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Programs and Services Hillsborough SpringBoard® Training BenefitsMore Than 2,300
All eyes are on Hillsborough County Public Schools, which just successfully completed the largest ever implementation of SpringBoard® training — benefiting more than 2,300 teachers in six weeks. This is the latest in a string of innovative programs the Tampa Bay district has been putting into practice, and representatives from Florida’s Department of Education came to see what all the hoopla was about. Hillsborough is the same school district that has implemented the College Board’s EXCELerator™ program in all of its schools. After introducing SpringBoard to select schools in the district last year, Hillsborough plans this year to implement SpringBoard in every middle and high school in its district. As this was the district’s second year of SpringBoard training, it was decidedly more ambitious. Hillsborough Superintendent MaryEllen Elia and the district’s key administrators provided critical support of this massive implementation. Executing six weeks of solid training for all district administrators, language arts teachers and math teachers in grades six through 12 — more than 2,300 teachers in 40 middle schools and 20 high schools — requires tremendous planning. Two Hillsborough employees — Eric Bergholm, general director for Advanced Academic Access, and Jorma Young, supervisor for Academic Programs — have been invaluable to SpringBoard as partners in mapping out all three levels of training: initial training, advanced training and Jump Start training. Additionally, Young and Bergholm were trained to work alongside SpringBoard coaches, delivering two workshops that prepared district-level administrators to support implementation. Elizabeth Brown and Mike Smith — district ELA coordinator and math coordinator, respectively — provided critical support throughout the six weeks of training by responding on the spot to any content-related issues. “This is a model for the positive synergy that can be achieved when supported by an entire district,” said Lola Greene, director of SpringBoard Professional Development at the College Board, who executed the training. “The district has been extremely involved with every aspect of this effort.” Linda Guidry, from the College Board’s EXCELerator program, was also instrumental in the planning phase, meeting with district language arts and math teachers to determine the critical units of instruction for SpringBoard training and for the teachers to implement during the school year to match curricula. SpringBoard math and language arts are key curricula in EXCELerator. The Institute for Curriculum Coherence and Planning, an EXCELerator effort, brought a select group of SpringBoard teachers to map and integrate the curricula into the yearly curricula. Additionally, a cadre of SpringBoard teachers from across Florida were recruited to train teachers to become national trainers. As the first district to implement EXCELerator and SpringBoard programs in all schools, the state of Florida — indeed, the entire nation — is watching what’s happening in Hillsborough. 
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