Pizzo

There is a new school in Tampa that is scheduled to opened its doors on August 13th. It has been in the planning for at least the last 10-years. When it does open, it will be able to boast it's one of a few such schools in the country.

In Assignment:Education.. A preview of a special partnership between a local school district.. college.. And business.

Construction work at the new Pizzo Elementary is underway at a feverish pace. Right now the site is brick and mortar.. heavy equipment and empty, dusty rooms.
But when the work is complete, this will become one of only two public elementary schools in the country on the grounds of a university.. The University of South Florida.
Its mission is unique.

--[USF Dr. Jean linder] "It is not a campus school. It's not a laboratory school. It's a professional development school dedicated to teacher training, student learning and research."--

To that end.. Every little has been omitted. For instance.. USF teaching staff and interns will have their own offices and classrooms at Pizzo. And student classrooms are being wired for televised observation at the USF College of Education. And visitors to the school can watch any class through one-way windows.

--[Bev Wickson says:] "People who want to visit the school and observe the classrooms they will be able to do that without actually having to go into the classrooms and disrupting the teacher-directed learning that is taking place."--

Bev Wickson is Pizzo's principal. Right now her office is a construction trailer. What awaits is worth the inconvenience. She believes the students here are going to have an incredible educational experience.

--[Wickson says:] "It is an opportunity for children to have the benefit of teachers having some updated training in the area.. Some some of the strategy and development that we'll be using in the area of continuous progress.. And those are good teaching strategies."--

Plus there is another reason the students here will benefit.. Pizzo's other partner.. right across the street. The Museum of Science and Industry, where students will be able to take part in MOSI-directed programs.

Pizzo will be a pre-k through fifth grade school. Its 800 students will come from Temple Terrace and the USF area. Also, you'll never see a portable classroom on the campus, because of a stipulation in the agreement with USF.

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