Mebane's new principal sets sights on 'A' grade

Although Mebane Middle School experienced a drop in its state rating to a 'C', improving to a 'B' this year, Mebane's new principal is determined to use her passion and position to restore the school to its full potential – as an 'A' school.

Principal Manda Bessner, 40, has been a teacher in Alachua County for 17 years. Although she loved teaching students directly, she felt she could have a bigger impact as a principal.

“I love history, and I loved teaching it,” she said. “But I saw the potential impact I could have as an administrator, and I knew this is what I wanted to do. In this position, I can work with the teachers to help our kids be successful.”

Bessner first came to Alachua County at age 17, when she started school at the University of Florida. She has not left since.

Her first teaching job out of college was at Lincoln Middle School. Bessner taught there for three years before moving to Kanapaha Middle School, where she taught for seven years and took over as assistant principal for another seven years.

Bessner went straight from her assistant principal job at Kanapaha to her position at Mebane Middle School.

This is the highest position she has held at a school, and Bessner said she is excited, nervous and anxious about the school year, which begins Monday.

Bessner said the biggest challenge she has faced yet is trying to comply with the strict class size rules that go into effect this year. The rules allow only 18 students in grades K to three; 22 students in grades four to eight; and 25 students in high school classrooms.

Mebane has 450 students this year, with 26 teachers on staff, all for whom Bessner is ultimately responsible.

Even with the school's recent grade struggles, Bessner said she is optimistic and is determined to bring the school back to its 'A' glory days.

“Of course we are going to be an 'A' school this year,” she joked. “The state has all this criteria, and they tell us what they want us to teach, but in the end, it's the teachers' personalities and creativity in the classroom that will really make the impact. That's what gets the kids excited and ready to learn, and I'm here to help us get back to where we can, and should, be.”

Teachers play a great role in the educational process, but Bessner said she wants families and the community to be involved with the process to make it the best it can be.

“Our parents should know that we are here to help them, we want them to be involved, and we want the community to be involved,” Bessner said. “We are going to have a lot of people out there in the community letting them know we care about these children. We have a lot of good people and lots of great teachers who are going to be here to help out.”

Middle schools students attending any Alachua County Public School are eligible to sign up for free after-school programs available at four local sites.

The district is offering the programs through a federal grant called 21^st Century Community Learning Centers. The grant, totaling about $700,000 for this school year, is aimed at improving the academic performance and behavior of adolescents and pre-teens when school is not in session, and to increase the overall engagement of students in school and in learning activities.

The free programs will be available at Mebane, Bishop, and Lincoln middle schools and Hawthorne Middle High School. They will provide students with tutoring, homework assistance and a credit retrieval program that gives them a chance to make up any credits they’ll need to move on to high school.

Enrichment and recreational classes will also be offered through the program, including art, photography, sports, music, culinary arts, technology, service learning, dance, gardening and other activities. The 21^st century staff is even working on providing horseback riding lessons.

“We’ve got a wide range of activities that will engage any student, no matter what their interests,” said program coordinator Melissa Montgomery. “And absolutely everything is free…not a nickel out of parents’ pockets.”

The 21^st Century Community Learning Centers will begin this year on Sept. 7 and will continue to operate through next summer. The district plans to continue offering the after-school and summer programs throughout the term of the grant, which means they’ll be available through the next four years. Transportation is available for students who live at least two miles away from a site but are still within the site’s attendance zone. Afternoon snacks are provided free.

“Students do not have to financially qualify,” said Montgomery. “As long as a student is enrolled at a school in Alachua County, they can attend one of these sites.”

The hours at each site vary from school to school. Three of the sites, Lincoln, Bishop and Hawthorne, will also have morning programs available from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. that focus on technology and credit retrieval.

Parents are encouraged to register for the program as soon as possible, while slots are still available. They should contact the site they’re interested in and ask for a registration form.

For more information, parents can contact the 21^st Century Community Learning Centers staff at 352-262-4401.

Archer Mayor Roberta Lopes accepts a plaque from USDA Rural Development State Director Richard Machek, representing a $98,000 grant the city received for completion of the historic building's restoration.

Restoring the historic Archer Gym to its original 1937 condition has long been the vision and dream of Archer Mayor Roberta Lopez.

For the better part of the last decade, Lopez has lobbied for the gym’s restoration, tapping every resource within reach, and many more believe to be beyond her grasp.  The result is shaping up to be a dream come true, not only for Lopez, but for many who remember the gym’s glory days.

The gym, which has as many memories for former students as it does bricks, will someday soon be the site of the Archer Community Civic Auditorium.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development announced Thursday that it is awarding a $98,000 grant to complete the building’s restoration.  In all, a little more than $900,000 has been raised for the project, Lopez said.

Phase 1 of the center’s restoration was recently completed and dozens of area dignitaries and residents celebrated the project’s success with a ceremony Thursday morning.

On hand for the ceremony was USDA Rural Development State Director, Richard A. Machek who said, “Mayor Lopez and the residents of Archer are to be commended for their perseverance and hard work to secure the multiple funding sources for this important community facility.”

Also celebrating the Phase 1 completion Thursday were Lopez, City Manager John Glanzer, Alachua County Commissioners Lee Pinkoson and Cynthia Chestnut, State Representative Leonard Bembry, longtime supporter and committee member Perry McGriff as well has several other players key to the project’s success.

At a cost of about $375,000, Phase 1 included roof replacement, securing and strengthening brick walls and pouring a new concrete floor.  The process has been intricately handled, Glanzer said, noting that the original rafters from the building were taken down, sandblasted, repainted and reinstalled.  The windows were replaced, chimneys were reconstructed and the entryway at the front of the gym was rebuilt.

The freshly poured concrete floor is a significant improvement over the asphalt floor upon which students once played ball.  But Lopez has even bigger plans for the historic facility, and those plans seem to be falling into place.

Currently in progress is the construction of a stage, which will be available for community plays.  On one side of the stage will be a lift to make it accessible to those confined to a wheelchair. 

Among the other amenities being built into the center are restrooms, a concessions room and window, a small office, and audio and visual electronic accommodations on a second floor accessed through a spiral staircase, Glanzer said.  Unlike the days of old, the renovated gym will also include an air conditioner.

Over the last several months, Lopez said she’s been approached by numerous passersby who believed the restoration of the gym was complete because of the vast improvements made to its exterior.  Inside, however, the framework for the various rooms remains to be completed.

Once attached to the now demolished Archer High School, for years, the gym was a dilapidated eyesore along a busy state highway, but in recent months, the nearly 75-year-old red brick building has become a centerpiece around which the community is rallying.

Lopez knows there is much work to do, but took a few moments Thursday to look back at what has been done.  Lopez’s persistence in seeing the gym’s restoration to fruition goes without saying among those who have had anything to do with it.  But Lopez also gives considerable credit to friends of the restoration project including those in the construction industry and on the committee who have helped with the completion of Phase 1.

Former longtime Hawthorne Commissioner Eddie Martin was awarded for his perfect attendance to each scheduled meeting of the North Central Florida Regional Planning Council (NCFRPC) during the 2009-10 fiscal year.

But Martin’s dedication to the council didn’t begin in 2009.  He previously served on the NCFRPC for 24 years, representing the City of Hawthorne as a local elected official.  He was then appointed to the Council in 2005 by Florida Governor Jeb Bush and currently represents Alachua County as a gubernatorial appointee.

A certificate to commemorate the occasion was presented in June by Scott Koons, the council’s executive director.

The Council, whose members are local elected officials and gubernatorial appointees, administers a variety of state and federal programs for north central Florida including Alachua, Bradford, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Madison, Suwannee, Taylor and Union Counties.  Programs include development of the Strategic Regional Policy Plan, technical assistance to local governments in development of their comprehensive plans, land development regulations and grant management and administration of developments of regional impact, local mitigation strategies, hazardous materials, homeland security and economic development. 

In addition, the NCFRPC staffs the Metropolitan Transportation Planning Organization (MTPO) for the Gainesville Urbanized Area, the North Central Florida Local Emergency Planning Committee, the North Central Florida Regional Hazardous Materials Response Team and The Original Florida Tourism Task Force.

Martin has been active in the organization over the past several years, NCFRPC officials say.  He has served two terms as Chair and three terms as Secretary-Treasurer, Chair of the Finance and Program Committees and has been a member of the board of directors for 29 years.  He is currently serving a third term as Vice-Chair and also currently serves as a representative to the Florida Regional Councils Association.