DAYTONA BEACH — Daytona Beach’s Turie T. Small Elementary is one of the district’s two new schools opening this year and some students Monday morning were nervous to see the new building for the first time, especially since it looked bigger than what they were used to.
“It’s a huge building,” said fourth-grader Lavada Williams, “and I get lost easy.”
But for others, seeing the new campus was exciting.
“It looks like a high school,” said third-grader Christian Blacksear.
Additionally, first-grader Major Earl told The News-Journal his favorite part of the school was that it's painted blue on the outside, and fourth-grader Elin O’Neil said he likes how his classroom is situated — on the fourth-floor with a playground view.
O’Neil’s father, Frederick, said the new school is so “beautiful” he wished he could attend it himself.
“I like that it has the space, the security, and I like the design of the building and the pavilion,” he said. “I just like the way the whole thing is designed, and you can get around inside. It's very nice. It's spacious. And I think it's a very, very good school, and it's going to be the best school, actually.”
Cassie Gonyer — a parent at Turie T. Small and a District Two candidate for the Volusia County School Board —said her kids “immediately lit up” when they arrived at school today.
She told The News-Journal she is most excited about Turie T. Small’s new flexible seating spaces.
“There’s different stadium seating, the media center, this atrium — when teachers get more comfortable moving to the different spaces and utilizing them, I think everyone’s going to win in that case,” Gonyer said. “Get out of their classroom and explore a little bit.”
Volusia County Schools prioritizes safety
Volusia County Schools welcomed 60,000 students back to school Monday, and Superintendent Carmen Balgobin listed safety and security as the district’s top priority for the 2024-25 academic year at an early morning press conference.
Capt. Todd Smith, the district’s director of safety, noted that all doors and gates will be shut and locked with the exception of a visitor’s entrance. When visitors arrive on campus, they will need to enter through the school’s secure vestibule and be screened before entering further.
“We’re going to be working very hard to ensure that all of our kids are safe with our shut gates, our shut doors and all the different things that we’re using,” he said.
Balgobin also addressed the district’s “comprehensive program” to combat vaping in schools.
Volusia County Schools is partnering with the state attorney’s office and three other counties to launch a three-layer program centered on education, awareness and accountability.
The district will educate students and parents on the causes and effects of vaping, ensure that the community is aware of programs and services that are available, and practice applying fair consequences.
The district is also launching a nine-week, seven-module VAPE — Volusia Assistance and Preventative Education —Program.
“If we have a student that has committed a first act of vaping, the student will be enrolled in that program where they are going to receive research as it pertains to vaping, and also they will be engaged in activities so that they can learn from the research,” Balgobin said.
Additionally, secondary schools have vape detectors in every restroom and will continue utilizing the SWAT — Students Working Against Tobacco — Program.
Volusia County Schools addresses chronic absenteeism
Second on the district’s list of priorities is addressing chronic absenteeism.
Volusia County has had slightly higher rates of chronic absenteeism than the state average for the last four school years, including a rate of 32.3% for 2022-23.
The State Department of Education tracks absences in Florida schools by collecting both the number of students absent 21 or more days of school as well as the number of students absent 10% or more of the school year.
“We want to make sure our parents understand the importance of having students in school because our curriculum is designed for 180 days of instruction, so when your child is not in school ... learning gaps are being created,” Balgobin said.
She noted that the district will strive to identify which students are chronically absent, determine why those students are absent, communicate resources to parents and ensure services are in place for students.
Volusia County Schools classroom vacancies
Superintendent Balgobin noted that there were only 28 classroom vacancies on the first day of school as compared to 100 around this time last year.
All of the current vacancies have been filled with district personnel until the hiring is complete, Balgobin said.
“We have been very rigorous when it comes to our job fairs,” Balgobin said. “We are constantly having job fairs and different modalities so that we can accommodate the candidate, and we have hired quite a few candidates from other districts, but also other states that are moving to Florida and so that has really helped us.”
