awaiting him as he arrived Monday morning at Dundee Elementary Academy — something he called “a dream come true.”

Heid said he experienced a sleepless night anticipating the start of his third year as leader of Polk’s public schools.

The district invited media members to the school Monday to highlight its new status as an “A” school. The Florida Department of Education issues schools grades each year based on test scores and learning gains.

New schoolsSee four sites being considered by Polk County to alleviate overcrowding

“Great leadership, great staff, focused on what matters,” Heid said of Dundee Elementary Academy. “Really a very data-driven school, but also balances that with understanding you can get lost in the data if you don't individualize the student experience. So, I give them a lot of credit for doing that. They obviously look at groups of kids and how they're performing, but they also look at individual students to see what they can do to help them.”

Savoring school's first A grade

Dundee Elementary Academy is one of three elementary schools in the district offering the  International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program, which uses an “inquiry cycle” and concept-based learning to prepare students for entering advanced programs at middle and high schools.

Signs displayed on walls at the school reminded students of the main concepts of the IB program, such as, “How we organize ourselves,” “Where we are in place and time,” “How we express ourselves” and “Sharing the planet.”

Small patches on students’ shirts bear the IB logo and read “World School” in English, Spanish and French.

Headley, known on campus as “Dr. Headley” for her doctorate from Florida Southern College, is in her eighth year as the school’s principal. She wore canvas flats painted in gaudy colors and adorned with hearts and the phrase, “Best Principal Ever,” a gift from a former teacher.

Headley said she attributed the “A” grade to her school’s staff.

“They're absolutely amazing,” she said. “Our students worked very hard last year. One of our district’s strategic plan goals is improving student outcomes, so we're very focused on learning gains this year — and family engagement. Our families are very involved in their children's education.”

Headley guessed that 95% of parents participated in the orientation session the previous week.

Under the IB program, teachers start with the state’s required curricula and “kind of put our own spin on it with that big conceptual lens,” Assistant Principal Monica Crosthwaite said. “And so it just lends itself to more out-of-the-box thinking, and more room for learning new things and what they want to learn.”

Students lead parent teacher-conferences, Headley said, and develop IB portfolios that begin in kindergarten. The school emphasizes a “learner profile,” promoting 10 attributes of an IB learner. In August and September, the focus is on being balanced, Headley said.

“That's really helped, I think, over the years with behavior,” said Crosthwaite, who is bilingual and spoke in Spanish to some parents dropping off their children Monday morning. “We don't typically have a lot of issues when it comes to behavior, and I think we attribute that to the learner profile.”

In an adjacent conference room, school leaders had set up a breakfast spread for the staff, complete with 30 donuts covered in an array of frosting colors. A small plastic model of Heid stood near the comestibles.

“I don't know who's more excited — us or the students or the parents,” Headley said.

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.