Points of Pride

2024-2025 Accomplishments and Recognitions
Academic Services
- Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS) high school graduation rate for the 2023-2024 academic year increased by 1.8 percentage points over the prior year, to an impressive 88%. Twelve of our high schools earn a graduation rate above 95%.
- HCPS fourth-grade students ranked second among other large districts for reading, according to the 2024 “Nation’s Report Card” released by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
- Four more schools recognized as Purple Star Schools of Distinction by the Florida Legislature making a total of 25 Purple Star Schools in the district.
- During the 2024-25 school year, HCPS continued our Cambridge expansion by onboarding four additional Cambridge Lower Secondary Schools: Benito Middle School, Eisenhower Middle School, Madison Middle School, and Seargent Smith Middle School.
- HCPS was selected as Cambridge's District of the Year in the Large District Category and Showcase District – honoring the district’s work to expand student access to the rigorous Cambridge curriculum, maintain or improve student performance on Cambridge exams, and demonstrate a commitment to education and opportunities.
- In May 2025, approximately 230 Collegiate Academy seniors were on track to earn an AA degree from Hillsborough Community College and participate in both HCC and HCPS Commencement ceremonies.
- Nineteen HCPS Magnet Schools were recognized by Magnet Schools of America as Merit Award Winners for the 2024-2025 school year. Orange Grove Middle Magnet and Walker Middle Magnet IB World School were awarded Top Awards of Excellence. Additionally, four schools were named Merit Schools of Excellence, and thirteen were named Merit Awards of Distinction.
- Hillsborough County Magnet Schools saw over 23,000 applications to join Magnet programs during the Fall and Spring application windows for the 2025-26 school year.
- Bruhat Soma, a rising eighth grader at Turner/Bartels K-8 School in New Tampa, took first place in the century-old Scripps National Spelling Bee on May 29, 2024.
- Highlights from the 2024-25 season of Math Homework Hotline, which has been on the air for 30+ years: 2,351 live student phone calls, representing a 7% increase from the prior year, 107 average number of calls per show, 64 unique teacher users represented, and 32 unique school users represented.
- This year, forty-nine elementary schools and over 2,300 students engaged in the 4H Public Speaking Competition, our largest participation to date, highlighting growing student confidence and communication skills districtwide.
- Fifty-eight HCPS elementary schools, 28 middle schools, and 22 high schools participated in the Black History Brain Bowl, demonstrating their knowledge of state, local, and national African American History and History Makers.
- More than 12,700 students learned about economic and finance concepts in the classroom and then applied their learning through a field trip to JA BizTown.
Academics: Literacy
- Library Media K-5: Partnered with Tampa Sports Commission and NCAA in the Read to the Final Four campaign, engaging 42,375 PK-5 students who read 3,429,648 minutes in myON Reader.
- Library Media K-12: On March 5th, the ninth annual Student Literacy and Media (SLAM) Showcase took place with 142 participating schools K-12 district-wide. Hosted at the Tampa Convention Center, SLAM featured Art & Film festivals showcasing student works inspired by Florida state award-nominated books and live author activities with Mitali Banerjee Ruths, Angela Cervantes, Jarrett Lerner, Ernesto Cisneros, and Natalia Sylvester.
- Library Media K-12: Through the use of the Beanstack reading motivation program, K-12 students in HCPS logged more than 3.8 million minutes of reading, shattering our 2024-25 goal of two million minutes.
- Awarded the state New Worlds Scholar award to eighteen high school juniors and seniors for dedicating 75 or more hours to providing literacy tutoring to kindergarten through third grade students.
- Conducted a successful Scholastic Arts and Writing contest. In our eleventh year serving as the Hillsborough County Affiliate, we had over 330 writing entries; 250 Gold and Silver winners, 1 Gold National winner, and 5 Silver National Winners.
Academics: Music, Arts, and Dance
- Sickles High School Band: Named a National Winner of the NBA Blue Ribbon Program of Excellence.
- Blake High School Music Department: Claims its first alumni to receive a Grammy: Rapper Doechii.
- HCPS are recipients of the "Best Communities in Music Education" award by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM). Awarded to districts that demonstrate outstanding achievement for providing music access and education to all students. Only 5 school districts in Florida received this honor.
- The Blake Dance Department, an active member of the Tampa Arts community, was showcased in the film “Dance Rising - The Power of Water,” which premiered at the Gasparilla International Film Festival.
- At the National High School Dance Festival, nine students from Blake received scholarships to attend nationally and internationally recognized summer dance intensive programs.
Academics: STEM
- The Math Bowl Competition for Intermediate Grades 3-5 was held November 19th-21st at the HCC Trinkle Center, with a total of 1,235 students competing.
- Approximately five hundred students from twenty-six of our twenty-eight high schools attended the 9-12 Math Bowl at USF.
- Eight of our high schools sent math teams to compete in the State Mu Alpha Theta National Math Honor Society Competition. King High School placed 10th overall and Middleton High School placed 9th overall.
- Middleton High School qualified for the Robotics World Championship and won the Rising All-Star Award.
- Three HCPS students qualified for the International Science and Engineering Fair.
- The K-5 Science Olympics district engineering event was held at MOSI on November 2nd with 138 participating schools.
- Sponsored Math League in February for middle school students. In the individual competition, 605 grade 6 students, 292 grade 7 students, and 277 grade 8 students participated, totaling 1,174 students. In the team competition, 137 grade 6 teams, sixty-nine grade 7 teams, and sixty-six grade 8 teams participated, totaling 272 teams.
- Over 1,400 students competed in the regional STEM Fair – the largest academic competition in Hillsborough County Public Schools.
- Students from Randall Middle School were selected to have their science experiment flown to the International Space Station as part of the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP). This is the district's 12th year to launch a project with SSEP, making us the longest continual K-12 district in the country to do so.
Academics: Staff Accolades
- Yung Romano, a 9th grade IB Biology teacher at Strawberry Crest High School, has been honored with the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST).
- Two high school math teachers won the Lignell Award for Excellent Math Teaching.
- Seven HCPS teachers recognized as K-5 Science Superhero Teacher Regional Winners recognized for outstanding leadership in science.
- Over seventy-five administrators, teachers, students, and community members were recognized and awarded plaques and certificates at the 3rd Annual Mindset in Motion event. This event recognizes schools from our STOP the Violence grant with the Department of Juvenile Justice for outstanding leadership and modeling the characteristics of The 7 Mindsets. Participating schools included: Foster, Graham, Miles, Sheehy, Shaw, and Witter elementary schools.
- Teachers at Orange Grove gained their American Ballet Theater Certified Teacher Affiliate endorsements.
- Organizational Orientation: 34 sessions with 1,336 participants. As a result, 79% of those who responded to the survey felt more prepared to teach their students.
- Leadership 101 and 102 training provided to Student Nutrition Services Managers in Training.
Grants
- HCPS was awarded a multi-year grant from the Florida Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) Program for $1.5 million to target birth-grade 12 (B-12) literacy. The grant is funded through the Florida Department of Education.
- FLDOE awarded the HCPS $2,447,279 for workforce development programs. Funding will assist programs focused on 3D Animation Technology, Applied Robotics, and more.
- Awarded a $261,000 FDOE Early Childhood Music Education Grant for all K-8 School Music Departments.
- Awarded a $703,207 FDOE Computer Science Teacher Certification Grant to assist teachers in earning the K-12 computer science certification and industry certifications.
School Choice
- In 2023-24, 87% of all students/families that applied for a Choice/Magnet program received at least one offer.
- In 2023-24, 465 HOPE Scholarships were processed in HCPS.
- In 2024-25, a total of 21,851 students were enrolled in a Magnet program in HCPS, representing a 9.6% increase from the 2023-24 school year.
Athletics
- Middle School Girls Basketball Champion: Turner Bartels
- Middle School Boys Basketball Champion: Sligh
- Middle School Girls Volleyball Champion: Wilson
- Middle School Boys Volleyball Champion: Tomlin
- Middle School Girls Track Champion: York
- Middle School Boys Track Champion: Sligh
- Middle School Girls Soccer Champion: Randall
- Middle School Boys Soccer Champion: Martinez
- FHSAA Class 2A Girls Lacrosse State Champions: Plant High School
- FHSAA Class 4A Girls Flag Football State Champions: Alonso High School
- FHSAA Class 2A Girls Flag Football State Champions: Robinson High School
- FHSAA State Boys Swimming Individual Champion: Gaither
- FHSAA State Cheer Champions: Plant City, Strawberry Crest
- FHSAA State Girls Basketball Champions: Bloomingdale
- UCA NHSCC National Cheerleading Champions: Bloomingdale, Plant City
Budget & Finance
- Fitch Ratings upgraded the district’s credit rating from 'A' to 'A+'. This significant upgrade is a testament to the district’s continued fiscal responsibility and financial stability.
Operations
- Refreshed eleven media centers and four cafeterias across the district.
- Led space planning and furniture, fixtures, and equipment (FFE) coordination for Erwin Surgical Center, Villemaire Transportation Center, Harney Road Transportation Center, Adum K-8, and Newsome High School Auditorium.
- Partnered with McKinstry and TECO to optimize energy rate structures.
- Coordinated FEMA reimbursement orders for forty-seven sites affected by the 2024 storms.
- Adum K-8: Received an Award of Merit from the Hillsborough Planning Commission.
- Robinson High School: Earned an Award of Excellence from the Hillsborough Planning Commission.
- Robinson High School Renovation (Referendum Year 3): Won the 2024 Excellence in Construction Eagle Award in the Institutional $50-$100 million category from Associated Builders and Contractors.
- Tinker K-8 Rebuild: Secured an $86.4 million grant from the Department of Defense's Office for Local Defense Community Cooperation to rebuild the school (January 2025).
- Morgan High School: Awarded the Hillsborough County Commissioning Award in the Planning Category.
Operations: Growth Management & Planning
- HCPS Green Teams: 144 school and district sites participated, with fifty-nine sites (2,876 students) earning HCPS Green Team Recognition for Environmental Stewardship in Communication & Education, Waste Reduction, Water Conservation, Energy Efficiency, and Air Quality. (Awards presented at the May 2025 School Board Recognition Meeting)
- Riverview High School: First in Hillsborough County to receive the Green Apple designation from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for Florida Green Schools. (Recognized at the December 2024 SB Recognition Meeting)
- Energy Star Certification: Eighty-seven schools are Energy Star certified as of March 2025. (Recognition at the May 2025 SB Recognition Meeting)
- Tinker K-8 Construction: HCPS’s first Net-Zero project.
- $2.3 Million dollar renovation with Equipment Upgrades and Modernizing the space for Erwin Technical Colleges Surgical Technology Career Certificate Program.
- $300K dollars in Equipment Upgrades and Modernizing the Practical Nursing Program at Erwin Technical College
- We are completing the expenditure of over $5,000,000 CAP Grant for capital improvements at 10 high schools, and we await official awarding of over $3,000,000 of CAP grant for 25-26 projects.
Operations: Security and Emergency Management
- Completed digital mapping and asset tagging for all HCPS sites, providing detailed asset and site location data for emergency response. This data is shared with all public safety agencies in the county.
- Security team collected donations for and provided Christmas gifts to students at 15 elementary schools during the holiday season.
- Presented seven workshops at the Council of Great City Schools' 2025 Chief Operating Officer and Directors of Facilities, Child Nutrition, Safety & Security, and Transportation Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina (April 2025).
Human Resources: Personnel Services
- Implemented TAMS and TAMS Training Modules.
- Placed 153 EPI teachers, 43 Amergis teachers, and 17 TFA teachers.
- Processed 1,379 instructional and 1,676 support personnel, totaling 3,055.
- Hired 30 paraprofessionals and 269 teachers from Kelly Services.
- Implemented feedback loop via survey to principals for Amergis, EPI, Kelly, and TFA (93 responses).
- Implemented 60-day survey (238 responses) and 90-day survey (248 responses).
- Implemented long-term para subs through Kelly Services.
- Certification and partners attended monthly AP meetings.
- Collaborated with ESE department to include ESE Supervisor for HR.
- Identified and tracked sites with 10+ vacancies and TN vacancies.
- Partners and App Center Reps teams expedited applications.
- Implemented hiring initiative through hiring stipends for Educator Interns, ESE, and Multilingual Bonus.
- Created Centers of Excellence – teams of HR Partner, HR Representatives, and Application Representatives working with the same sites.
- Held regional open houses at ISC, Shields MS, Turkey Creek MS, and Leto HS.
Human Resources: Employee Benefits
- Approved for self-funding in 2026.
- Provided electronic enrollment materials for annual enrollment (went green).
- Achieved largest health fair participation in a non-transitionary year.
- Changed BENCOR stable fund value from 1.5% to 2.8%.
- Tax Shelter Account RFP resulted in the addition of two new companies.
- Changed FICA Alternative refund waiting period from 120 days to 30 days.
- Decreased dental and vision premiums.
- Wednesday Virtual Wellness exercise sessions had over 1,000 participants per month; added a mid-morning session at the request of Transportation.
- Awarded Platinum status for Workplace Wellbeing by the American Heart Association.
- Implemented a financial onboarding workshop for new employees.
- Thrive in 2025 Weight-loss Challenge had 998 participants who lost over 1,700 pounds.
- Awarded Gold Status by Mental Health America for the Bell Seal.
Human Resources: Performance Evaluation
- Collaborated with USF and UT in creating evaluation frameworks, scripting, and feedback resources for College of Education students.
- Placed 75+ College of Education final interns from college and university partners.
- Placed 250 Introduction to Education students.
- Placed 300+ College of Education practicum students from college and university partners.
- Selected, developed, and supported a new cohort of elementary schools for clinical education placement.
- Enhanced cohort partnerships visibility, presence, and support availability with additional DRT units, specifically in Transformation Network schools.
- Sixteen actively enrolled students in Para-to-Pro programs at partner colleges/universities; one fall graduate ready to teach in the spring.
- Thirteen new STEP (Supporting Teachers in ESE Prep) participants joined the fall cohort.
- Released evaluation score reports to 13,603 employees and reported data to the Florida Department of Evaluation within set deadlines, despite multiple-day closures from two hurricanes.
- Effectively conducted Inquiry Period 1 for VAM verification using data from the new Synergy platform.
- Presented the department’s work on feedback and teacher growth at the annual Council of the Great City Schools Annual Conference (From Scores to Success: Redefining Evaluation and Feedback to Empower Educators).
Human Resources: Professional Development Opportunities
- Certified 300+ classroom teachers as eligible to host student interns’ completion of the Clinical Educator course.
- Conducted 12 Code of Ethics training sessions for Professional Standards.
- Trained and certified fifty newly hired administrators as observers/evaluators on the HCPS observation and evaluation process.
- Developed a new professional learning course for employees, "Getting the Feedback You Deserve," to help employees engage confidently with the observation process, harness feedback for growth, and transform their practice.
- Trained all HCTA leadership and staff on the HCPS observation and evaluation process, with a specific lens on how administrators are certified as observers/evaluators.
- Collaborated with Academic Services, Leadership Development, and the Chief of Schools to develop and provide enhanced training for principals on the correlation between and use of the Educator Evaluation Instrument and HCPS’s Model of Instruction.
- Provided training for Assistant Principal Induction Program (APIP) participants and elementary APs on growing employees through effective feedback.
- Placed 200+ College of Education final interns from college and university partners.
- Placed 250 Introduction to Education students.
- Placed 300+ College of Education practicum students from college and university partners.
- Selected, developed, and supported a new cohort of elementary schools for clinical education placement (five additional sites: Thompson, Tampa Heights, Nelson, Baycrest, and Doby).
- Twenty-one actively enrolled students in Para-to-Pro programs at partner colleges/universities; seven spring graduates ready to teach in the fall.
- Nine new STEP (Supporting Teachers in ESE Prep) participants joined the spring cohort.
- Initiated plans for the establishment of a program to recruit and support secondary science and math educators.
- Hired and supported four new educators under the FLDOE-approved Temporary Teacher Internship Certificate.
- Effectively conducted Inquiry Period 2 for VAM verification using data from the new Synergy platform.
- Created and established documented Evaluator Standards to inform all departmental work and planning.
- Presented the department’s work on feedback and teacher growth at the annual Future of Education Technology Annual Conference (Transforming Teacher Observations: Leveraging Microsoft Tools for Enhanced Feedback).
- Certified 300+ classroom teachers as eligible to host student interns’ completion of the Clinical Educator courses.
- Conducted six Code of Ethics training sessions for Professional Standards.
- Presented Code of Ethics training to University of Tampa College of Education students.
- Trained and certified thirteen newly hired administrators as observers/evaluators on the HCPS observation and evaluation process.
Human Resources: Services & Support
- Received the 3rd Stage Diamond Award for the implementation of a new talent acquisition management system (TAMS).
- Implemented the Center of Excellence.
- Implemented salary increases for the first instructional pay date of the 2024-2025 school year.
Human Resources: Leadership Development
- Conducted nearly 600 individual coaching visits for new leaders by the leadership specialists and coordinators (July 1 - present for new APs and Principals).
- Over 500 course participants attended after-hours leadership courses (July 1 - present).
- Nearly 300 District Leadership Symposium leaders participated in professional learning courses.
- 111 teachers participated in two Future Leaders Academy (FLA) information sessions.
- Seventy-nine assistant principals attended the PNP Information Session.
- Ninety-six leaders were screened for FLA and PNP programs.
- 112 teachers attended the University Recruitment Fair with our 10 University Partners, double the usual attendance.
- Awarded $13,000 from Suncoast Schools grants and the Hillsborough Education Foundation for Pipeline Program support.
- Fifty-one percent of leaders of color were recruited and selected to enter the 2025-26 Preparing New Principals (PNP) cohort (district’s strategic goal is 38%).
2023-2024 Accomplishments and Recognitions
District Level Accomplishments
- FOUR of our Magnet Schools have been recognized on a national scale once again!
- The Project Lead the Way National Distinguished School Award is going to be awarded to:
- All High Schools in Hillsborough County Public Schools Rank Among Top in the Nation According to U.S. News & World Report.
- Two district schools appear in the top 50 in the state of Florida on the newly released Best High Schools report, while ALL high schools appear in the overall state and national rankings
- 27 of our magnet schools have been named National Magnet Award winners by Magnet Schools of America
- Hillsborough County Public Schools was awarded $7.9 million in funding for clean school buses as part of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s first Clean School Bus Program Grants Competition.
- Hillsborough County Public Schools Elementary and Middle Schools Named Among the Best in the State by U.S. News & World Report rankings.
- Sixty-one of our district schools earned a Best Elementary Schools badge and 32 schools earned a Best Middle Schools badge for placing among the top 40% in the state on the newly released Best Elementary Schools and Best Middle Schools report.
- Thirty-eight Hillsborough County Public Schools Recognized as 2022-23 Schools of Excellence by Florida State Board of Education. Schools of Excellence are schools whose school grade calculation is in the 80th percentile or higher for at least two of the last three school years. The Florida Legislature established the Schools of Excellence program in 2017 as an initiative to recognize and reward Florida’s highest-performing schools.
- The National Merit Scholarship Corporation has announced over 2,900 winners of the National Merit Scholarships financed by U.S. colleges and universities, 36 of which attend Hillsborough County Public Schools.
Divisional Accomplishments

Student Support and Federal Programs
- Exceeded the state target for proficiency rate for students in HCPS with IEPs in 4th and 8th grade math.
- Exceeded the state target for closing the gap in proficiency rates for students with IEPs in 4th, 8th, and high school reading.
- Exceeded the state target for percentage of students with IEPs aged 3, 4 and 5 who are enrolled in a preschool program attending a regular early childhood program and receiving most of the special education and related services in the regular early childhood program.
- Exceeded the state target for the percentage of students who are no longer in secondary school, had IEPs in effect at the time they left school, and were enrolled in higher education or in some other postsecondary education or training program; or competitively employed or in some other employment within one year of leaving high school.
- Offered over 30 training courses for over 300 parents of students with disabilities.
- Over 700 students participated in the Special Olympics.
- Five Burnett Middle School students on access points participated in the Robofest World Championship Finals in Michigan, earning an Award of Appreciation. They ranked 10th place out of 15 other finalists in the Jr. Exhibition category. Our HCPS students were the ONLY group with disabilities represented out of 16 countries!
- Hillsborough County Public Schools in conjunction with the University of Central Florida and the University of South Florida was awarded a $7.2 million grant titled:
  Unlimited Potential Initiative: Empowering Students, Families, and Communities through Statewide University Partnerships and High-Needs Districts
  This will allow for the expansion of six additional Community Schools over the next five years.
- The Early Childhood department successfully delivered our first Early Childhood Symposium in April 2024, providing professional development to over 50 early childhood teachers and community providers on early literacy strategies, aiming to improve school readiness rates.
- The HCPS Early Childhood Literacy Mobile Classroom was launched to the public in April 2024, providing families and students access to developmental screenings, literacy, and technology.
- Over 4,500 HCPS staff members have completed the Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) training during the 2023-2024 school year. Since 2018, over 21,000 employees have become Youth Mental Health First "Aiders".
Academic Services
- HCPS was honored nationally by the Center of Fine Arts Education as the winner of the 2023 Best District Comeback from Covid/Youth Art Month Award.
- Alonso HS administered their first International Baccalaureate examinations, becoming the fifth HCPS HS that give students the opportunity to graduate with an IB diploma.
- Martinez MS Robotics IQ teams won the Regional State Championship for the Northern region of Florida and went on to compete in the VEX Robotics World Championships in Dallas, Texas in May 2024.
- The national Spelling Bee winner was an HCPS student from Turner-Bartels K-8 school.
- Over 72,000 college credit opportunities were made available to HCPS students.
- Shore Elementary Magnet School became the third school in HCPS history to be named a National Magnet Demonstration School.
- The Dual language Program was successfully launched at 3 middle schools (Pierce, Smith and Shields) to continue the path of biliteracy for the program completers.
- Seniors earning the Biliteracy seal increased by 24% from 1,560 to 1,933 students.
- The Congressionally Funded Arts Education Grant awarded Transformation Network $1,986,353 to incorporate arts education (Straz Center and Tampa Museum of Art) to impact approximately 39,000 economically disadvantaged students attending Transformation Network schools.
- The Joy of Reading Partnership with Bess the Book Bus initiated a Pop-Up Mobile Library with 8 Transformation Network Schools (Broward, Edison, Lockhart, Palm River, Potter, Shaw, Sheehy, Sulphur Springs) to provide free books for home libraries for students 3-7 years of age. This program provided 45 Pop-Up Book Fairs, distributed 16,050 new books, equipped classrooms with 1,879 books, and visited 8,876 students.
- The HCPS Literacy team hosted the first annual literacy symposium at Chamberlain HS in May 2024. Over 1,000 teachers participate in professional learning relating to the science of reading.
- Randall MS had 2 projects selected to be flown to the International Space Station. SY 23-24 was the 11th year to have projects launched to the ISS.
- HCPA had 96 schools at all grade levels participate in the annual Black History Brain Bowl.
Technology
- Refreshed classroom student computing technology, adding over 49,000 student laptops, 725 laptop carts, and nearly 2,000 iPads throughout the district.
- Upgraded almost 7,000 classrooms to Newline smart panels.
- Upgraded over 4,000 classrooms to utilize the Audio Enhancement classroom audio system.
- Upgraded the district’s primary Financial and Human Resources system in January.
Human Resources & Capital
- Processed 1511 total Personnel
- Processed 2297 Support Personnel
- Hiring of Highly Qualified staff (3800+)
- Attended or Hosted 113 Recruitment Events
- 40% of employees participate in Vitality4U, the district’s comprehensive wellbeing program.
- 95% of employees who participated in our 2024 Wellbeing Culture Survey agree the district's wellbeing program has had a positive impact on their life.
- Employee participation in onsite mammograms through the Mobile Mammography Bus increased by 21%.
- Trained and supported a network of 240 Wellbeing4U Champions to enhance individual employee and school culture.
- Implemented an innovative observation and feedback system for educators, garnering a 90% endorsement rate from educators who found it to be beneficial.
- Facilitated and supported evaluations process resulting in a 91% satisfaction rate among employees.
- Strategically place College of Education pre-service teachers in Transformation Network and high needs schools to provide diversified experiences prior to hiring as full-time teachers.
- The Clinical Education Team have presented with the 2023-2024 USF Outstanding Partnership Award for exemplary achievement and continuous contribution to facilitating and supporting partnerships between HCPS (Hillsborough County Public Schools) and Universities.
- Implemented the Supporting Teachers in ESE (Exceptional Student Education) Prep (STEP) Program, which hired, trained, and supported 22 teachers in high need positions of exceptional student education instruction.
- Facilitated a program to utilize clinical educators’ interns as substitute teachers to fill teacher absences.
- Successfully Onboarded 57 new leaders in best practices for supporting employees in the workplace and managing critical incidents.
- Settling all union contracts and 3 full contract books by November 2023 (earlier than recent history).
- Implemented a process to award an Advanced Degree Supplement for over 3000 instructional employees
- Mental Health America awarded us the silver award for the Bell Seal.
  Family & Community Engagement
- Developed a Community Partnership Alliance comprised of a diverse group of community leaders who are committed to creating the best possible educational experiences for our students, by leveraging the unique perspectives and resources of our community leaders.
- Inaugural Community Partnership Alliance, launch | 50 invited community leaders
- Facilitated ongoing parent education through the Fathers and Families initiative to ensure that our fathers/male caregivers are equipped with skills that will enable them to advocate for their child’s well-being, build capacity to assist their child(ren) with academic learning, and increase parent engagement.
- Eighty-five % of students of the fathers/male care givers who participated in Fathers and Families Initiative, had less than 20 absences.
- Ninety-one % of students of the fathers/male care givers who participated in the Fathers and Families Initiative, had zero Out-of-School Suspensions.
- Delivered Parent Education via the Parent School Partnership (PSP) Program to empower parents and schools to build authentic partnerships and strengthen parental skills and advocacy for their children's education.
- Ninety-three % of students whose parents participated in the PSP program had less than 20 absences.
- One hundred % of the students whose parents participated in the PSP program had zero Out of School Suspensions.
- Increased 190 to 200 the number of schools that have an active PTSA.
- Facilitated an ongoing professional learning series for all school-based FACE Ambassadors to equip school-based liaisons with resources and strategies that help them partner with family and community members in support of overall school improvement.
- increased opportunities for parental voice to be a part of the decision-making process and overall school improvement on school campuses from 18,790in 2023 to 21,740 in 2024.
- Coordinated a Summer Camp SPIN for Immigrant students for newly arrived monolingual learners to participate in language enhancement summer camp designed for language acquisition and cultural understanding.
Budget & Finance
- Balanced operating budget, expenditures less than revenue.
- Healthy and stable fund balance, in 2011 the district’s fund balance was less than 3% and the district was reporting monthly to FLDOE to a fund balance of $147.5 million and in 2023 the district’s fund balance was of $330 million.
- Bond rating has been upgraded to an affirmative A rating and the outlook went from negative to stable.
Operations
- HCPS Chief of Security and Emergency Management, John Newman was appointed to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Commission.
- Continued success of the HCPS SecurityEM, Inc., a not-for-profit organization that provides financial support to HCPS students and staff, NOPE, and Miracle Outreach, which assists female students who have been victims of human trafficking.
- Land Swapped with the City of Plant City 16.29 +/- acres for the Plant City Career Center.
- The Operational Effectiveness team successfully coordinated and executed more than 7 Media Center refreshes during the 2023-2024 school year and oversaw the planning and purchasing of all Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment (FFE) for Adum PK8 School.
- The Operational Effectiveness team planned and hosted on-site events for the Tampa Bay Technical High School Architectural Advisory Board to include students, HCPS staff, and industry professionals with an emphasis on career planning and student recognition.
- Broke ground in May 2023 at High School UUU in Wimauma, Hillsborough County. This campus, our largest ever, will accommodate 3,400 students with 358,958 square feet on a 99-acre site, costing $176 million. It is set to open in August 2025.
- Completed construction of Kenneth E. Adum PK-8 Magnet School in South Tampa, opening in August 2024 for 1,620 students. This 165,832-square-foot school on 12.97 acres cost $63.4 million and features an International Studies magnet program.
- Funded by the 2018 Half-Penny Sales Tax Referendum, our department oversaw $120 million in projects during the 2023-2024 school year. These projects included new construction, HVAC overhauls, fire alarm upgrades, roof and window replacements, weight room expansions, and installation of artificial turf fields and rubber tracks.
Innovation & Strategic Planning
- HCPS students earned over 18,500 industry certifications and are on pace to exceed the prior year’s number of certifications.
- HCPS CTAE - Workforce Division has moved into the 3rd Highest Funded in the state.
- $300K dollars in Equipment Upgrades and Modernizing the Automotive Program at Plant City High School / Aparicio Levy Technical College
- Adult Education Served over 16,450 Adult Credit, GED, and ESOL students during the 23/24 school year, a 37% increase from the 22/23 (12,107) school year. Adult Education also Exceeded the FDOE student Measurable Skill Gains and the Student Academic Success Standards for All FDOE Adult Education programs.
- Adult Education opened 12 Graduation Advance Program (GAP Classes) on high school campuses to help over 450 high school juniors and seniors who were at least one grade level behind gain the credits needed to graduate on time with their senior class.
- The Adult Education Credit Recovery and GAP programs assisted K-12 Students in earning 17,804 half credits towards graduation during the 23/24 school year. During the 22-23 school year, Adult Education Credit Recovery students earned 11,212 half credits; this year, there was a 59% increase in credits earned through Adult Education Credit Recovery and GAP.
- HVK12+ Part-Time/Full-Time Sites completed 16,010 semester courses during the 23-24 school year (this number will increase as students are still working in courses from the school year)
- HVK12+ Credit Recovery Sites completed 9,198 courses during the 23-24 school year with 3,006 students that graduated during the 22-23 school year completing a credit recovery course
- HCPS increased the number of Purple Star Schools from 9 to 21 demonstrating our commitment to our military-connected families.
- Hillsborough Virtual K-12 won the FLVS Franchise of the Year Award for 2023-2024.

Points of Pride

2024-2025 Accomplishments and Recognitions

2023-2024 Accomplishments and Recognitions