Manatee Schools Receive "A" Grade
MANATEE - Fifty-one percent of Manatee County's public schools received an A grade from the state, and the number of local schools receiving As rose from 16 a year ago to 25 this year, according to Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test scores released Wednesday.
But the bad news was that three of Manatee County's six traditional public high schools - Bayshore, Palmetto and Manatee - received D grades.
Superintendent Roger Dearing and Carla Frazier, the district's supervisor of measurement and data analysis, said the three high schools scored enough points to warrant a C grade but were penalized a letter grade because their lowest-performing students didn't improve enough in reading.
One of the factors that determine a school's FCAT grade is how much improvement is made by the 25 percent of students who score at the lowest level.
"We really have to focus in on the bottom quartile of students in our high schools," Dearing said. "We need to make sure they are making a year's worth of progress in their reading skills."
The county's three other high schools gave the district reason to celebrate.
Lakewood Ranch became the county's first high school to rate an A in the seven years FCAT school grades have been doled out, and Southeast rallied from a D to a C.
Braden River High School, which opened this school year, scored a B.
School administrators said there was other good news in the school grades as well. No Manatee County school received a failing mark, and 46 of 49 county schools graded received a C or better.
"It was very, very good news," Dearing said. "It's rewarding to know that the new reading coaches and new reading programs we've put out there have really helped us turn a corner."
Michael Wilder, principal at Lakewood Ranch, said a "team effort" was behind his school's improved score.
"When I saw the test score, I thought about all the hard work that everybody, and I mean everybody, put into making this happen," Wilder said.
During the last school year the Manatee County School District added 42 new reading teachers and new computer-based programs to assist struggling readers.
"I think we need those reading strategies in all classrooms, not just English, but in every class," Wilder said.
One of the specific areas of emphasis for the school district was at the middle school level because those were the grades where previous reading scores tended to dip.
This year, six of the county's nine middle schools received A grades, and four middle schools improved their grades by at least one letter.
The middle schools that earned A grades were Braden River, Haile, King, Lee, Nolan and Sugg. Lee Middle jumped from a C to an A.
"We're ecstatic, everybody's really happy," said David Wernicke, assistant principal at Lee.
Among Manatee County's 31 traditional elementary schools, 18 received A grades, five received B's and eight received C's.
Myakka City Elementary principal Diane Nichols said she was overjoyed when she learned her school had earned a B, up from a D in 2005.
"Naturally we are thrilled," Nichols said. "Of course we knew all along we had a great school with a great bunch of teachers and students, but this score just reaffirms that."
In order to improve her students' performance this year, Nichols said Myakka City Elementary implemented an after-school program that tutored students in reading and math. Nichols said teachers were also involved in a mentoring program that provided extra attention to those students who scored in the bottom 25 percent on the FCAT in 2005.
"Teachers were directly assigned to those students," Nichols said. "And we kept an eye on their progress and showed them that someone cared about them. It obviously paid off."
Sea Breeze Elementary received its seventh straight A to maintain its status as the only school to receive an A grade from the state every year grades have been given out.
Manatee School for the Arts in Palmetto, the county's largest charter school, earned a B grade for the third straight year. Two other local charter schools, Bradenton Charter and Manatee School for the Arts and Sciences, both received C grades.
Community High School, a school that caters to students who have struggled in traditional school environments, received an I for "investigating," according to Frazier.
"The state has asked me to look into the test scores at Community High because they only tested 83 percent of their students," Frazier said. "Schools need to test 90 percent of their students or above to qualify for a grade."
Overall, Wilder said the public should be impressed with the entire district's scores.
"Everyone has their own opinion about the FCAT, whether that kind of testing is beneficial or not," Wilder said, "but the main question that needs to be asked is: Are our kids better readers? And the answer is, 'Yes.' "
(Source: Bradenton Herald MICHAEL BARBER
Herald Staff Writer)
But the bad news was that three of Manatee County's six traditional public high schools - Bayshore, Palmetto and Manatee - received D grades.
Superintendent Roger Dearing and Carla Frazier, the district's supervisor of measurement and data analysis, said the three high schools scored enough points to warrant a C grade but were penalized a letter grade because their lowest-performing students didn't improve enough in reading.
One of the factors that determine a school's FCAT grade is how much improvement is made by the 25 percent of students who score at the lowest level.
"We really have to focus in on the bottom quartile of students in our high schools," Dearing said. "We need to make sure they are making a year's worth of progress in their reading skills."
The county's three other high schools gave the district reason to celebrate.
Lakewood Ranch became the county's first high school to rate an A in the seven years FCAT school grades have been doled out, and Southeast rallied from a D to a C.
Braden River High School, which opened this school year, scored a B.
School administrators said there was other good news in the school grades as well. No Manatee County school received a failing mark, and 46 of 49 county schools graded received a C or better.
"It was very, very good news," Dearing said. "It's rewarding to know that the new reading coaches and new reading programs we've put out there have really helped us turn a corner."
Michael Wilder, principal at Lakewood Ranch, said a "team effort" was behind his school's improved score.
"When I saw the test score, I thought about all the hard work that everybody, and I mean everybody, put into making this happen," Wilder said.
During the last school year the Manatee County School District added 42 new reading teachers and new computer-based programs to assist struggling readers.
"I think we need those reading strategies in all classrooms, not just English, but in every class," Wilder said.
One of the specific areas of emphasis for the school district was at the middle school level because those were the grades where previous reading scores tended to dip.
This year, six of the county's nine middle schools received A grades, and four middle schools improved their grades by at least one letter.
The middle schools that earned A grades were Braden River, Haile, King, Lee, Nolan and Sugg. Lee Middle jumped from a C to an A.
"We're ecstatic, everybody's really happy," said David Wernicke, assistant principal at Lee.
Among Manatee County's 31 traditional elementary schools, 18 received A grades, five received B's and eight received C's.
Myakka City Elementary principal Diane Nichols said she was overjoyed when she learned her school had earned a B, up from a D in 2005.
"Naturally we are thrilled," Nichols said. "Of course we knew all along we had a great school with a great bunch of teachers and students, but this score just reaffirms that."
In order to improve her students' performance this year, Nichols said Myakka City Elementary implemented an after-school program that tutored students in reading and math. Nichols said teachers were also involved in a mentoring program that provided extra attention to those students who scored in the bottom 25 percent on the FCAT in 2005.
"Teachers were directly assigned to those students," Nichols said. "And we kept an eye on their progress and showed them that someone cared about them. It obviously paid off."
Sea Breeze Elementary received its seventh straight A to maintain its status as the only school to receive an A grade from the state every year grades have been given out.
Manatee School for the Arts in Palmetto, the county's largest charter school, earned a B grade for the third straight year. Two other local charter schools, Bradenton Charter and Manatee School for the Arts and Sciences, both received C grades.
Community High School, a school that caters to students who have struggled in traditional school environments, received an I for "investigating," according to Frazier.
"The state has asked me to look into the test scores at Community High because they only tested 83 percent of their students," Frazier said. "Schools need to test 90 percent of their students or above to qualify for a grade."
Overall, Wilder said the public should be impressed with the entire district's scores.
"Everyone has their own opinion about the FCAT, whether that kind of testing is beneficial or not," Wilder said, "but the main question that needs to be asked is: Are our kids better readers? And the answer is, 'Yes.' "
(Source: Bradenton Herald MICHAEL BARBER
Herald Staff Writer)
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