Brooks-DeBartolo Welcomes Kristine Bennett

Kristine Bennett understands the charter school system and wants to provide students with a positive learning atmosphere.

As the second principal at (BDCHS), Bennett said she is excited about providing a collegiate environment to all students.

“It is important to teach kids how to think and make decisions,” she said. “It’s not just about content; they need to learn to apply what they have learned.”

Bennett’s goal is to improve student achievement and teacher performance. She said she plans to increase expectations while supporting the students, teachers and parents to meet these expectations.

One of the ways Bennett plans to facilitate increased student achievement is through the school’s dual enrollment program with Hillsborough Community College (HCC). Through the free program, students are bussed to HCC for morning classes on Mondays and Wednesdays. Students simultaneously maintain their college coursework and high school assignments.

Bennett, 36, started her career in education after graduating from USF with a bachelor’s degree in English Education and a master’s degree in Educational Leadership.

She taught reading and writing at the Academy of Holy Names in Tampa and language arts at Hudson Middle School in Pasco. Then, she moved to Terrace Community Middle School (TCMS).

There, she taught language arts, history and math. She was also a team leader at TCMS from 2001-07. TCMS awarded Bennett “Teacher of the Year” in 2002.

Bennett was liaison between TCMS and the (USF) College of Engineering/Research Experience for Teachers. The program was sponsored by the National Science Foundation to excite local middle school students about early engineering focus.

Bennett was promoted to TCMS’s building administrator and assistant principal for the last four years of her tenure there. She handled the day-to-day operations of the school and oversaw curriculum and instruction.

She said she is honored to have some of her TCMS students have followed her to BDCHS.

Bennett is originally from Florida and grew up in the Tampa Bay area. She lives in Temple Terrace with her husband and two children. She enjoys doing anything outdoors, including tennis, volley ball, boating, surfing, parasailing, cruising and camping.

BDCHS’s ninth-grade orientation is scheduled for Aug. 17, and orientation for all other grades is Aug. 19.

Applications are being accepted for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 school years. A series of recruitment open houses are planned.