Sumner High School & Academy 2027

SUMNER HIGH SCHOOL INSTRUCTIONAL PRIORITY (22/23):

Sumner HS & Academy 2027:

To Be Announced

Students, Faculty, and Parents,

Welcome to the soon -to-be 2022 - 2023 school year! It is truly an honor for me to be the principal of this special place. I am privileged to work with an outstanding faculty to make it a smooth transition to some "normalcy" for our students during this school year. Additionally, Sumner will open the school year as the largest school in Hillsborough County Public Schools with over 3500 students. We are excited to work closely with you to ensure the success and well-being of all of our students and first graduating class in history.

We have been working hard all summer to plan for a safe opening of school. A strong emphasis will continue to be placed on social-emotional learning, strong core academic principles and supporting our large AICE program.

Sumner High School & Academy 2027 is continuing to build positive traditions in our third year. We are proud of our beautiful newer school and have high expectations for each and every student. Our students are kind, compassionate, and inquisitive. Additionally, we have one of the most diverse student bodies in the area. Together with our dedicated staff, we strive to make connections with students to help them feel valued, accepted, and safe. Our new Sumner motto of “Unity Through Diversity” will continue to guide our mission to provide a caring rigorous, and joyful school environment. Our goal is to encourage active student engagement to foster a lifetime love for learning.

Partnering with families will be crucial this year to our students' success. We appreciate your support and encourage families to stay connected and informed by updating their phone numbers, providing a current email address, and following our school website for important updates and information throughout the school year.

Rob Nelson, Principal, Sumner High School and Academy 2027

Due to our enrollment size, we are splitting up our Open House into three separate sessions. We understand that times might not be ideal, but it was necessary to spread out the traffic and ensure parking for everyone. We will run a bell schedule during Open House, so please try to be present at the start time. Last, we will have PTSA signing up members and SGA selling school apparel to name a few. Please join us on Monday, August 8th.

Each individual teacher will provide a class supply list at Open House, on CANVAS, and/or during the first few days of school.

Sumner HS and Academy will have a NEW start and end time in 22/23. We will start at 8:40 am and end at 3:40 pm. The slight pushback of the start time is to allow our school buses more time to get our students to school. We will be going to a traditional and standard 8-period (48 minutes) schedule for this year. Each period will be 48 minutes long, including lunch. Students will take seven courses and have another period for lunch. Due to the expected increase in our enrollment and our shortage of bus drivers (at this current time), we wanted to transition back to a bell schedule that will allow maximum flexibility for students, increase the possibility of lowering class sizes, and decrease the amount of missed first period instructional time. We will attach a few minutes to 1st period for school announcements and the morning show. In the end, we feel this 22/23 modification is best for our students and staff. The 22/23 bell schedule is an attachment (Sumner Bell Schedules 22-23) at the bottom of this newsletter.

The application process for student parking tags will be released by July 25th and we will send out the information (newsletter, parentlink, and website). Due to our larger student enrollment, we do expect an increased number of student parking tag requests. We will monitor those sales, but it is highly likely that we will have to reduce the amount of Academy parent pickup parking spots (at dismissal) for the 22/23 school year. Some Academy parents will have to pick up their child in the regular pick up line or find an alternate method for pick up at dismissal. We will send out an update and possible amendment to the Academy parking pickup in the next few weeks.

Parents,

We would like to invite you out on Wednesday, July 20th, from 6-7:30 pm to Sumner High School for a Community Conversation with Hillsborough Schools Superintendent Addison Davis, a teachers’ union representative, and local education leaders.

Superintendent Davis will share how the upcoming one mil referendum on the August 23rd primary ballot will retain and recruit highly qualified teachers and staff by providing salary increases AND will expand Art, Music, and PE for our students here at Sumner High School and Academy 2027.

This particular meeting will be in our area, but you can attend any of the scheduled meetings throughout the district.

A full list of meeting dates and locations has been emailed (attachment) to all families, and the list is also posted on our social media accounts.

The one mil referendum will raise teacher pay, helping to reduce the number of teachers we lose to neighboring counties, and will expand art, music, and PE at every elementary school.

Every dollar from the referendum will stay right here in Hillsborough County, impacting our students and our staff.

Please remember, early voting begins on August 8th and extends until August 21st. The primary election day is August 23rd. Thank you for your continued support of our school.

Please join us.

Please check our NEW online spirit wear shop. 1st Place Spiritwear is our new online shop and they have hundreds of styles and combinations for youth and adults. The sprit wear will be directly shipped to your residence. Some proceeds come back to the school, so please get your Sumner gear here.

Please click on the below link to get your Sumner gear:

Sumner spirit wear, Riverview, FL, Stingrays | 1st Place Spiritwear

High School students can pick up their tentative 22-23 schedule during their grade level time. Students can submit a schedule change request form if needed. The School Counseling Team will review your request. Not all requests can be made because of the schedule, class size, course availability, and student data.

Schedule change requests for Academy students will be accepted from August 15th -18th (a link will be shared in our Newsletter on Sunday August 14th). We are unable to make schedule changes based on class period or teacher preference. It is important to note that many of the classes on your schedule fulfill your 8th grade requirements and due to class sizes, we may not be able to honor your schedule change request. Once you submit a schedule change request, Ms. Henriquez, Academy School Counselor, will be in touch regarding the decision.

Students/Parents will drive through campus and park on the Drivers Ed. lot to access the cafeteria due to other school events taking place both days.

REMINDER: Attendance Matters Every Period Every Day. We cannot educate our students at an optimal level if they are not present and/or late to school.

Attendance of every student enrolled at Sumner HS is required in order to benefit from the continuity of instruction and classroom participation. School attendance shall be the responsibility of parents/legal guardians and students. Absences shall be reported to the school attendance office by the parent/legal guardian on the day the absence occurred. The number to be called to report an absence on the day of the absences is 813-378-8626 and Press "2" for the attendance line.

The following factors are reasonable excuses for time missed at school:

A. Personal illness of the student

A student who has demonstrated a pattern of absences due to illness may be required to present medical verification the principal.

B. Court appearance of the student

C. Medical appointment of the student a note from a health care provider may be required.

D. An approved school activity. Absences will be recorded but not reported.

E. Emergencies that are acceptable to the principal

F. Other absences as approved by the principal. A written request from the parent/legal guardian is submitted to the principal at least three days prior to the date of absence. The parent will be notified of the decision.

G. Attendance at a center under Children and Families Services supervision

H. Accident resulting in injury to the student

I. Significant community events with prior permission of the principal

When more than one school is involved, the Area Superintendent will determine the status of the absence.

J. Observance of an established religious holiday

K. Death of a close relative. For purposes of this policy, close relatives shall be defined as the father, mother, brother, sister, husband, wife, son, daughter (or in-law), stepfather, stepmother, stepbrother, stepsister, half-sister, half-brother, stepchild, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, grandparents, grandchild, or members of his/her own household.

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State Law requires that students, 14 to 18 years of age, who have not earned a high school diploma, who have 15 unexcused absences in any period of 90 calendar days, be ineligible for driving privileges. School districts are required by this legislation to report to the State of Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV), the names of any students who have accumulated 15 unexcused absences in any period of 90 calendar days. The student who is reported will be informed by the DHSMV that his/her name has been received and he/she may lose the privilege to drive. Should a student be contacted by DHSMV with information, he/she may initiate a request for a hardship waiver or a request for reinstatement of driving privilege through the Office of Student Affairs.

A hardship for employment is based on verification of need. The factor to be considered is the extent to which a student provides a substantial financial contribution for his or her livelihood or his or her family’s needs. A hardship for medical care is based on the need for transportation, for the student or his or her immediate family members living in the same household, to access required treatment. Consideration should be given to whether there are any other licensed drivers residing in the household.

Students who accumulate 15 unexcused absences in any period of 90 calendar days will be reported by the school to the DHSMV. Please follow the attendance procedure that has been established in order that students not be reported unexcused when they should be excused. Please reach out to our Student Services Team and/or Administration with questions and/or concerns.

Whenever any student has a total of 15 days of unexcused absence from school during any semester, the student will be considered habitually absent. The school will inform the parent of excessive absences and the district’s intent to notify the Department of Highway Safety of Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) of the student's excessive absences.

Tardiness to Class: A student is tardy when the student arrives after the beginning of the school day or when he/she is not in his/her assigned seat or station when the tardy bell rings. A student’s tardiness shall be excused when the reason given is acceptable to the principal or designee. Examples of acceptable reasons for tardiness are the same as the examples of acceptable reasons for excused absences.

Sign-in Procedures: Any student arriving at school after the session has begun at 8:40 must report to the Main Office or Office of Student Affairs. An admit shall be issued indicating excused or unexcused tardy or absence. For the student to receive an excused sign-in, a parent or guardian must accompany the student to the Main Office and give an excusable reason. More than two sign-ins in a grading period shall require medical or other documentation. Students will not be allowed to sign out later than 3 PM Tue-Fri and no later than 2 PM on Mondays. Please understand that students are close to dismissal and sign-out at these times disrupt the learning and dismissal process.

Secondary Students: Once students arrive on campus, they may not leave without permission from the assistant principal for Student Affairs. Students who must leave school during school hours must have their parent/guardian request this release by phone or in-person to the Office of Student Affairs in order to obtain pre-approval. More than four sign-outs’ in a grading period shall require medical or other documentation and/or a parent/guardian must be present in order to be considered excused.

All students need to take hold of their commitment and potential to be the best they can be for themselves...and that commitment and potential starts with being on time and present to each class Every Day.

HCPS will continue to use Canvas as a learning and communication tool in 22/23. The BELOW LINKS provides parents and guardians with helpful information for using Canvas to support and monitor student academic progress.

To access the Canvas Family Guide, please click one of the following links:

Student Guide https://sdhc.instructure.com/courses/36524

To Log in https://sdhc.instructure.com/courses/3146

Family Guide https://bit.ly/canvasfamilyguide

Email: lora.morgan@sdhc.k12.fl.us
Website: https://www.hillsboroughschools.org/sumner
Location: 10650 County Road 672, Riverview, FL 33579, USA
Phone: (813) 378-8626
Twitter: @HCPS_SumnerHS