Staff, community celebrate Orange Ridge-Bullock Elementary before Bradenton school closes
In 1975, Joan Papa was newly divorced. She had no job, no home, no furniture and no hope.
The principal at Orange Ridge Elementary School gave her a shot.
In return, Papa stayed as a first-grade teacher at the school for 25 years.
“Mrs. Michael gave me a chance,” she said. “I worked hard here for a long time.”
Papa’s stories, of the many shared Saturday, embody the spirit of those who have walked through the doors of Orange Ridge-Bullock Elementary School. The school will close to students in June after 58 years. Instead of going out with a whimper, former staff organized a get-together, a reunion of sorts, at the school to celebrate its heritage and to share stories and memories.
This is sort of an end of an era, but a beginning of a new journey.
Manatee County School District Superintendent Diana Greene
“We appreciate that you’ve come to help us celebrate this long tradition of family atmosphere at Orange Ridge Bullock Elementary School,” said Maribeth Mason, the last principal at Orange Ridge. “We are so happy to have you here.”
The loosely organized event lent itself to circles of conversations. And pictures. Plenty of pictures.
“We wanted it to be a time for people to get together and talk tall tales,” said Fran Padgett, a principal at the school from 1984-99. Padgett helped organize the event when she heard Superintendent Diana Greene and the Manatee County School Board planned to close the school.
Orange Ridge is the first, but not the only school, affected by a long-term plan to balance enrollment across the Manatee County School District by moving students out of older schools, and position the district to be able to build new schools in areas of population growth. The bulk of Orange Ridge students and staff will head to Rogers Garden Elementary School, which opened in 2009 and is under capacity.
Students are also being displaced to other central corridor schools, including Samoset, Oneco and Daughtrey. Ballard Elementary is also affected by the move.
Retired teacher Beverly Whitcomb heard the news in Virginia, where she moved in 2015 to be closer to her children. She drove to Bradenton for the weekend to make sure she was on hand Saturday.
“I spent most of my adult life in this school,” she said. “There’s a certain sadness now.”
Whitcomb, a Bradenton native, said she stayed in one place for so long because staff and the students became like family. Whitcomb worked at the school from 1973-99.
“We laughed together. We celebrated together,” she said.
Papa spoke of the same type of celebrations at the school, where she worked from 1975-2000. The staff had a Friday get-together and about once a month, a different staff member hosted a house party. Papa said it never mattered how much space the person had in their home, they’d fit in there somehow.
“It was just fun,” she said.
After talking to former staffers, a common theme stood out for Padgett.
“What really is special about this school is that it makes us the best people we can be. To be the best person is the only way we can fulfill our goal, which is to teach all children,” Padgett said. “Because we were so committed to that mission we had to have our A-game every day we were here. There was no off-time for any of us.”
That drive, Padgett said, helped the school and staff succeed.
A number of current district principals, including King Middle Principal Michele Romeo, Ballard Principal Wendy Mungillo, Sea Breeze Elementary Principal Greg Sander, Buffalo Creek Middle Principal Tony Losada and Palma Sola Elementary School Principal Jennifer Grimes all worked at Orange Ridge and were at the school Saturday.
That type of hard work and the relationships could probably be found in any Manatee County school, Greene said. She said the ORB celebration Saturday marked a new beginning.
“This is sort of an end of an era, but a beginning of a new journey,” she said. “A new journey for students who used to attend Orange Ridge, a new journey for our teachers, a new journey for everyone who is connected to Orange Ridge-Bullock.”
Meghin Delaney: 941-745-7081, @MeghinDelaney
Moving and changing
The new high school was just one of the many potential moves Manatee County School District will make in the next few years to balance enrollment. Other proposals laid out in February include:
- Close Orange Ridge-Bullock Elementary School and move most of the students into Rogers Garden Elementary School, effective the 2016-17 academic year.
- Move the international baccalaureate program at Wakeland to Johnson Middle School for the 2017-18 school year, and discontinue use of Wakeland as a school. The ACCESS program at Johnson would move to Harllee Middle, helping pick up enrollment there.
- Open a new elementary school in the north area in time for the 2018-19 school year to provide relief for Mills Elementary. The district does not own any suitable elementary school property in that area yet, but Superintendent Diana Greene said a new school will be necessary even if other measures are taken.
- Discontinue use of Blackburn as an elementary school and repurpose it as an early learning center for all students north of the river for the 2018-19 school year. Special programs for high-needs students could also be moved there. Blackburn students would be rezoned to Tillman or Palm View to help bring enrollment at those schools up to capacity.
- Rebuild or do major renovations at Tillman Elementary School for the 2018-19 school year. Greene also anticipates a rebuild or major renovation project at Oneco Elementary soon.
- Convert Harllee over the next few years to a school for gifted students.
This story was originally published May 21, 2016 at 6:55 PM with the headline "Staff, community celebrate Orange Ridge-Bullock Elementary before Bradenton school closes."