Starkey Elementary School -  Home of the Bears

Address: 9300 86th Ave. Seminole, FL 33777

Phone:  (727) 547-7841

Fax: (727) 545-7550

Pinellas County Schools Administration: (727) 588-6000

Principal: Audrey Beekman

Grade levels: K-5

School Hours: 8:45 AM  -   2:55 PM

About

Nestled in a quiet Seminole neighborhood, Starkey Elementary has been a fixture of the community since 1960. Over the past several decades, we have created many special traditions while embracing innovative learning opportunities. We have a reputation for strong partnerships with families and community members. Together, we’re focused on academic achievement and character development in a safe environment. Proud home of the Starkey Bears, our mascot represents strength, determination and confidence. We serve about 700 students from PreK through grade 5. Students and staff are dedicated to the S.T.A.R. expectations of Safety, Teamwork, Attitude, and Responsibility.

Points of Pride

• State rated A or B school for over 20 consecutive years
• Consistently outperform district and state averages on local and state assessments
• Prestigious Five Star Award 1995-2021 for our high level of community involvement (award ceased in 2022)
• 2022 State Commissioner's Family Involvement Award nominee
• Host and prepare interns seeking teaching careers from various universities
• Active Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and School Advisory Council (SAC)
• Daily technology integration
• Modified dress code policy
• Named one of America’s Healthiest Schools in 2018 & 2019 by The Alliance for a Healthier Generation
• Named a Healthier US Challenge School by The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Recognizing Excellence in Nutrition and Physical Activity.

Special Services & Programs 

• Student clubs: Multicultural Committee, Video Production, Student Council, STEM, Good News, Art, Craft, Book, Coding, Gardening, Legos, Minecraft, Crazy Eights and Yoga
• Extended Learning Programs
• Promise Time Tutoring
• Breakfast and lunch at no charge for all students
• STAR News show produced by students
• Concerts, art shows and science showcase for all grade levels
• Student based community service projects
• Start with Hello Program

Vision: 100% Student Success

School Mission: We will partner with families to inspire a love for learning as students achieve personal goals.

Communication: We will keep you informed with robo calls, posted messages on the marquee, school website, flyers, and phone calls. It is critical your child’s information is updated on the parent portal in Focus in case immediate information needs to be shared with you. Please call the office if you need help accessing it for changes.

Absences: Pinellas County Schools uses the School Messenger system to notify parents when an absence is recorded by the school. Please report your student’s absence by 9:15 am at StarkeyES.Absence@pcsb.org or by calling the office. The Student Code of Conduct has other important information regarding absences. Download your copy at www.pcsb.org/code.

Arrival: Gates open at 8:15 am. Please do not drop your students off before 8:15 am as there is no adult supervision before this time. Students can enter the classroom immediately upon arrival. Classes begin promptly at 8:45 am with morning announcements.

Dismissal: Please make sure your child knows how he/she is getting home every day before coming to school. Have a plan in place ahead of time including rainy days. Any changes to a student’s way home needs to be written in the child’s agenda notifying the teacher of the change. For the safety of your child, please avoid last minute changes to their routine. We ask that parents make doctor/dentist appointments after school whenever possible. For all our students to safely load their buses, cars, and daycare vans, we begin dismissal for our youngest students at 2:40 pm.  The office will not accept early dismissals after 2:15 pm beyond emergency situations.  

Car Rider Pick Up and Drop Off: Many of our students are car riders. If you are heading west on 86th Avenue toward Starkey Elementary you will not be able to make a left-hand turn into the parking lot. Please go beyond the school and turn around in one of the neighborhood streets to approach the school coming from the west. You may also make a right-hand turn onto 92nd Street then make an immediate left onto 87th Avenue, turn left onto 94th Street. This will bring you back to 86th Avenue west of our school. Turn left on 86th Avenue and you will be set to make a right-hand turn into the parking lot. A color-coded name card will be given to you at the car circle to display your child’s first and last name. Place it in the center of your windshield to help us identify who you are picking up. Drop off will begin at 8:15 am and pick up will begin at 2:40 pm for PreK and 2:45 pm for kindergarten. All others will be dismissed at 2:55 pm. Please do not enter the car line until your child’s dismissal time so PreK and kindergarten can safely and efficiently be dismissed before you enter.

Bus Transportation: A postcard will be mailed to your home address with bus stop information on it a few weeks before school starts. Students who ride the bus will come home with a wrist band on their backpacks. This helps us to identify which bus they ride to and from school. Please keep the wrist band on the backpack for the first week and help your child learn which bus they ride. Please follow the bus driver and bus assistant’s directions to help keep everyone safe. Sign up for bus bulletins at www.busbulletin.com to receive notifications when something is affecting your child's bus.

Breakfast and Lunch: The Café will be open for breakfast starting at 8:15 am. Bagged breakfasts will also be available for students near the bus circle and car circle that can be eaten in the classroom. Students are still welcome to bring a packed lunch from home.  Visitors are welcome to have lunch with their students any day, by signing your child out and eating outside the office at one of our picnic tables.

Visitors/Volunteers/Mentors: Everyone must sign in at the office with proper identification. A visitor/volunteer badge must always be worn when on campus. It must be in an easily visible place on the top front of shirts. We love our volunteers! Please consider becoming a mentor, helping students work with computers, assisting in the Media Center, supervising students on field trips. There are many other opportunities too.

Personal Items: Please make sure you have your child’s name on personal items, such as lunch boxes, backpacks, jackets, sweatshirts, water bottles, etc. When items get left behind, we can return them when they have a first and last name on them. Unclaimed items are sent to charity organizations.

Dress Code Policy: Uniforms may be purchased during the summertime at local stores such as Wal-Mart, Target, Beall’s, Old Navy, JC Penney, and Burlington Coat Factory, just to name a few. There are also websites on-line to order uniforms. Please make sure to buy long pants before school starts.  It can be difficult to find long pants when you need them. Not all supplies in a store’s uniform department are appropriate for our school. Please reference the uniform letter as you shop.

YMCA: We offer before and after school care at our school through the YMCA. Applications must be completed online at suncoastymca.org. Their main office number is (727) 467-9622. Our YMCA is in the school cafeteria before and after school. Students can be dropped off as early as 6:30 am and picked up as late as 6:00 pm if they are participating in the YMCA Program. Drop/pick up will take place in the cafeteria.  Students will be signed in electronically at that point.

Download the Starkey Elementary Brochure (PDF)