On this episode, Tuthill talks to Amy Sams, principal of Southshore Academy in Riverview, and Cuwana Lawson, principal of Woodmont Charter School in Temple Terrace, about the Hillsborough County School Board’s rejection of their renewal applications and the board’s subsequent reversal of the decision on the heels of pressure from the state Board of Education.
Sams and Lawson discuss how they responded to the challenge their students and families faced by mobilizing a massive advocacy effort in support of their renewals. They also discuss how their schools have adapted in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and where they see the charter school movement heading in the future.
“From week to week … we had to hold together our staff and families who were questioning if they were going to have a job and where they were going to send their kids to school.”
EPISODE DETAILS:
- What it was like to be a new principal thrust into a political battle over education choice
- The experience of having their applications denied and then approved
- How the experience impacted hiring and enrollment
- How both schools responded to challenges posed by COVID-19
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