- Robinson Elementary
- Overview
Overview
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PRINCIPAL/ADMINISTRATOR: Timothy Delgado
Phone: (813) 757-9424
Fax: (813) 757-9074Student Hours: 7:40 AM to 1:55 PM
Uniforms: No Uniforms
Before School Program: Yes
After School Program: Yes
School History
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J. S. Robinson Elementary School, 4801 South Turkey Creek Road, Plant City, Florida, was built in 1961. Prior to J. S. Robinson being built, the small community elementary school was Turkey Creek Elementary. It was housed in the 1928 two story, brick building which had been the first Turkey Creek High School.
The new elementary school, J. S. Robinson, was built on a 16 acre site next door to the campus of Turkey Creek High School and Turkey Creek Junior High. On February 15, 1962, the teachers and students marched down the sidewalk and moved into their new elementary school.
J. S. Robinson Elementary School was named for James Seward Robinson, who had taught school and served as a principal in East Hillsborough County for 20 years. He also served 20 years on the Hillsborough County School Board.
The first principal of J. S. Robinson was Mrs. Irene Sexton, who served as principal from the school’s opening in 1962 until 1969. Mr. Paul Woods served as principal for 13 years, 1969-1982. Mr. Jack McMillan was then principal for five years, 1982-1987. He was followed by Dr. Dennis Higgins, 1987-1990. Mrs. Linda Ingram Budd then served as principal until 2000. Mrs. Jane Morgan was appointed principal of J. S. Robinson in 2000 and served as principal till 2010. Mrs. Alicia Brobst Wilkerson served as principal from 2010-2022. Mr. Timothy Delgado is now the current principal of Robinson Elementary School, where he continues the work to center students and families.
J. S. Robinson’s school colors of orange and blue and the school mascot, the roadrunner, were adopted in 1982 after a student body vote was held by the student council.
Over the years, several new buildings have been added to the campus to accommodate the growing enrollment. In 1968, with J. S. Robinson on double session, a four classroom pod was completed which allowed a return to single session. A six classroom Exceptional Student building was completed in 1975 followed closely in 1976 by a media center and a building for Educable Mentally Handicapped students. By the 1990’s, J. S. Robinson had become critically overcrowded with a peak number of 22 portables in 1998-1999.
In 2000 J. S. Robinson Elementary School under went a five million dollar renovation, remodeling and new construction program. A new building which houses eight new classrooms, four resource rooms, a complete computer lab and a music room was completed with the construction. An outdoor pavilion with picnic tables was added in 2003.
J. S. Robinson has a large exceptional student population as it serves the area for physically impaired, autistic, and Intellectually Delayed students, as well as varied exceptionalities. J. S. Robinson also serves the needs of very young students with two classes of Early Education Learning Program and one class of Head Start. J. S. Robinson has a very fine gifted program and our Federal Title 1 program earned us National Distinguished Title 1 school honors for 1998, one of only five schools in the state of Florida to receive this recognition. During the 2012-2013 school year we moved into more of an inclusion model.
J. S. Robinson has been the recipient of many grants over the past few years adding many thousands of dollars to improve instruction and foster student achievement. Many of these grant dollars have been used to support our needs in the technology area. We have over 375 computers used in classrooms. In 2009-2010 school year we also purchased 31 Promethean Interactive Learning Boards. Also, in 2010 we completed our covered court project, called The Morgan Pavilion.
High standards are reinforced at J. S. Robinson Elementary through the use of many innovative projects. Recognizing the special characteristics and unique needs of our multicultural and ESE population, we utilize a variety of learning strategies such as many hands-on and outdoor projects which provide real world experiences. Our students participated in Earth Force working to protect our natural resources for the future. Through this project, they won second place in the school division of the Gulf Guardian Award. They also won the Florida Schools Garden Competition sponsored by Epcot and the University of Florida. We have also received the Five Star Award for the past 14 years. During the 2014-2015 school year all grade levels will be implementing the Florida Standards. Also during the 2014-2015 our walking track was completed to enhance our physical education program.