Faculty and Staff- 2008-2009 School Year
Mr. Bradley Agee, 6th Grade Science
Mr. Brad Agee is a 6th grade science teacher. Before coming to TCMS, he was employed as an Atmospheric Scientist for the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, CO. He was lucky enough to get paid to travel around the globe performing weather experiments of very high caliber with some extremely intelligent experts in the field. Prior to that, he worked as the lead Meteorologist for a Cloud Seeding program in White Deer, TX where he flew into thunderstorms in an attempt to enhance rainfall.
Mr. Agee graduated from Ball State University in May of 2004 with a B.A. in Operational Meteorology and Climatology, a B.A. in Telecommunications that focused on audio/video production, and a minor in Geographic Information Systems and Mapping. He is an avid storm chaser and has hopes to be able to educate his TCMS students in weather, as well as the other aspects of 6th grade science. Mr. Agee has received his Middle Grades Integrated Curriculum Certificate, and is a member of the National Science Teacher's Association. He looks forward to sharing his knowledge and experiences at TCMS. GO TORNADOES!
Ms. Sarah Bare, Spanish
Ms. Sarah Bare started studying Spanish at the age of 5 in a dual language program offered in Cincinnati, Ohio. She continued studying the language all through school, and began studying abroad at the age of 12. She completed her undergraduate degree in 2003, during which time she spent 10 months in Spain and 4 months in Mexico. Ms. Bare recently completed her master’s degree in Spanish. During her graduate years, she spent time abroad in Spain, France and Africa. This will be Ms. Bare’s fifth year teaching and tutoring Spanish; she has taught one year of middle school at Nativity of Our Lord in Cincinnati, Ohio, two years at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio and a year of high school at Winter Haven High School in Winter Haven, Florida. This will be her first year at Terrace Community Middle School and she is very excited
Ms. Kristine Bennett, Building Administrator/Assistant Principal
Ms. Bennett, a Tampa native who currently lives in Temple Terrace, earned her Educational Leadership Degree from the University of South Florida. In addition to serving as an administrator for Terrace Community, Ms. Bennett served seven years as a classroom teacher, grade level house leader, and lead teacher at TCMS. Ms. Bennett earned a BA in Secondary English Education from the University of South Florida and has earned ESOL, Gifted, and Middle Grades Math certification. As a Sixth grade Math League coach, Ms. Bennett led the team to first place in Hillsborough County. With over ten years of experience in the field of education, Ms. Bennett continues to pursue excellence in education by attending conferences, trainings, and by participating in professional organizations such as Phi Delta Kappa International.
Mr. Brian Bethune, Physical Education/Health
Mr. Bethune has been teaching physical education for the past ten
years, five of them at TCMS. He received his B.S. from the
Mr. Rixie Burroughs, 7th Grade Social Studies
Mr. Burroughs was born in
Ms. Amy Burton, 6th Grade Social Studies
Ms. Burton teaches 6th grade Ancient History and is in her second year at TCMS. She holds a BA in Anthropology and Sociology from Florida International University, and a Masters in Social Science Education from the University of South Florida. She is a Tampa native who loves world travel, culture, and outdoor activities.
Mr. Jason Canonaco, 8th Grade Language Arts
Mr. Canonaco recently moved to
Florida from New York and is looking forward to some great weather! He graduated
in 2000 from Binghamton University with a BA in English and btained aMaster's
degree in 2003. Mr. Canonaco has taught Middle school English for
the past 5 years. He was very proud of his students this year because their New
York State test scores were the highest in the entire county!
Mr. Canonaco loves to travel and has been to many different places. He
lived in London for a semester and studied poetry, Shakespeare, and theater. He
also spent time in Italy and Scotland and also spent close to a month in Hawaii.
He looks forward to exploring Florida!
He is an avid sportsman and loves playing sports such as soccer, football,
tennis, and basketball. He coached the boy's Junior Varsity soccer
for the past 3 years. and enjoys boating , and especially fishing! He hopes to
land a marlin as soon as possible! He also enjoys reading and writing in
his spare time.
Mr. Canonaco is very excited about
teaching at TCMS this year!
Mrs. Vivian Canaday , Physical Education
Mrs. Canaday has been a
Mrs. Rocio Castillo, Teacher Para-Professional, English as a Second Language
Ms. Castillo is originally from Mexico City and moved to Tampa in 1999. She has been married for almost 20 years and has a daughter who recently from TCMS. Ms. Castillo graduated from Universidad Motolinia in Mexico City and is Gifted and ESOL certified. She is fluent in Spanish and can speak Italian and some French. She encourages students to think out of the box and to look at things through a different perspective. This is Ms. Castillo’s 6th year of teaching at TCMS
Mr. Steve Conover, 8th Grade House, Math Subject Area Leader
Mr. Conover teaches 8th Grade Algebra I Honors and is the Math Subject Area Leader for TCMS. He has a BA in Secondary Mathematics Education from USF (1992) and a MS in Math Ed from NOVA (1998). He is certified to teach Secondary Mathematics grades 6-12, Middle Grades Math 6-9, is Gifted endorsed, and ESOL certified. This is his 16th year teaching in the county and his 7th year at TCMS. Mr. C’s interests include sci-fi/fantasy literature, Magic: The Gathering CCG, and a varied taste in music. Mr. C also is a group fitness instructor at Lifestyle Family Fitness where he is currently certified in the Les Mills RPM program.
Mrs. Cecilia Diaz, Spanish I Honors
Mrs. Diaz was born in
Mr. Eric Fernandez, 7th Grade Science, Science Subject Area Leader
Mr. Eric G. Fernandez is native to Tampa and has been a Hillsborough County Science teacher for four years. He is one of Hillsborough County’s 2008 Prism Science Teacher of Excellence Award winners. He is a research zoologist and conservation biologist active in the field for the last 20 years. He is presently in the dissertation phase of his Ph. D through the United Nations Environmental Program’s “Interuniversity Doctorate Programme in Management, Access, and Conservation of Biodiversity”. His ongoing research focuses on manatee grazing, and its impact on seagrass beds in Belize.
Mr. Fernandez has a Bachelors degree in Zoology with a minor in Anthropology, from the University of Florida and a Masters Degree in Conservation, Management and Access to Faunal and Floral Resources from the Unversidad Internacional de Andalucia. He also long term member of the Species Survival Commission, Crocodile Specialist Group. He is a PADI Rescue Diver with many years of scuba experience. He loves outdoor activities such as hiking, canoeing, boating, diving, snorkeling, spelunking, archaeology, paleontology, herpetology, field research, and most anything that will get him filthy and deep into the wilds. Mr. Fernandez has dedicated his life to science, research and teaching.
Mrs. Brenda Grosenbaugh, Bookkeeper
Mrs. Grosenbaugh is employed as the school bookkeeper. She is an alumni parent of TCMS. Her twin son and daughter are graduates of the Class of 2004. They just graduated in 2008 from the King IB program and are headed to Florida State University in the fall. She and her husband also have a daughter who is headed to South Carolina to begin her graduate studies at USC. Mrs. Grosenbaugh was a very active parent volunteer when her children were students here and finds the inner workings of the school both rewarding and challenging with lots of room for growth. Before joining TCMS last year as an employee, she was employed in the field of medical records coding and chart analysis. This is a nice career change and she hopes to enjoy many happy years at TCMS!
Ms. Juliana Hite, 7th Grade Language Arts
This will be Ms. Hite's second year teaching 7th grade Language Arts at TCMS. Prior to teaching here, she taught 8th grade Language Arts at Burns Middle School in Brandon for two years and 7th grade Language Arts for two years at Gray Middle School in Union, KY. She attended Murray State University on a tennis scholarship for three years before returning home to graduate from Northern Kentucky University with a degree in Middle Grades Education- Math/Language Arts. She is currently earning her ESOL certification. In addition to teaching, she was the director of tennis at Triple Crown Country Club in Union, KY prior to moving to Florida and the coach of the Ryle High School Girls' Tennis Team. In her free time she still enjoys playing tennis, running, reading and of course, going to the beach (why else move to Florida?).
Mr. Gary Hocevar,
Chief
Education Officer/Principal
Please click here to read Mr. Hocevar's profile.
Mr. Adam Hough, 6th Grade Science
Mr. Hough enters his 10th year of teaching at TCMS. A Florida Certified Teacher, he received his Bachelor’s Degree in Geological Sciences and his M.Ed in Education from Wright State University in Ohio. He is endorsed in Drama, Middle Grades Integrated Curriculum, ESOL and Gifted Education. Mr. Hough has been a member of the TCMS faculty since the fall of 1999, and has previously taught 6th, 7th and 8th grade science as well as drama. Among Mr. Hough’s interests are cinema, international travel, and composing music. He has directed TCMS students in the stage productions of "Treasure Island" and "Alice in Wonderland" as well as directed the movie version of Alice in Wonderland.
Ms. Kathleen Jarosh, 7th Grade Science
Mrs. Cynthia Johnson, Cafe Manager
Mrs. Johnson is a native of Tampa. She has three years of experience managing lunchrooms for private/charter schools. This will be her 2 second year at TCMS.
Mr. Edgar Jones, Maintenance, Health, Safety and Custodial Services
Ms. Rebecca Kimmitz, 6th Grade Language Arts, Faculty Representative to the Board (2008-2009SY)
Ms. Kimmitz
was born in
Mrs. Caryl Kloppenburg, LPN, School Clinic
Mr. Scott Labaw,
Mr. LaBaw attended USF from 1974-1979 and has many years experience as a trainer and medical sales.
Ms. Meichelle Long, IT/ Media Resource Director, Teacher
Ms. Long is the
Information Technology Director and will serves as the
school's Media Resource Specialist. She earned a
B.A. from
Taylor University
and has Technology certifications such as MarcoPolo
Certified Instructor, MOUS Certification and Miami Museum of Science's in Tech
Certified Instructor as well as Gifted certified. This is Ms. Long's tenth year teaching in
Ms. Millie Medilice, Lunchroom Assistant
Ms. Diane Lopez Miller, Art
Mrs Miller is excited to join the TCMS staff this fall as the new art teacher. She is a recent newlywed and new to the Tampa area. She previously taught art in Colorado for thirteen years at LaJunta Middle School and ceramics at Otero Junior College for five years. Mrs. Miller received a BA in Art Education K-12 in 1993 and an MA in Secondary Education/Art in 1999, from Adams State College. She loves the water and the weather in Florida!
Mrs. Ruth Morris,
Band, Jazz Band
Mrs. Morris has lived in the
Ms. Beth Murphy, ESE Specialist
This will be Ms. Murphy’s sixth year at TCMS as Exceptional Student Education Specialist, and her 12th year in the field of exceptional education. She received her Bachelor of Science in Special Education from Florida International University in Miami, in addition to receiving her ESOL endorsement. For 6 years she taught elementary learning disabled students in the resource room setting in Hillsborough County. During the 17 years she stayed home to have fun with her now college age children, she was actively involved in the classroom as a substitute teacher, continuing to attend district held in-services, and privately tutoring students.
Mr. Robert Negron, Physical Education
Mr. Negron was born and raised in Puerto Rico and lived there until graduating from high school. An athlete since birth, he participated in basketball, track and field, and played baseball from the age of 4 to the age of 20, finishing the last two years as a Spartan at the University of Tampa. A graduate in 2006, he since has been substitute teaching and working with children as an instructor at the SACC program at Cannella Elementary. Young, driven, enthusiastic, he now enters his second year at TCMS and is ready to mold the the TCMS students of today into tomorrow's leaders.
Ms. April Oliphant, 6th Grade Social Studies
Ms. Oliphant is in her 2nd year of teaching at TCMS. Last year, she taught 6th Grade Earth Science, but will teach Ancient History this year, along with Ms. Burton. Ms. Oliphant was born and raised in El Paso, TX. She attended the University of Central Arkansas on a soccer scholarship, graduating in 2003 and receiving a BA in Psychology with a minor in Business Management. Before joining the TCMS family, Ms. Oliphant worked as a family services counselor for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Pinellas County. Some of Ms. Oliphant’s loves, in additional to teaching children, are spending time with her family and enjoying the outdoors. She ishonored to be a part of the TCMS family!
Ms. Octavia Delk-O'Neal, 8th Grade Algebra I Honors
Ms. O’Neal is new to TCMS this year and is teaching 8th grade Algebra I Honors. She is certified to teach Middle grades Mathematics 5-9 and is ESOL endorsed. She is originally from Saginaw, Michigan and has lived in Florida for 5 years where she has taught in the Orange County Public School District of Orlando. She is a graduate of Michigan State University with a B.A. in Public Administration and a M.A. in Administrative Sciences from Saginaw Valley State University. She truly enjoys the essence of teaching and has demonstrated her dedication while working summer and after school programs like the YMCA, Upward Bound Trio, and Bright Steps Tutoring Services. Her hobbies include roller skating and bowling. She looks forward to a new beginning with Terrace Community Middle School.
Ms. Karen Ott, 6th Grade Math, Math League coach (6th grade)
Ms. Ott is teaching
sixth grade math in her third year here at TCMS. A
graduate of Fairmont State College where she attended on a basketball
scholarship, Ms. Ott earned a BA in Elementary
Education, is certified in Gifted Education, ESOL and is currently pursuing
National Board Certification. She has been teaching for 23 years and 13 of those years here in
Ms. Helen Ratcliffe, Director, Office of Student and Personnel Services
Mrs. Ratcliffe celebrates her 10th anniversary of employment with TCMS in July of 2008. She is very proud to be associated with such a wonderful school and the community it serves. Mrs. Ratcliffe graduated Cum Laude from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas with a BA in English. She and her husband have been married for 34 years and are the very proud parents of two young adult children. Her interests include musical theater, reading, college and professional football and traveling (which she hopes to do alot of when she retires in five more years!).
Ms. Rachel Rodriguez, 7th Grade Language Arts Rachel Rodriguez is a USF graduate, where she received her MAT in Secondary English Education. This will be her 2nd year at TCMS, and she is very excited to be a part of such a fantastic school. She is a member of the NCTE, FCTE (Florida Council of Teachers of English), and ALAN (Assembly on Literature for Adolescents)She loves to spend her time outdoors with her dogs, curling up with a great book, running, going to the beach, or visiting various national parks.
Mr. Marco Salazar, 7th & 8th Grade Social Studies
After testing the waters in the corporate world for the past 6 years, Mr. Salazar decided to return to his true passion, teaching. Now in his secpnd year at TCMS Mr. Salazar will teach 8th grade U.S. History and 7th grade World Geography. Born in Quito, Ecuador, Mr. Salazar had 6 years of teaching experience in the Chicago Public Schools System. He obtained his B.A. in Journalism in 1994 and a Masters Degree in Education, Curriculum Development and Implementation in 2001. Mr. Salazar has kept in touch with kids through coaching. He has been coaching competitive soccer for the past 7 years and is currently the head coach of two competitive soccer teams with the New Tampa Comets. He is also the proud father of two sets of twins.
Mr. Joshua Smith, 8th Grade Social Studies
Ms. Tahvia
Shaw,
7th Grade
Math, 7th Grade Math
League Sponsor
Ms. Shaw
teaches 7th grade pre-algebra. She is entering her 9th
year at TCMS. Mrs. Shaw received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology
Education from
Ms. Marlene Schwarzmann, 6th Grade Math
Ms. Schwarzmann
teaches 6th grade Math. This will be her sixth year teaching at TCMS. Before joining TCMS, Ms.
Schwarzmann
taught in the School District of Hillsborough County for 71/2 years. Mrs. Schwarzmann
graduated from the
Ms. Linda Shivers, Business Manager
Mrs. Shivers is entering her 8th year as the Business Manager for TCMS. She
also served as the yearbook advisor or co-advisor for many years. She has
organized six of the
seven 8th Grade Washington, D.C. field trips and is in the process of organizing
this year's trip. She is also assisted Mrs. Diaz with the 8th Grade
Graduation this year. Mrs. Shivers is a certified paralegal and practiced
for 18 years prior to becoming a bookkeeper which she has been for the last 8
years. Both of her children graduated from TCMS. Her son is attends
the
Ms. Joanne Stecher, 8th Grade Physical Science Honors
Mrs. Joanne Stecher is a new 8th Grade Physical Science Honors teacher at TCMS. She holds degrees in both Nursing and Human Ecology. In addition to being a Highly Qualified Teacher, she is a Registered Nurse in the State of Florida. Before to coming to TCMS, Mrs. Stecher taught 6th grade math, science and geography at Tomlin Middle School. Prior to teaching, she was the Director of Nursing for a home health care agency. She is certified in Biology 6-12 and ESE K-12 and is a member of the NMSA and NSTA. When not busy teaching, Mrs. Stecher enjoys traveling, watching the Green Bay Packers (GO PACK, GO!!!), and relaxing with her husband, two children, and her fur babies (Pugsley, Mugsey, Hemingway, and Mario).
Mr. Ted Steinmetz,
8th Grade Physical Science Honors; 8th Grade House Leader
Mr. Steinmetz
teaches science. Mr. Steinmetz attended
Ms. Judith Turner,
8th
Grade
Mrs. Turner teaches 8th Grade U. S. History She is certified to teach Social Science 6-12 and Language
Arts 6-12. She is endorsed in ESOL, ESE and Gifted Education. Ms.
Turner graduated from the
Mrs. Melinda Whittemore, 6th Grade Language Arts, Language Arts Subject Area Leader
Mrs. Whittemore has been a part of the TCMS family for years as a parent and just recently, a teacher. The 2008-2009 school year will be her second year of teaching full time at TCMS. She has previously been with both public and private learning institutions and has experience teaching Pre-Kindergarten up through 6th grade during her 17 years in education. This year she will lead the TCMS Language Arts teachers into another year of excellence in education. Leadership, structure and organization are a few strong characteristics she brings to her classroom. She is a graduate of the University Of Florida College Of Education, currently pursuing her Gifted Endorsement as well as ESOL Certification. Mrs. Whittemore is married, and has two sons; ages 17 and 14, the latter, a recent TCMS graduate.
Mr. Adam Wilkinson, 7th Grade Pre-Algebra
Mr. Wilkinson was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is a diehard Bengals, Reds, and Georgia Bulldogs fan. This will be his second year teaching 7th grade math at TCMS. He graduated with a Bachelors degree in Secondary Education Integrated Mathematics from Ohio University in 2005. He also was a junior varsity baseball and varsity basketball coach while in Cincinnati. He works very hard at making math fun for everyone and looks forward to working with everyone at TCMS.
Mrs. Ellen Witkowski, 8th Grade Language Arts
Mrs. Witkowski teaches eighth grade language arts. Prior to coming to TCMS, she taught literature, English, and religious studies for 25 years at the Academy of the Holy Names in Tampa. She has taught senior English at Chamberlain High School and all subjects at Villa Madonna School.
Mrs. Witkowski has a B.A. from the University of South Florida in Tampa with secondary certification in English and Social Studies.
Mrs. Robin Wiseman, 8th Grade Social Studies
Mrs. Wiseman is a graduate of
Mrs. Susan Zak , Guidance Counselor
This is Mrs. Zak’s ninth year as Guidance Counselor at TCMS. She holds a Master’s Degree in Guidance and Counseling (K-12) from USF and a BA in Counseling and Rehabilitation from Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. She previously worked as an elementary counselor, mental health counselor, and substitute teacher. Mrs. Zak lives in Temple Terrace, is married and has a college-aged daughter and a son in high school, both of whom are graduates of TCMS. Mrs. Zak enjoys traveling (especially to the mountains), snow skiing, reading and tennis.