Polk County’s 2017 School Grades Released

LAKELAND, FL — The Polk County School District maintained its C grade during the 2016-17 academic year, according to data released Wednesday by the Florida Department of Education. Overall, the district had more schools earn A, B or C grades, and fewer earn D or F marks than last year.

Across Florida, the number of schools earning A or B grades rose to 57 percent, up from 46 percent in the 2015-16 academic year. FDOE also reported that the state’s elementary schools saw the largest percentage point increase in A-graded schools with some 30 percent, or 542 schools, earning top ranking in 2016-17. The number is up from 386 schools, or 21 percent from 2015-16.

Get the Lakeland Patch newsletter and alerts in your inbox.

“We are thrilled with the progress of our schools,” Polk Superintendent Jacqueline M. Byrd said in a Wednesday statement. “There is still work to be done, but our improvement shows that what we are doing is working.”

Lakeland’s Socrum Elementary School saw its grade jump from an F last year to a C this year. “We just came together as a staff, and we made a commitment to do the work,” Principal Kenyetta Feacher was quoted in the statement as saying. “No child was a stranger at the school. The children rose to the expectation.”

The state’s grades are based on 11 different factors that include student achievement, learning gains statewide, high school graduation rates and standardized tests, among others. Grades are intended to “provide parents and the general public an easily understandable way to measure the performance of a school and understand how well each school is serving its students,” a state media release said.

Here’s a look at Polk County schools and their grades for the 2016-17 academic year:

• Lakeland High – C
• Lawton Chiles Middle Academy – A
• Southwest Middle – D
• Carlton Palmore Elementary – B
• Cleveland Court Elementary – A
• Combee Elementary – C
• Crystal Lake Elementary – D
• Dixieland Elementary – C
• Philip O’Brien Elementary – C
• Medulla Elementary – C
• R. Bruce Wagner Elementary – C
• North Lakeland Elementary – C
• Southwest Elementary – B
• Lincoln Avenue Academy – A
• Rochelle School of the Arts – B
• Daniel Jenkins Academy Middle – C
• Shelley S. Boone Middle – C
• Alta Vista Elementary – C
• Sandhill Elementary – C
• Eastside Elementary – C
• Bethune Academy – C
• Davenport School of the Arts – A
• Ridgeview Global Studies Academy – A
• Winter Haven High – C
• Denison Middle – C
• Frank E. Brigham Academy – A
• Westwood Middle – C
• Elbert Elementary – C
• Fred G. Garner Elementary – F
• Inwood Elementary – C
• Lake Shipp Elementary – C
• John Snively Elementary – C
• Lake Alfred elementary – C
• Wahneta Elementary – B
• Jewett Middle – B
• Jewett School of the Arts – C
• Fort Meade Middle/Senior High – C
• Lewis Anna Woodbury Elementary – C
• Auburndale High – C
• Jere L. Stambaugh Middle – D
• Lena Vista Elementary – C
• Auburndale Central Elementary – D
• Walter Caldwell Elementary – D
• Polk City Elementary – B
• Bartow High – C
• Polk Acceleration Academy – Incomplete
• Real Academy – Incomplete
• Bartow Middle – D
• Chain of Lakes elementary – A
• Ridge Community High – C
• Bartow Elementary Academy – A
• Floral Avenue Elementary – B
• Union Academy – A
• Gibbons Street Elementary – D
• Citrus Ridge A Civics Academy – D
• Alturas Elementary – B
• Tenoroc High – D
• Highland City Elementary – C
• Mulberry High – D
• Purcell Elementary – C
• Kingsford Elementary – C
• Mulberry Middle – C
• Kathleen High – Incomplete
• Kathleen Middle – D
• Kathleen Elementary – D
• Griffin Elementary – F
• Jesse Keen Elementary – C
• Winston Academy of Engineering – C
• Sleepy Hill Elementary – B
• Highlands Grove Elementary – A
• McLaughlin Middle – F
• Polk Avenue Elementary - C
• Hillcrest Elementary – C
• Horizons Elementary – B
• Spook Hill Elementary – D
• Janie Howard Wilson School – D
• Dale R. Fair Babson Park Elementary – B
• Edgar L. Padgett Elementary – B
• Crystal Lake Middle – C
• Oscar J. Pope Elementary – C
• Maynard A Traviss Technical College – Incomplete
• Bok Academy – A
• Laurel Elementary School – C
• Lake Alfred-Addair Middle – D
• McKeel Academy of Technology – A
• Scott Lake Elementary – B
• McKeel Elementary Academy – A
• Ridge Technical College – Incomplete
• South McKeel Academy – A
• Eagle Lake Elementary – C
• Palmetto Elementary – C
• Garden Grove Elementary – C
• Lake Wales High – C
• Pinewood Elementary – C
• James E. Stephens Elementary – C
• Lake Gibson Middle – C
• Lake Gibson High – C
• Lakeland Highlands Middle – C
• Dundee Elementary – B
• Haines City High – C
• Frostproof Middle/High – C
• Clarence Boswell Elementary – B
• James W. Sikes Elementary – B
• Lake Marion Creek Middle – D
• R. Clem Churchwell Elementary – A
• Dr. NE Roberts Elementary – B
• Rosabelle W. Blake Academy – B
• Wendell Watson Elementary – B
• Valleyview Elementary – A
• Socrum Elementary – C
• Spessard L. Holland Elementary – B
• Ben Hill Griffin Jr. Elementary – C
• George W. Jenkins High – C
• Loughman Oaks Elementary – C
• Berkley Elementary – A
• Discovery Academy of Lake Alfred – B
• Sleep Hill Middle – C
• Dundee Ridge Middle Academy – B
• Lake Region High – C
• Polk Pre-Collegiate Academy – A
• Magnolia Montessori Academy – A
• Hartridge Academy – B
• Polk State College Collegiate High – Incomplete
• Chain of Lakes Collegiate High – A
• Lakeland Montessori Middle – A
• Lakeland Montessori School House – A
• Berkley Accelerated Middle – A
• Cypress Junction Montessori – A
• Discovery High – D
• Transition School – Incomplete

To find out more about school grades across the state, visit the Florida Department of Education online.

Keep up with what’s happening by following Lakeland Patch on Facebook.

Image via Shutterstock