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Focusing On Students
ou’ve likely heard the
discussions recently concerning the district’s fi- nancial situation. In fact, some headlines have re- ferred to it as a financial crisis.
We have been in a dis- covery phase since last year. We are looking at every aspect of the district to ensure we are doing what’s right by the children who walk in our classrooms every day. We have identi- fied issues and are working to find solutions that keep our students at the fore- front of this organization.
This is more about our organization taking a holis- tic look. We are right-sizing the district to make sure we are 100% focused on teach- ing, learning, and leading our students.
We have a great oppor- tunity before us in Hillsbor- ough County Public Schools. This is our time to
take a close look at every- thing we do; from the tax- payer dollars we spend, to the programs we offer our students, to the staff we have serving our students and families. Everything we do must honor parents’ de- cisions to choose HCPS for their child’s education.
We, as a district, have one main goal every day when we come to work, to serve the students in this district as we prepare them for life. Our teachers, ad- ministrators and support staff are advocates for all of our students and work to meet the challenges our students face.
We remain committed to meeting our goals, in- cluding a graduation rate of 90% by 2020. We just re- ceived some great news de- tailing just how well our students are doing. The number of HCPS students taking Advanced Placement
exams increased by 7 per- centage points from last year. In addition, the num- ber of students earning a pass rate of 3, 4 or 5 on the AP exams went up by 4 per- centage points. These re- sults are, once again, a testament to the tremen- dous work of our teachers and opens up college and career pathways for our students.
It has been the commit- ment of our School Board and myself to this commu- nity, our employees and our families that every deci- sion we make is with our students’ best interest in mind. As the 8th largest school district in the nation and the largest employer in Hillsborough County, our organization plays a key role in the success of this community. Change cannot happen overnight, but we are well on our way to pro- viding a clear, consistent and sustainable path which will ultimately allow us to do even more for our stu- dents.
Jeff Eakins, Superintendent Hillsborough County Public Schools
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If Only There Could Be Two Nobel Prizes
ust the other day, something unusual happened.
It wasn’t unusual that it took place, but it was, we’re told, unusual for the individual it happened to. American singer-song writer Bob Dylan received the Nobel Prize for his more than half a century of music rendered not only to
America, but to the world.
Opined Nobel committee members, Dylan was tapped to
win a prize worth almost one million dollars for “having been a great English speaking poet [who] created new poet expres- sions within the great American song tradition.”
As such, he took his place among such luminaries as Philip Roth, Joyce Carol Oats, and the renowned Jamaican poet Derek Walcott. We remember Bob Dylan as a skinny young white man who somehow was picked to sing his songs of protest at the March on Washington appearing behind the same mike along with another young man by the name of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
After that star-crossed day, Dylan went on to record songs that gave the world a wake-up call regarding America’s new way of looking at itself through youthful, rebellious, revolu- tionary eyes.
Songs like “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “Like a Rolling Stone,” Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” “The Times They are a Chang- ing,” and the unforgettable “Mr. Tambourine Man” he made famous. And for his efforts, we honor him.
Several days ago, the incomparable Chuck Berry cele- brated his 90th birthday. Who could forget his autobiograph- ical “Johnny Be Good,” “Maybellene,” “Roll Over Beethoven” (covered by the Beatles), the protest song “School Day,” and other song poems too numerous to name? Then there were others: Little Richard, Fats Domino, the late Marvin Gay, the late Nina Simone, and Smokey Robinson whose poetry taught the world not only how to sing, but how to see.
No, this isn’t sour grapes. But we’re simply saying we wished there had been two Nobel Prizes.
We Have The P.O.W.er
mpowered Greet-
ings. You have the power. To have power is to have the ability to do some- thing in particular. When God created you, He gave you del- egated authority, which equates to power. Oftentimes people don’t recognize the level of the power they possess until they are faced with ad- versities. Even then, they sometimes stay stuck, instead of tapping into their inner power and untapped potential. Today, I want to encourage you to activate your P.O.W.er.
Here’s how.
If you are a believer you have to first utilize the power of your prayer. When you pray say what God has already said through his written word. Why? The Bible says that if you remain in Christ and His words remain in you then you can ask for what you want and it shall be granted. God an-
swers the prayer of believers. Know that you are created in the image of God. God made man from the dust of the ground but everything else He spoke into existence. There- fore, man was also created with the capacity to speak things that are not yet seen into a visible existence. This is the P.O.W. in power and stands for the power of words. If you can think, speak or write
down words, you have power. Lastly, there is power in what you do. Once you use the power of your prayer, it will be time to get up off your bent knees; stand to your feet and get busy developing the power of your habits. Habits are the things you do on a routine basis. Small things done daily can lead to big results. The catch is you need to do the right thing on a regular basis to see the power of your ef- forts. Take inventory of the
habits that aren’t beneficial to you and start to replace them with new actions that will lead you to where you’re trying to go.
These three steps revolve around manifesting your power by prayer, words and actions. You can pray and use the P.O.W. When you speak what you want, you set things into motion and activate the P.O.W. If you create a habit of doing the first two the possi- bility of your power to have, do or be anything is endless.
I pray this message has EMPOWRED, EDUCATED and ELEVATED you to your next level of SUCCESS.
Selphenia would love to speak, train or facilitate you next event. Call her at 813- 603-0088.
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Immigration: The Browning Of America
f nothing else, the 2016 presidential election has shown
Americans and the world that there is nothing “post- racial” about our country; and that America is more like an inactive volcano and has never been the melting pot it claimed to be.
We are concerned about how our nation will recover from the recent uprising of general hate and hate-groups spawned by Donald “Archie Bunker” Trump’s denigration of Mexican immigrants. Consequently, brown immigrants appear to be the target of Trump and anti-immigration activists.
Of the 42.4 million immigrants living in America, the ma- jority of them came to America prior to 2000 with 46 percent of immigrants (19.4 million) claiming Hispanic or Latin ori- gins. However, the majority of Hispanics or Latinos (55 mil- lion) in the United States are native born with only 35 percent (19.4 million) being immigrants, and the number of unauthorized immigrants from Mexico has been declining
since 2009.
Trump chose to attack only Mexican immigrants. Yes, Mexicans do make up 52 percent of
all unauthorized immigrants living in America, but the number of unauthorized immigrants from Asia, Central America, and sub-Saharan Africa has increased since 2009. Not a word on these groups.
Yet, national and local anti-immigration groups allowed known white supremacists to at- tend their events; affiliate with researchers who were identified as having racist ties and be- liefs and anti-Semitic views; and aligned themselves with anti-Muslim activists.
When Europeans accounted for 75 percent of immigrants, there was no outcry against im- migrants. Only when immigrants with brown skin began to outnumber other immigrants did immigration reform become a priority. We hate to see racism under every rock, but we won- der if Mr. Trump ever considered building a wall between us and our northern neighbor . . . Canada?
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2016 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 5
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