Winter Edition

In the spirit of the season, I would like to seize this opportunity to highlight some of the things that I am thankful for:

• amazing advisory and executive boards, and our executive director,
• working with caring executives that strive tirelessly on the behalf of students,
• strong business partners that provide support for our members,
• an action plan that focuses on the organization's key priorities,
• opportunities for personal connections with colleagues,
• a future that leads to growth for CLASS.

Some things to look forward to as the calendar changes to 2022 include a face-to-face spring general meeting and social, a spring break food drive that benefits schools throughout the district, and the Discover '22 FASA Conference in Orlando from June 7-9. Based on the popularity of the event we sponsored last summer, you can guarantee that we'll be back better than ever at the upcoming conference.

I know that educators are continuing to work hard throughout the school year. Our school system is so fortunate to have such gifted leaders overseeing our district's operations and school sites.

Your contributions to the successes of Pasco Schools are invaluable. Have a wonderful holiday season and best wishes for a successful and prosperous New Year.

Thank you,

Ric Mellin

Land O' Lakes High School Principal

CLASS President 21-22

CLASS is blessed to provide two $500 scholarships to current Pasco employees pursuing advanced degrees for Educational Leadership. This aligns with our goal of attracting and developing Leaders in our District. We are fortunate to have a sponsor who funds these scholarships. Thank you to Gary Cucchi with Horace Mann, Florida Educators Insurance, for your continued support. We are so pleased to introduce the 21-22 recipients; Christopher Kent from Pasco Elementary School and Krystal Sumrall from Pineview Middle School. Christopher is a dropout prevention teacher and Krystal is an art teacher.

Wayne Bertsch has been hard at work in Tallahassee already and has been updating us through regular communication in email. Since the session begins in January this year, expect to see much activity soon!

In addition to our regular interaction with various legislators, we are excited to announce that CLASS is sending some members to Legislative Days in tandem with FASA Advocate January 23-26, 2022. In addition to Tammy Rabon-Noyce, Executive Director of CLASS, and JoAnne Glenn (whose school is funding her trip), Advisory Board members Tracy Miller, Erin Ipock and Carin Hetzler-Nettles will be participating in forums and meeting with legislators and their staff.

One of our action steps this year is ADVOCACY. We need your voice to have a possibility of impacting legislators. Wayne Bertsch works hard in Tallahassee and his coverage of bills and actions is extensive. Legislators are more often swayed when they hear from constituents. We know it can be intimidating so we've built a mach form template that you can use to contact our Pasco Senators and Representatives in Tallahassee. You can use the letter as written, but also feel free to personalize it, especially in the last paragraph, to fit you! Here is the link to the mach form.

Also, please know you can contact our part-time executive director (executivedirector@classpasco.com) with any ideas or questions.

We continue pursuing our short range goals and focus areas for this school year that are aligned with our organization's pillars. At your various whole group meetings (assistant principal, principal and district departments), your liaisons have continued sharing updates and seeking your feedback:

• ADVOCACY - we will connect with elected officials to seek equity among administrative ranks and provide opportunities for elected officials to visit schools.
• SUPPORT - we will establish quarterly opportunities for district and school leaders to connect for networking and increase communication to provide members greater personal and professional connections.
• SERVICE - we will increase visibility and support leaders facing unique challenges and establish a Spring Break food drive.

CLASS advisory and executive board members speak with Superintendent Browning monthly. He let us know his plans for the district to provide bonuses to employees who did not receive them from Gov. DeSantis through legislative budgetary means. We extend gratitude to School Board members and the Superintendent for finding a way to thank the employees excluded by the legislative process.

Connecting Leaders through Advocacy, Support and Service; A not-for-profit 501(C)3

Email: executivedirector@classpasco.com
Website: classpasco.com
Location: 7842 Land O' Lakes Boulevard, Land O' Lakes, FL 34638, USA
Phone:
Facebook: facebook.com/CLASSPasco