Waterset Charter School in Apollo Beach receives honors

By STEPHEN FLANAGAN JACKSON

Teachers, staff and students celebrated the recent commendation to Waterset Charter School as School of the Month by the Hillsborough County Commission and Southshore Chamber of Commerce.

School of the Month honors and a commendation from the county commissioners are the highlights of 2019, so far, at Waterset Charter School in Apollo Beach. 

“We are grateful to the Southshore Chamber of Commerce and the Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners for their continuous support. It is a privilege to be a part of the Waterset community where education is a priority and families are the focus,” Waterset principal Sara Capwell told those attending the ceremony Friday morning.

The Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners recognized Waterset Charter School on Jan. 11. The Waterset school in Apollo Beach was also named as the SouthShore Chamber of Commerce’s January School of the Month for its extraordinary charity programs that have positively impacted the South Shore community.

Since its grand opening in August 2017, Waterset has shown an unwavering commitment to its diverse charity outreach programs. The school has conducted collection drives for the Humane Society and Soles4Souls, a nonprofit that creates sustainable jobs and provides relief through the distribution of shoes and clothing around the world. In addition, Waterset has collected donations that filled three trucks for A Kids Place Orphanage, which cares for abused, neglected, or abandoned children. It also held a school-wide recycling program, a collection drive for the Panhandle to help those affected by Hurricane Michael and a donation drive for members of the Special Forces who are serving overseas.

 Waterset Charter School is in only its second year of operation, serving K through seventh grade. Waterset presently serves 972 students with 60 teachers. Next year, Waterset plans to expand to K through eighth grade.

 The Board of County Commissioners of Hillsborough County commended Waterset Charter School for its dedication to the community and thanked the institution, its staff, and students for their generosity in helping those who are in need.

 Waterset Charter School has a governing board, Red Apple, which is the management company and is part of the corporate owners, Charter Schools USA of Fort Lauderdale, the for-profit company, which owns Waterset Charter School.

 Charter schools are relatively new in Florida, having been approved in l996. Charter schools are publicly funded, but they are administered privately and are semi-autonomous schools of choice. Charter schools do not charge tuition and they receive public funding similar to traditional public schools. Charter schools have more freedom than public schools over their budgets, staffing, curricula and other operations.

 Charter schools continue to increase in Florida, but a recent report said about 14 percent of the charter schools in Florida have been forced to close, most of them because of financial failings precipitated by lack of enrollment and demand. About 10 percent of Florida’s approximate 2.8 million students pre-K through 12 attend a charter school. Charter schools are not under the authority, budget, or accountability of the local public schools district. Charter schools need approval from the local school board to open but they are run by private groups. The latest figures show about 650 charter schools in Florida , serving about 290,000 students.