August 2023

It is an exciting time as students head back to school in Hillsborough County on Thursday. The new school year brings new opportunities for learning and growth under a new leader—Interim Superintendent Van Ayres. He is a familiar face in the district, previously serving as Chief of Strategic Planning and Partnerships. On behalf of our Board of Directors and HEF team, we congratulate him and wish all district staff, students and families a successful school year.

Next month at our annual EmpowerED fundraising luncheon, we will share how we are Unlocking Opportunities to ensure every student has the critical tools and resources they need to succeed. It is always a memorable event at Armature Works and I hope to see you there!

Preparing Students for Success After Graduation

Many students struggle to navigate the postsecondary planning process.

"SCOPE allows me to look at furthering my education after high school."

"SCOPE is a great help to students."

Women in the Workforce Luncheon

"I learned so much. The amazing women in the workforce had useful advice I needed to hear."

This school year, one of the ways HEF plans to expand the impact of our initiatives is by adding a second college and career center in Hillsborough County Public Schools to help students plan for their future.

We successfully launched our first Student Center for Postsecondary Exploration (SCOPE) at King High School last year, in partnership with Gopher Resource. Through one-on-one coaching, classroom presentations, career workshops and college admissions sessions, we served 557 students and assisted high schoolers in:

• Exploring college, technical college and career pathways.
• Applying for financial aid (Bright Futures, FAFSA & more).
• Applying for college.
• Pursuing Technical/Workforce credentials.
• Preparing for SAT/ACT testing.

Our goal is to secure additional funding support from the community and open a total of five more centers by 2026. Preparing tomorrow's workforce in Tampa Bay starts today.

Join Us This Supply Drive Season!

WATCH: Teacher Michelle Cherney shares with Bay News 9 how HEF's Teaching Tools Resource Center supports her students' learning.

Join us at Tropicana Field on Friday, August 11 from 2-8:30 p.m. and receive one free ticket to a future Rays game when you bring a donation!

Our Teaching Tools Resource Center is open for the new school year and now serving ALL full-time HCPS instructional staff!

Before school has even started, we have already served more than 700 teachers!

Thanks to the help of community partners and individual donors, we are able to expand our reach and ensure students throughout Hillsborough County have access to the tools they need to succeed in school.

Recently, Water Street Tampa held a supply drive at multiple downtown locations and helped HEF Stuff the Bus, collecting 990+ pounds of school supplies!

The Tampa Bay School Supply Drive, in partnership with Pinellas Education Foundation, is also going strong in its second year.

As part of the effort, 10 Tampa Bay hosted drives at Target in Riverview and Staples in St. Pete to collect school supplies for students in need on both sides of the Bay.

Get involved and help teachers prepare their classrooms for back to school by hosting your own supply drive, shopping our Amazon wish list or making a monetary donation!

Advocating for Education: Your Tax Investment at Work

SUMMER 2023 SCHOOL PROJECTS

$47.5M in 14 major construction projects

took place over the summer, including:

WOODSON PK-8: $6.8M

Partial A/C Overhaul

TOMLIN MIDDLE SCHOOL: $25M

Partial A/C Overhaul, Fire Evacuation Improvements, Roof Replacement, Window Replacement, Fire Alarm Replacement, Site Drainage, Auditorium Improvements

While school has been out for the summer, the district's operations team and construction crews have been busy working on projects to improve the learning and working environments for students and staff.

Since Hillsborough County voters overwhelmingly supported the half-penny sales tax referendum in 2018, more than $607 million has been invested into our public schools through 600 completed projects.

HEF advocated for the measure that has been a game changer for schools, resulting in these essential projects planned throughout the course of the referendum:

• 203 A/C Units Overhauled
• 63 Roofs Repaired/Replaced
• $23M in Safety & Security Enhancements
• $25M in Technology Upgrades

A Citizen Oversight Committee oversees the spending and completion of the projects and provides transparency to taxpayers.

Projects will continue this fall after school hours and on weekends to ensure no disruptions in teaching and learning. 1,785 projects are expected to be completed over the ten-year referendum.

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