What They Are Saying: Superintendents and Other Education Stakeholders Show Leadership with New School Grades
July 13, 2016
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What They Are Saying: Superintendents and Other Education Stakeholders Show Leadership with New School Grades
Tallahassee, Fla. – On Friday, July 8, the Florida Department of Education issued the 2015-2016 district and school grades, and the results clearly demonstrated that Florida’s is succeeding in its mission to ensure students are prepared for lifelong success. Education leaders throughout the state responded positively and expressed their commitment to helping students continue to improve.
Commissioner of Education Pam Stewart said, "Even as we have continued to raise the bar for student performance and implemented more rigorous standards by which schools are graded, Florida’s educators and students have continued to excel. It is clear that our focus on Florida’s most struggling students is paying off, especially in our ‘D’ and ‘F’ schools, 58 percent of which increased their grade in 2016. The great benefit of our state’s accountability system is that it constantly shines a light on areas that need improvement. I applaud the schools which improved, and I encourage all schools to pursue excellence persistently."
Florida Association of District School Superintendents CEO Senator Bill Montford said, “Florida is in the midst of a monumental transition regarding public education accountability and assessment. The school grades are a small, but important, part of the transition that Florida’s education system has undertaken in order to further move our state toward increased student achievement and accountability. With this being the first year the new, more rigorous school grading system has been implemented it is only logical that there will be mixed outcomes and a period of transition. I applaud the hard work of all stakeholders in Florida’s school districts – superintendents, teachers, principals, support staff, parents, and the community at large – that assisted students in meeting the challenge of increased performance standards.”
The Sun Sentinel covered South Florida school districts’ school grades, and Broward Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie said, “Overall, we know our students are achieving academically, and we acknowledge that there is still more work to be done.”
Regarding schools whose students remained proficient, but did not improve enough to earn an “A,” Superintendent Runcie said, “Those schools are now going to be pushed to ensure they're improving the educational experience for all our kids,” Runcie said.
Palm Beach County Deputy Superintendent David Christansen commended his district’s students, saying, “It's encouraging to see so many of our lower-performing, more fragile schools improve.”
To the Florida Times-Union, a Clay County education official recognized the benefit of Florida’s accountability system to our state’s students. “Recognizing that the new standards and accountability system being implemented by FDOE are more challenging than schools have ever faced before, we are encouraged by the areas where we have made positive progress, and we will redouble our efforts to raise student achievement in all areas,” said Clay County schools spokeswoman Lauren Bankert.
The Pensacola News Journal (PNJ) reported on Escambia County School District’s and Santa Rosa County School District’s schools grades.
Escambia County Superintendent Malcolm Thomas said, “Everything about this system is new, and it was designed to raise the bar, and that’s what it’s done. If you stay where you are, you’re not an A. You’re going to have to find a way to up the game. That’s not necessarily bad. If any industry becomes static and satisfied then that’s a recipe for disaster.”
Thomas added, “The bar has been raised. More is expected of students. Teachers have to continue to make the transition. You can’t teach like you did 10 years ago and get the same success. That doesn’t work in businesses, and it doesn’t work at schools.”
According to PNJ, Santa Rosa County School District Superintendent Tim Wyrosdick said dropping from an A to a B grade will motivate his school district to better educate its students and cited increasing learning gains by high-performing students and improving math scores at all grade levels as areas of emphasis.
Superintendent Wyrosdick also stated, “I have no doubt that our scores will improve because our teachers and administrators will grab hold of these and change what they need to do to make them better.”
To WPTV, School District of Palm Beach County Superintendent Robert Avossa, Ed.D., said “Our students, teachers, principals, parents and staff are the foundation of our success as a District. I’m particularly impressed by the hard work put in by the students and teachers at our schools, which resulted in substantial improvement this year – we are all celebrating your accomplishments today.”
In a July 8 press release, Pinellas County Schools Superintendent Michael A. Grego touted the district’s progress, saying, “Even as standards become more rigorous and assessments become more difficult, there is much to celebrate in Pinellas with the state’s 2016 school grades. It is evident that we are turning a corner with our turnaround work, and our expectation of having all high performing schools is driving improvement districtwide.”
In a statement to the TCPalm, St. Lucie County Schools Superintendent Wayne Gent shared how schools in his district will use the 2015-2016 school grades to help students build on their progress.
Superintendent Gent said, "Until the release of this data, we have only been able to chart proficiencies. Now we have the opportunity to benchmark the learning gains our students make from one year to the next. With this information, we are able to support, track and celebrate the gains all students make toward their personal learning goals."
To the St. Augustine Record, St. Johns County School District Superintendent Joe Joyner said, “… The way the state counts learning gains makes it a little bit tougher, but that’s certainly something we embrace … Anytime you raise the bar significantly, there are a few schools that have a tougher time, but ultimately they’ll get there.”
To Sunshine State News, Florida Coalition of School Board Members (FCSBM) President Erika Donalds said, “This year shows a truer picture of learning now that progress is included. We must not be complicit in dishonest measurement of academic progress. Nothing gets better if you don't look at it honestly, which is why we are proud to support the reasonable accountability taking place and applaud the DOE and State Board for their courage in setting appropriate learning gains.”
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