St. Johns schools No. 1 - (Duval not so bad either...)

[Jason]

St. Johns schools No. 1

By MARCIA LANE   |   More by this reporter  |  marcia.lane@staugustine.com   |   Posted: Friday, June 19, 2009 ; Updated: 11:20 AM on Friday, June 19, 2009

St. Johns County School District ranked first in the state with the highest overall score when school grades were released Thursday by the state Department of Education.

Last year St. Johns County had the third highest score in the state.

Even with that, it was a good news-bad news day for the schools.

Good news: St. Johns County now has 27 A schools (up from 23 last year) and four B schools. The district opened three new facilities this school year.

Bad news: Two high schools dropped in rankings, with one Pedro Menendez High School going from a B to a D.

Good news: St. Johns continues to be an A district, with a 10-point increase in total points. It was the eighth consecutive year the district has earned the A ranking.

Bad news: St. Johns Technical High School received an F, even though all 54 seniors graduated this year.

St. Johns County reflected a trend around the state with a number of districts, including Flagler and Volusia seeing slips in their high school scores.

Superintendent Joe Joyner said part of the problem is the high school grading system for the lowest quartile of students.

The lowest quartile is made up of the lowest scoring 25 percent of students in a school. Fifty percent of the lowest 25 have to meet learning gains set by the state.

"Three of our high schools were penalized for not increasing performance by 50 percent in the lowest quartile," Joyner said. "Both Nease High School and Ponte Vedra High School received a total of 600 points, 75 points higher than that needed for an A. But they were five points under the learning gain cutoff, which caused them both to lose a letter grade."

Nease went from an A to a B. Ponte Vedra is in its first year of existence and received a B.

The other first year high school - Creekside High School - received an A.

Joyner said he did not think the D grade at Menendez accurately reflected the school's achievements, but efforts are already under way to identify areas for improvement.

St. Johns Technical is an alternative school. For the first time in several years it received a grade. Pointing to the graduation rate, Joyner disagreed with the F score.

"Alternative schools always struggle with a conventional grading system," Joyner said.

"SJTHS is making excellent progress and meeting the needs of its students, and they need time to build on their success," he said. "Their learning gains were comparable to those at our other high schools, and they even had the highest percentage of growth in reading among their lowest quartile."

Eight schools in Northeast Florida received a F. Forty-four schools in the state received an F.

Overall the news was positive for St. Johns County schools with Otis Mason and Osceola elementary schools regaining their A ranking. South Woods Elementary also earned an A, its first ever.

Twelve other elementary school retained their A status, while two - Crookshank and R.B. Hunt - dropped from an A to a B

All seven middle schools maintained their A rating. Liberty Pines Academy, in its first year, drew an A.

Bartram Trail High School maintained an A while St. Augustine High School was celebrating going from a B to an A.

Grades are based on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT), evaluated in a variety of ways.

For more information about each St. Johns County school, go to schools.jacksonville.com.

DISTRICT GRADES FOR 2009

Baker County -- B

Clay County -- A

Duval County -- B

Flagler County -- A

Nassau County -- A

Putnam County -- C

St. Johns County -- A

Volusia County -- A


ABOUT THE 2009 GRADES STATEWIDE

More than three-fourths of all Florida public schools are now considered high performing (receiving either A or B), largest number since school grades began.

The number of schools earning an F decreased to lowest point in three years.

Schools receiving A or improving one performance grade are eligible to earn an additional $75 per student.

A minimum of 525 points on recent Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) is needed to qualify as an A district.

Adequate Yearly Progress report is required as part of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

SOUTH WOODS ELEMENTARY

Last year officials at South Woods Elementary School near Hastings talked quietly about becoming an A school.

On Thursday, parents and officials were celebrating.

"I got to send out one of our automated messages last night. We've had congratulations from parents, teachers at other schools and staff all day," said Principal Brian McElhone.

The reason for the top grade is easy, he said.

"Hard work. It was all about hard work. Students worked hard. Our kids worked and came to after-school tutoring and Saturday school. Our teachers put in extra time and effort," McElhone said.

South Woods, which incorporated the former Hastings Elementary School, went from a C in 2006 and 2007 to a B in 2008 to an A this year.

"Truly I have the hardest working staff I've ever been associated with with tons of team effort. The kids matched that effort," McElhone said.


ABLE SCHOOL

Earning an A grade is the kind of reinforcement ABLE school is seeking.

"A is for ABLE," joked school head Scott Beebe talking about the grade earned by The Academy for Business and Leadership Education.

It's also a couple of grades up for the charter school which has been rated at a C since it began three years ago.

Even better in Beebe's book is that the school did it without having to rely on district grades.

"Last year the C was somewhat propped up by the school district," he said. When a school does not have enough participants in a particular group, the district grade fills in that gap.

"But this year everything was us," Beebe said. "It's definitely a feather in our cap."

Experience helped make the difference, he said.

"We got another year of experience and our teachers kind of came into their stride. We did put more emphasis on preparing for FCAT rather than just expecting our students to walk in and take the test. Students, teachers all pulled together," Beebe said.

Beebe is hoping the new standing will help more parents decide to send their children to the charter school.

Pedro Menendez scores D

Pedro Menendez High School's principal says he's taking "full responsibility" for the school's drop in grade.

The school on County Road 206 serves southern St. Johns County and went from a B to a D grade.

"We know that the FCAT is our accountability instrument, and we're responsible," Dr. Clay Carmichael said.

"Faculty, staff and administration started working this morning on strategies," Carmichael said Thursday. "We already knew there were specific niches that were not what they should be."

He said drops in reading and math in the lowest quartile plus drops in science and writing scores among other groups cut away at the school's grade.

Carmichael said there had been some "open and pretty frank" talk over day-to-day strategies in the classroom.

"I need to pay closer attention (matching) specific teachers with specific talents for specific groups of students," Carmichael said. "It isn't the teachers' fault. That's my job. You've go to be real smart with your placing."

That said, Carmichael plans to make the changes without "stressing our students." He believes motivating students, setting clear goals and getting across the importance of how what's learned in school will help their future will all help improve scores.

Superintendent Joe Joyner said Menendez has made achievements and the district has identified areas for improvement plus strategies to meet needs of lower performing students.

[BridgeTroll]

Looks like FCAT is finally beginning to turn some things around.  Listing objectives, teaching them, reinforcing them... then testing and holding the schools and students accountable.  Who woulda thunk it...

[heights unknown]

Smarter children and people in North Florida! Just kidding, but it's about time that that turned around.

Heights Unknown