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The Era Of Firsts Is Ending At Lennard High School
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Published: June 4, 2008
TAMPA - They set the example to which future classes would live by. On that, most of the graduating seniors at Lennard High School agree.
Their time together started two years ago, when the newly built school opened its doors.
No one tread before them. They raised money from scratch to pay for homecomings and field trips. They grew closer as friends, bridging the separate social divides that felt comfortable at the schools they attended before coming to Lennard.
Late Tuesday, 128 of them received their diplomas at a ceremony at the Florida State Fairgrounds. They recognized their first valedictorian and their first salutatorian as part of the first graduating class of Lennard High.
"We're leaving a legacy," said Shyree Roberts, 17. "We will never be forgotten."
Their numbers were small - just 586 students - when the school opened during summer 2006 in Ruskin to relieve crowded East Bay High in Gibsonton.
There were challenges, though. Students raised funds in earnest to cover class trips and school functions, Roberts said. Larger high schools had larger pots of money.
Expectations increased. Last year, the state bestowed on Lennard High an "F" grade following its poor performance on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. Students graduating Tuesday say that designation unfairly dangled over them as they persisted on the next round of tests.
Alexandria Thomas, 18, said the school's teachers persisted with them. "They really do care," she said.
And the students, Thomas said, grew closer. "We've grown with this school," she said. "Can't nobody else say that."
They overcame their challenges, and their friendships strengthened. "We met each other along the way little by little," said Marissa Buitron, 18.
Three years after retiring, former Hillsborough County schools Superintendent Earl Lennard addressed the first graduating class of the school that bears his name.
In an interview before commencements Tuesday, Lennard said: "It's not every graduate that gets to be a charter class of a school. Our county will grow 10, 20 years from now. The South Shore area will be filled with businesses and homes. These youngsters graduating will look back at something extraordinarily special for them."
The students acknowledge that already. "We got everything started," said Alberto Nunez, 18. "We're setting the standard for the future."
When addressing the graduates, class president and valedictorian Judith Villegas spoke of milestones and goodbyes to adolescence. But what also made this class special, Villegas said, was that it was the first.
"The remarkable Class of 2008 will always be remembered," she said.
Reporter Adam Emerson can be reached at (813) 259-8285 or aemerson@tampatrib.com.
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