Mostly As, Bs for Lee schools

Wednesday was report card day for Lee County Schools. But for most, there was no need to hide behind the bed.

Nearly four in five public schools here earned an A or B grade from the state Department of Education, which releases the grades annually based on scores from the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. Statewide and in Lee County, more schools earned above-average marks than in the past, despite mixed results in FCAT scores overall.

In south Lee, all schools got either an A or B grade, except for Estero High and South Fort Myers High, which received C grades.

Statewide, Gov. Jeb Bush announced 75 percent of Florida’s public schools received an A or B, the most since the program began in 1999.

The 1,466 schools, or 53 percent, that got an A are eligible for a $100 per student reward under Bush’s “A-Plus” school accountability plan. Twenty-two percent of the state’s schools graded B, 20 percent C, five percent D and only 1 percent F. That comes to 101 percent due to rounding, state education officials said.

The grading is based on scores from the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, or FCAT.

“We are thrilled with the results,” said Richard Itzen, testing director for Lee County Schools. “We’re glad to see improvement in a great many schools. A couple of schools even went up more than one letter grade.”

J. Colin English Elementary in Fort Myers went from a D grade last year to an A this year.

The cachet and reward of school grades is hard to underestimate in Florida. Schools that earn an A or go up a letter grade get the $100-per-student bonus — for the average Lee County elementary school, that’s nearly $90,000. If they fail, they could face state takeover.

Middle schools especially made significant advances; statewide, 89 percent earned an A or B grade, up from 64 percent last year. Among schools seeing improvement was Three Oaks Middle School in San Carlos Park, which rose from a B to an A this year. Bonita Springs Middle stayed at a B grade, but missed the A by just a single point.

In a conference call Wednesday, Education Commissioner John Winn attributed the gains to state policies mandating intensive reading instruction for low-scoring students, as well as $89 million from the state Legislature to install reading coaches in schools.

“We think those approaches are paying off,” he said.

Just 13 Lee County schools saw a C on their report cards, almost all of them high schools. Estero High kept its C from last year. The new South Fort Myers High was awarded that same mark after opening this year.

Two other new south Lee schools, Rayma C. Page Elementary in San Carlos Park and Lexington Middle School in south Fort Myers were given Bs.

In the eyes of the federal government, though, the news was not as rosy. Fewer schools made “adequate yearly progress,” a designation that indicates whether all students, including minorities and disabled children, performed up to certain standards. Just two in south Lee earned the AYP status: Three Oaks Elementary and Pinewoods Elementary.

Vivian Posey, principal of Three Oaks Elementary, said teachers made extra effort over the year to identify the academic needs of each child, and focused on small group instruction. The school also offered extra help to struggling students before and after school.

“It takes looking at the achievement issue from all sides. That’s the biggest key,” Posey said. “It’s not any one program or one factor.”

Bonita Springs Elementary and Spring Creek Elementary have both made AYP in the past, but missed it by just a few percentage points this year. To pass, schools must be compliant in every subgroup of students in writing, reading and math.

Aside from the pride, however, getting the adequate yearly progress designation will not help Pinewoods or Three Oaks much. That’s because they do not receive the extra money from the federal government designated for high-poverty schools.

Bonita Elementary and Spring Creek Elementary, on the other hand, do receive Title I funds and could eventually face sanctions for not making AYP.

Students at the schools, where more than 60 percent of the population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, will have the option to transfer to Rayma C. Page Elementary in San Carlos Park next year. Few are expected to do so, since Lee already offers a student assignment system that allows parents to sign up at the school. In addition, Page Elementary got the same grade this year, a B, and also did not make adequate yearly progress. It is not subject to federal sanctions since it is not a Title I school.

After three years of not making AYP, districts must offer those students the chance for free private tutoring; longer, and they could face “corrective action” including conversion to a charter or other drastic intervention.

Bonita Elementary’s principal, Dave Short, said the grade was not entirely unexpected after about a dozen students did poorly in the writing component of the FCAT. The school, smaller than most in Lee, has about 350 students and fell to a B grade this year from a consistent A.

“It only takes a few (kids),” he said.

He pointed out that last month, the school got a visit from the Florida Department of Education for improving its third-grade scores so dramatically.