The biennial Preserve the ‘Burg Preservation Awards were held March 19 to honor those who invest in keeping St. Petersburg special.
The St. Petersburg Arts Alliance is proud to announce that the SHINE® Mural Festival received the Award of Honor for Activating Historic Spaces!
Jenee Priebe, SHINE Program Manager, accepted the award on behalf of the Arts Alliance and the SHINE Steering Committee during this wonderful event held in the historic Cathedral Church of St. Peter.
Since 2015, SHINE has colorfully contributed to the unique vibe we all know and love in St. Pete. Through public art, our annual mural festival continues to encourage residents and visitors to explore and appreciate spaces in our city that may otherwise go unnoticed. From industrial buildings in the Warehouse Arts District to the culturally significant underpass of the Deuces Live, SHINE is honored to be recognized for its impact in St. Petersburg.
Many thanks to Preserve the ‘Burg for this award and thank you to the City of St. Petersburg for their ongoing support of SHINE.
Dr. Michael A. Grego received the 2019 Florida Music Education Association’s Superintendent of the Year Award during the FMEA Professional Development Conference at the Tampa Bay Convention Center in January 2019.
The award is presented to the Florida school district superintendent who is not a professional music educator but has displayed ardent support of the district’s school music programs. This award recognizes leadership, excellence in encouragement and promotion of music education in Florida schools.
At the Awards Breakfast, FMEA also recognized Katherine Reynard of John M. Sexton Elementary School with the 2019 Music Education Service Award.
This award is given to music educators who have been active in music education for 25 years or more. Reynard has been a music educator for 31 years.
Thurgood Marshall Fundamental and Clearwater Fundamental middle schools received the Music Enrollment Award for demonstrating high enrollment in music courses.
For more, see here.
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Pinellas County Schools Graduation Rate Climbs to Highest in History
Pinellas County Schools 2017-18 high school graduation rate rose 3.1 percentage points to 86 percent, representing the highest graduation rate in district history.
The graduation rate among African American students increased a landmark 6.9 percentage points to 76.2 percent. The efforts of the district’s comprehensive Bridging the Gap plan are significant and represent a focused commitment to accelerate the African American graduation rate, resulting in a 19.8 percentage point increase since 2012-13.
Pinellas County Schools has eliminated the graduation gap between Hispanic and non-Hispanic students. In the past year, the graduation rate among Hispanic students rose 3.7 percentage points to 85 percent, which matches the state.
Since 2012-13, the Pinellas graduation rate for Hispanic students has increased 22.4 percentage points.
For more, see here.
You can now see all of this year’s SHINE murals, with locations and statistics from the 2018 Festival.
Click here to explore.
Many thanks to SHINE Coordinator Jenee Priebe for putting this beautiful presentation together.
Cheers to the hard work and dedication of the Tarpon Springs Outdoor Performance Ensemble!
These students had to overcome a lot of struggles and obstacles to get the opportunity to play at Bands of America Grand Nationals this year – where Tarpon Springs competed against 108 other bands from around the U.S. and earned awards as Class 2A Champions and 5th place overall.
Bands of America was founded in 1975 and is now part of the one of the largest and most influential national music education organizations – Music for All.
Bands of America events are recognized as the pinnacle of programs for high school instrumental music nationwide. Find out more at musicforall.org.
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Art students at Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School were honored at Carnegie Hall on June 7. Christopher Velez was one of only 8 in the nation awarded a Gold Medal for his art portfolio and a $1000 scholarship.
The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards are the nation’s longest-running and most prestigious recognition program for creative teens in grades 7-12.
Lakewood High School Jazz Ensemble was invited to participate in the 2018 New York City Jazz Festival, where the band performed at the Apollo Theatre.
The band previously won the Crescent City Musical Festival in New Orleans and have produced their first CD. The Jazz Ensemble performs frequently in Pinellas County.
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We’re proud of each and every student who’s practicing and growing as an artist in Pinellas County.
You can find out more and help us advocate for arts education here.
