Veteran Educator and District Official Van Ayres Named

HCPS Interim Superintendent

In the wake of former Superintendent Addison Davis' abrupt resignation, Van Ayres, Chief of Strategic Planning and Partnerships for HCPS, has

Been

named Interim Superintendent.

By VIKRAM SAMBASIVAN, CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Addison Davis, former Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS) Superintendent, resigned from his post on Wednesday, June 14, leaving the school district without a leader. Six days after Davis’ announcement, Van Ayres, was named as HCPS Interim Superintendent.

As a long-term Hillsborough County educator and administrator, Ayres was the obvious choice. He began his teaching career as a chemistry teacher at Howard Blake High School from where he jumped to administration positions, including being the Principal of Thomas Jefferson High School. He eventually gained positions at a district level, most recently being the Chief of Strategic Planning and Partnerships.

As Interim Superintendent, Ayres will serve an initial 12-month term before the school board will make a decision to determine whether or not to appoint him to serve a full four-year term.

“I’m at the place now, where I was offered the opportunity by the board in this interim role. But, whether you’re interim or not, you’re still superintendent, so that’s kind of my mindset of how I’m going about this year,” Ayres said. “But, for me to have the opportunity to lead this district [for a full four years], with all the great history we have, would be an honor.”

In his current one-year term, Ayres is faced with a multitude of issues affecting the district, one of the most being large numbers of students receiving Certificates of Completion.

These certificates are handed out to students, in place of a diploma, who complete all the high school credits required by the district and have maintained at least a 2.0 GPA, a C average, but were unable to pass their Florida Standards Assessments (FSAs). Depending on the type of certificate received, the student is able to take the Post Secondary Education Readiness Test (PERT) and may be placed at a community college. However, these certificates are generally unsatisfactory for their FSAs] walk across the stage and nobody really can tell the difference, [at the time], but they’ll go to the back to receive their diploma and get a piece of paper which says, ‘Certificate of Completion,’ which, basically, is worth nothing more than the paper it’s printed on,” Ayres said.

This disparity between passing district standards, but not the state ones, can be attributed to the method with which state standards are tested. There has been a long debate over whether standardized testing is an effective method with which knowledge is tested.

According to the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, such tests have been shown to be biased towards higher-income students who have had more experience with testtaking strategies, and only test a narrow measure of skills. It is for these reasons that score reporting of nationwide tests such as the SAT and ACT has been made optional by most leading United States universities.

Ayres stands proudly in front of his offical supterintendent headshot. “The main goals really revolve around our strategic plan, which number one is positive culture, school culture; two is around academic excellence; three is [centered] around recruiting and retaining exceptional talent in the school district,” Ayres said. Photo by V. Sambasivan offering more test-taking strategies classes as an elective or before/ after school club and providing students with practice tests,” she said. “Additionally, schools can provide students with more resources such as tutoring, online tools, and the right practice books to help them succeed.”

Another large issue facing the district is the issue of teacher pay, which has been a point of contention between the district and the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association (HCTA).

Since many modern schools allow teachers more freedom in their methods of teaching and grading, students may be receiving a more holistic education, but perhaps are not as well prepared for standardized exams.

“A lot of students don’t know,” Ayres said. “They don’t realize that when they get to be seniors and they haven’t made that score, it hasn’t really hit them that ‘I might graduate in May, but if I haven’t made my score, I’m not going to get my diploma.”

One of the solutions to this issue, which the district feels may work, is to simply help students practice more for these standardized tests.

“A lot of it is making them [students] aware and bringing it to their attention early so that they practice,” said Ayres, whom as former Chief of Strategic Planning and Partnerships helped implement the Academic Excellence piece, among others, of the district’s 5-year strategic plan. “[We have to] create those opportunities for students to get better at those particular skills.”

Sanjna Madabushanam (‘24), a member of Robinson’s Political Science Club shares a similar sentiment.

“I believe that schools can increase state exam pass rates by

CEP Fuels Students with Free Meals

All students at Robinson will receive free lunch for the upcoming school year.

By CECILIA CHENG, PRINT MANAGING EDITOR Hillsborough County Public

Schools recently announced that they will be offering the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) for the 2023-2024 school year. This allows every student at Robinson to join the breakfast and lunch program free of charge, without the need for a meal benefits application.

Alongside the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP), the CEP was created through the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. Schools across the US with at least 40 percent of students recieving benefits from programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TNAP) and Medicaid qualify for this program. There are currently 174 schools in Hillsborough County that are eligible for the provision.

"Our students spend a lot of time at school working on rigorous classes or they spend over 12 hours here at school through athletics and extracurriculars ... so they shouldn't have to worry about bringing money and updating their lunch accounts," said David Brown, Principal of Robinson High School.

48% of students recieved free lunch (2022-23).

Approximately 48 percent of Robinson's students received free or reduced lunch during the 2022-2023 academic year. Interestingly, this number was lower than the average percentages observed in previous years.

"The year prior, everyone received free lunch due to

COVID. So last school year, some families just forgot or didn't reapply for free/reduced lunch," Brown added.

The provision not only emphasizes the issue of food security, but also provides nutritious food options to all students, ensuring that individuals will have the energy necessary for optimal learning.

"Children need healthy meals to learn," said Van Ayres, Hillsborough County Public Schools Interim Superintendent, in a statement letter, which will be coming home with students on the first day of school. "Hillsborough County Student Nutrition Services offers nutritious, well-balanced meals for students of all ages and backgrounds. Please encourage your child(ren) to participate in the school meal program."

Long-time consumers of school lunch, such as Sabrina Gonzalez ('24), are eager to learn about this new provision.

"In my opinion, school lunch is important because it allows those who don’t have much time or even the resources to make lunch for themselves at home to be able to get nourishment throughout the school day," said Gonzalez who has been purchasing school lunches for the past three years. "Even if you did bring your own lunch, school lunch provides a great alternative and balanced meal. They also have allergy accommodations and there are many different meals to choose from daily, even if you're picky."

However, even with the program, many students, such as Katie Angular ('25), prefer to bring lunch from home.

"Personally, I think the portions are small and I also feel the

On Wednesday, April 5, the Hillsborough County School Board voted to award teachers and staff with a salary increase, or as seen by many teachers, some of the “pay steps” that they’ve earned. Despite this agreement, according to the HCPS job listings website, as of July 26, there are still 1,240 unfilled positions within the school system, 600 of them being instructional.

Starting the school year with so many instructional vacancies poses a large issue in instructing students. However, those who have worked with Ayres in the past believe that he has the experience to help deal with these issues.

“That [teacher vacancies] is a huge obstacle for Mr. Ayres to climb,” said Jennifer Orjuela, a Teacher Mentor and former Social Studies Teacher under Ayres while he was Principal at Thomas Jefferson High School. “But, because he has made so many connections in this county, he has a core of teachers and people in different positions that he trusts, and maybe together as a community of Hillsborough County Educators, we can bring back and elevate our [district] to where it should be.” food that is given to the school isn’t fresh," Angular said. "When I pack my own lunch, I always look at the nutrition in it so I can have energy and stay focused for school. Having a healthy lunch can make going through the rest of the day bearable."

At the beginning of his first term, Ayres leaves a message for students approaching the upcoming school year.

“We’re excited to have all students back on the first day of school. All of our principals and teachers are excited, and there’s nothing like the first day of school,” Ayres said.

The benefit will continue to be offered at Robinson until the 2026-2027 school year, as it is renewed on a four-year cycle.

"The only drawback to students not having to complete a Free or Reduced lunch application is that students [already] on Free or Reduced lunch get other benefits. They get a free SAT and ACT test paid for, athletes also get the insurance paid for or reduced based on their meal status," Brown said. "However, we will have a different form for these students and their families to complete in order for the student to qualify for these benefits.”