There are almost 7,000 public school teachers in Pinellas County. Each year just 10 are named finalists for Teacher of the Year. That’s .001% of teachers in the county, and this year, one of them is Old Northeast resident Dana Ingebretsen, or “Ms. Ingey” to her students. Originally from Port Charlotte, Ingebretsen has spent her entire 13-year career teaching science at Boca Ciega High School in Gulfport.

While some teachers might change roles a few times before finding their niche, Ingebretsen found a home right away as a young teacher at “Bogie.” As she honed her craft early in her career, she took the opportunity to build relationships with student leaders as a student government advisor.… Read More

An impulse changed Carol Poulson’s life and she’s ready to do the same for others. In 2014, while teaching school, she had a sudden realization, “I need to get on an airplane and go somewhere.” And it wasn’t because her class was driving her crazy. Poulson realized something was missing. As a stay-at-home mom, she loved taking care of her sons, planning birthday parties, volunteering at their school, and driving the carpool. But carving time out of her busy day for a little self-care or “fun” made her feel guilty. 

“As moms, we really do need to put our oxygen mask on first,” Poulson says. … Read More

Deris and Gabriel Fernandez came to America from Venezuela about four years ago. I was volunteering at the Tomlinson Adult Learning Center and first heard about the couple after they began taking English as a Second Language (ESOL) classes at the center. When the pandemic hit, the school couldn’t hold classes and we connected to practice English via weekly Zoom calls. I wrote a story about my experience helping them with conversational English in January of 2021 for the Northeast Journal. Two years later, I was curious about how they were progressing and reconnected with them. We met for coffee at The Blend Old Northeast and again at my home a few weeks later.… Read More

When former Superintendent Michael Grego retired after ten years on the job, the Pinellas County School District didn’t have to look far for his replacement. New Superintendent Kevin Hendrick has been a fixture in the school district for 25 years. Hendrick is a local. He grew up in Belleair and Largo, graduated from Largo High School, and went to USF. He began his career teaching math at Pinellas Park High School before spending six years at Dunedin High School teaching social studies and coaching basketball. 

Hendrick moved to the Old Northeast 11 years ago to shorten his commute when he took a position as assistant principal at Palmetto High School in Manatee County.… Read More