2 min read April 2023 — Invest: spoke with Kevin Plummer, headmaster of Tampa Preparatory School, to discuss how the institution blends inclusive student development with innovative curricula to offer an unmatched educational experience. “We have incredibly thoughtful teachers who are committed to and passionate about these grade levels,” he said.
What is Tampa Preparatory School’s approach to student development?
We are a sixth through 12th-grade school and have seen a real opportunity in investing in our middle school experience. This isn’t just for academics, but how we build community, culture and cadence for our students in their preparation for high school. Sixth grade is a transformative year for a young learner, and that is enhanced by our departmental structure. A part of our campus is 100% dedicated to sixth grade, where all their lockers, classrooms and advisors are located. I love the energy of this space as students prepare for that major transition into high school at a younger age. We have incredibly thoughtful teachers who are committed to and passionate about these grade levels, which is so important. Our high school features a similar level of intentionality as we prepare students for their college journey. Our ninth grade features the Transitions program which puts a lasso around all the topics surrounding that elevation into high school. It really helps students focus on getting ready for the opportunities and expectations while developing their soft skills such as time management, note-taking and leadership. We do not have low expectations for our freshmen and we take this critical time to prepare them for their education and careers ahead.
What can students expect from a Tampa Preparatory education?
Our students expect a big breadth of programming and we offer numerous classes and learning opportunities with even more gradations within. Most importantly, kids want to go to a school that is safe and where they feel understood. They want to be accepted by teachers and peers and be a part of something bigger than themselves. I tell all our families that it is a given that students will receive a great education. But where we stand out is how we develop the whole person and the skills that will make them succeed throughout life. As much as we look after our students right now, we also want to know how they end up doing from their 20s into their 60s. If we are doing our thing as well as we possibly can, we are readying students to be comfortable as collaborators, communicators, and deep thinkers and understanding their responsibility to family and community.
Tampa Preparatory is unique in its later start time of 8:50am. How has that impacted the educational experience for teachers and students?
With faculty, it’s given us a whole slate of meeting opportunities that has strengthened our ability to have great conversations around programs. We have a morning meeting calendar that is critically focused on how to improve and develop the student experience. We have advisor meetings, department meetings, division meetings, and specific meetings of interest. We have a group that gets together called Teachers Talking About Teaching (TTAT) which is an in-school professional development network. We also have a group doing some deep research into the standards-based grading. The 8:50 start time gives the adults time to reconvene on a regular schedule to have the most important conversations as possible around students.
At the student level, they think the late start is super cool. They feel more well rested. The start time should be a signal to our colleagues, peer schools, and parents interested in taking their children here about the intentionality of this institution, to be aware and work hard to apply the best relevant research there is about young people and how they learn and live.
How is Tampa Preparatory building a culture of inclusivity?
We’re in the midst of an extremely polarized world right now, so I feel fortunate to be around children when it comes to perspective. For all the crazy things you might see on the news, I get to see the other side of the coin. The other side is that kids just want to have a good experience with the people around them, and that is where inclusivity is so important. It gives students the opportunity to speak on what they’re passionate about with confidence, and what they can bring to the table. Kids are unfailingly interested in learning from one another on the base level. Inclusivity has manifested in a great proliferation and expansion of student life that includes some amazing activities and organizations. Whether Jewish, Muslim, Christian or Hindu, we, even as a non-denominational school, are seeing some incredible things happen in spaces all over campus inclusive of all student identities. It’s a way for all our students to celebrate their unique cultures and heritages together, so they can learn from and understand one another that much better.
What’s on the agenda for the School over the next year?
I’m very excited with the growth of our science department. For their new facility, three of the four floors are dedicated to intentional research around the future of instruction in the sciences. We also have great partnerships that have allowed us to emulate college-level programs, collaborating and looking under the hood of what a great curriculum can look like for our students. This has been especially crucial in the healthcare professions. To have those conversations around the future of medicine and how technology is impacting the industry, it has really helped shape our own teaching of biology, chemistry, and physics. This is especially so with our Advanced Placement and STEM-focused programs. We want our students to be as prepared as possible for the technology and language needed to thrive in fields like engineering, so they’re not left with a lot of guessing or surprises.
I’m also excited about our humanities, with a focus on reading and writing and the cogent expression of who our students are as individuals. And our math department continues to do great work blending tech with numeracy. There is a computer software initiative called ALEKS that is a math learning program with built in algorithms that recognizes success with concepts and lets kids self-pace and recognizes when kids understand concepts and when they’re struggling and adjusts accordingly. The future is to continue reading, researching and reaching out to the community to find out what is relevant. The end goal is to have capable smart kids who decide Tampa is a great home for them as adults. It keeps the region smarter and more valuable as an investment in the long term.
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