Wimauma Jump Start program for kindergarten students

Wimauma Elementary Principal Interview

In late 2016, the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay brought together a large group of organizations and individuals with a question: What can we do collectively to give the residents of Wimauma – adults and children – more opportunities to prosper.

The Wimauma Community Education Partnership was born. One result: The Hillsborough County School District brought a free voluntary prekindergarten program back to the area for the first time in years because of the community support that recruited 45 students to a traditional 300-hour VPK at the schools and another 17 to a migrant student VPK class.

The effort expanded this summer to include a Jump Start program for kindergarten students heading to first grade and tutoring for 3rd-grade students struggling to read at grade level.

Wimauma Elementary Principal Ismael LaBron-Bravo and teacher Ryan Sealy talk about what the program means to the participating children and the Wimauma community.

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