The Royal Palm Beach Education Advisory Board meeting held Monday, Nov. 4 featured a presentation by faculty and student leadership at Crestwood Middle School.
Each board meeting, generally held on the first Monday of each month, focuses on a different school, and Royal Palm Beach teachers, principals, school administrators, elected officials, parents and volunteers come together in an effort to ensure that local students receive the best possible education.
The Nov. 4 meeting was no exception, as a crowd of enthusiastic supporters of public education came together. Board Chair Jennifer Sullivan opened the meeting by welcoming those present and those watching online before introducing Crestwood Principal Dr. Stephanie Nance.
“It truly humbles my heart to be here tonight,” Nance said. “I think of Crestwood Middle and Royal Palm Beach as my second home, because I have been teaching in the village for 29 years, and this is my 18th year as principal at Crestwood.”
She went on to describe the school as an “eclectic mosaic” where “diversity is our strength” and how the 752 students at Crestwood are from 31 different countries of birth, and they speak more than 20 different native languages. About 76 percent of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch, and they are taught by a team of 100 dedicated teachers and support staff.
Nance noted that Crestwood is a strong B school emerging from the difficult pandemic years. “We are not resting on our laurels,” she said. “We want our ‘A’ back!”
Goals for this year include increasing student proficiency in all tested areas, increasing student learning gains in math and language, and cultivating better relationships with stakeholders.
Nance stressed the important role of parenting. “When a parent is in sync with the child’s education, student’s outcomes are better,” she said, before going into detail on how the school is working on its various goals.
Nance then introduced students from “Student Voice,” a program where students take responsibility and ownership for their learning.
Jennifer Aguilera described Student Voice as, “Students coming together to make the school a better environment.”
A team from Student Voice then described how one current program is fundraising for better filtration and drinking water quality at school water fountains. Another effort is to add Spanish history classes to the curriculum. The program not only gives students a “voice” in their educational environment, but it empowers and encourages students to take ownership of their own educations.
Nance then introduced students from the Safe School Ambassador (SSA) program. This is a group of students who provide a platform for bullying prevention.
“The SSA is a program that identifies and selects socially influential students from diverse groups across campus,” Safe School Ambassador Marley Mitial said. “We make sure every student feels safe and welcome at Crestwood.”
A positive initiative of the ambassadors is the Kindness Chain, where students come to the stage and express kindness toward one another by sharing complimentary remarks.
Safe School Ambassador Nicholas Caldovino is a Crestwood pre-engineering/STEM academy student. When asked his career aspirations, he said, “I want to be a marine engineer. I’m interested in naval architecture and everything about how ships are engineered to go to sea.” His exact plans aren’t set yet, but he said attending the United States Naval Academy is something he might consider.
Mayor Jeff Hmara, council liaison to the board, said that programs at local schools can help students like Caldovino with their goals.
“The Crestwood pre-engineering/STEM program will help prepare him to achieve his goal of entering a prestigious institution like the Naval Academy,” he said. “This speaks volumes about the ambition and drive of Crestwood students, as well as the impact of our schools in fostering these qualities.”
