HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Hillsborough County Schools recently celebrated the opening of a brand new ESE center, the Dorothy Thomas Exceptional Center, serving students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

The principal and teachers even helped design the school, working with architects to add features that specifically help their students.

Hillsborough’s Deputy Superintendent Chris Farkas said the new school is a prime example of what they use tax referendums for, and he hopes residents keep that in mind as the district prepares to ask voters for another referendum next year.

“Luckily, in 2018, through a lot of hard work and the community supported us and did a sales tax referendum — that sales tax referendum is 100% the funding for this building. If it was not for the sales tax referendum, these students would still be in portables,” Farkas said.

Dorothy Thomas Center’s principal, Kelly Simmons, said the new school has a science lab like you see in traditional neighborhood schools, a cooking class, TV production class and even a regular school cafeteria. All things that aren’t typical for ESE centers.

She said the sensory room is very special because teachers helped architects design it. “It’s very calming for some of our students with disabilities. Sometimes we bring students in here who are having a behavioral outburst, or just need a break from the classroom stimuli.”

Simmons came from a traditional high school, and she spent all but the last two years of her 21-year career working with non-disabled students. 

“Historically, students with disabilities have almost kind of gotten left overs at times, you know? But now this is a very brand new school, state-of-the-art school with areas and privileges that the students of their non-disabled peers in their regular schools,” she said. 

Simmons said that is why the center means so much to her, and why serving students with special needs has been her ultimate career goal.

“I feel that I best serve the community and students of Hillsborough County in the realm of the ESE, and it’s not even like a job to me. Every day I come to work and I come with a sense of excitement, and I leave with a sense of gratitude,” she said.

Simmons said her students now have the learning environment they truly deserve. 

Students have been learning in the new facility since August. Since then, Simmons said they’ve already seen declines in discipline, and an increase in therapeutic responses.

She said they’re well on their way to seeing an increase in integration for students back into their neighborhood schools, which is the ultimate goal.