Glory Reitz
When the state analyzed Idylwild Elementary School and Lake Forest Elementary School for a grade last year, it awarded them a D and an F, respectively. If those schools do not earn a grade of C or higher next year, the district will be required to bring in outside help.
On Tuesday, the state-required Turnaround Option Plan for the two schools was on the consent agenda for the School Board of Alachua County at its regular meeting. Board Member Tina Certain pulled the items to become action items, saying more immediate action was needed.
The board approved both plans as they were presented, with Certain the lone dissenting vote on the Lake Forest plan.
The plans outline what the schools are doing to improve performance, and what option the district plans to use if the schools don’t meet the threshold next year: closure, charter or an external operator.
According to the plan data, only 27% of Idylwild students achieved a passing score in English Language Arts (ELA), 28% in math and 17% in science in 2022.
The same scale placed Lake Forest students at 25% achievement in ELA, 19% in math and 21% in science.
Both schools point to teacher and student absences, and a lack of reading proficiency, as causes for the low scores.
The district has selected the “external operator” function for both schools, but the plans also outline measures such as teacher coaching, attendance incentives and a stronger sense of belonging for students to help improve their performance.
“It is a mess,” Abbitt said. “The best thing that could happen is that someone comes in and takes over and tries to do something different with it.”
Certain said she did not understand why the district could not instate the external operator right away, instead of waiting to see if the school would make another low grade. She pointed to school grade data that has shown a trend of these schools performing poorly for years, rarely making higher than a D. In the past eight years, Idylwild has made a C twice, and Lake Forest only once.
“How long do we expect the parents and the students for this school to be patient with us to improve that?” Certain asked.
Certain said many parents stood up at rezoning input sessions and said they had moved or were willing to move to keep their children in high-graded schools, but many more parents cannot afford to do that.
Both Certain and Abbitt said more changes need to be made sooner, and Certain said she was disappointed that these schools were not included on the district’s application for a state year-round school pilot program. The application, which is for Metcalfe Elementary School and Rawlings Elementary School, would shorten the schools’ summer break and create a year-round schedule, if accepted.
Abbitt said that, while the district has made some progress, it is still repeating the same methods that keep failing students.
Karla Hutchinson, principal of K-12 school improvement, told the board that teams come in and raise school grades within a year, but that those grades fall fast when the turnaround team leaves. Drawing from her past experiences on those teams, she said the district needs to do a better job of sustaining resources and practices in those schools.
“Sitting on this side, I see the support and the resources that are being put into place for those schools,” Hutchinson told the board. “And yes, I’m very concerned with our schools, but it’s not just our SI schools. The problem is bigger than that.”
Hutchinson said ACPS has the highest achievement gap in the state, and the district needs to look at the whole problem and change practices across the county, sustaining support for turnaround schools and other schools.
Yes, bring in some outside help because this School Board doesn’t have a clue as to what needs to be done. When is the next school board election and is someone COMPETENT running?
Exactly what is wrong in our school system. The problem is driven from top “leadership.”