Sarasota Schools Get A Grade From State of Florida

SARASOTA, FL — The Sarasota County School District was one of 24 school districts across Florida that received an A grade Thursday as state education officials released their annual ratings covering the just-ended 2018-2019 school year.

“I am so excited that Sarasota County Schools continues to be a high performing school district,” said Superintendent Todd Bowden of Sarasota County Schools. “We placed a huge emphasis on reading and literacy last year and because of the outstanding work of our incredible teachers, school leaders and curriculum specialists, this strategy has really paid off, especially for our lowest-performing students."

For Sarasota, it was the 16th consecutive year the district has earned an A since grading began in 2004.

Bowden insisted that the district still has a "lot of room to improve" though it fared better than other school districts in the area.

The School District of Manatee County, Polk County Public Schools and Hillsborough County Public Schools all received B grades while a number of individual schools in those districts received A grades.

"I am hopeful that we will continue to increase in key areas by providing even more support to those schools and students needing greater opportunities to succeed," Bowden added.

School District of Manatee County

Manatee Superintendent Cynthia Saunders said her district has been on an upward trajectory since she took over.

Of the 59 Manatee District schools that received grades from the state, including charter schools, 57 received either an A, B or C grade this year. Only two district schools received a D grade, down from six the previous school year. And, for the third consecutive year, not one Manatee District school received an F grade from the state.

“I am so proud to be the superintendent of this school district,” Saunders said. “The grades released today are a gratifying reward for all of the hard work performed by our students, teachers, school administrators and support staff. We are clearly moving in a positive direction and this would not be possible without the overwhelming support of our school board and our community.”

Sixteen Manatee schools improved their grades this school year over the previous year, including Palm View Elementary, which rose from a D grade in 2018 to an A grade this year. In addition, Samoset Elementary and Blackburn Elementary both rose from a D to a B, and Rowlett Academy for Arts and Communication improved from a C to an A.

The overall B grade marked the third consecutive such grade for the district and the fourth in the last five years. Prior to 2015, the Manatee District had received three C grades in a row.

Polk County Public Schools

Comparing 2018-19’s school grades to the prior year, a Polk County spokesperson said the district's number of A schools increased to 26 from 23 while the number of B schools rose to 29 from 27.

The number of C schools dropped to 48 from 68 but the number of D schools increased to 21 from 6. The district didn't have any F schools.

It was the district's second straight year as a B district. School officials said the district had previously received C grades for seven straight years.

“I’m absolutely elated by the news that Polk County Public Schools has maintained its B. What a fantastic day for our school district,” observed Superintendent Jacqueline M. Byrd. “We are a district headed in the right direction, where academic achievement among our students is truly on the rise."

Byrd pointed to the hard work of "every student, employee, parent and supporter" for the district's continued progress.

"I am overjoyed and immensely proud of the progress we are making as a district," she said. "Well done, PCPS.”

Sarasota County School Grades

The Sarasota school district saw improvements in five of 11 categories, including English language arts learning gains in the lowest quartile, overall math learning gains, social studies, graduation rate and college and career acceleration, according to district officials. The district's overall scores improved by eight points compared to last year and the school district is ranked third in the state behind St. John and Gilchrist counties.

A total of 34 Sarasota schools received an A grade while 10 schools received a B grade, four schools earned a C grade and one school earned a D grade. Sarasota officials said there were no F grades in the district while 10 schools improved their school grades from the last rating period. Schools showing improvement included Brentwood Elementary, Glenallen Elementary and Toledo Blade Elementary, all three of which went from a C to an A grade.

Visit the Florida Department of Education website for more information and to find out how other school districts performed.

The grading system is based on 11 factors that include student achievement, learning gains statewide, high school graduation rates and standardized tests among others.

Sarasota County Schools earned the following grades by school for the 2018-19 academic year:

Alta Vista Elementary – B
Ashton Elementary – A
Atwater Elementary – A (up one grade)
Bay Haven School of Basics Plus – A (up one grade)
Booker Middle School – B
Booker High School – B
Brentwood Elementary – A (up two grades)
Brookside Middle School – A
Cranberry Elementary – B
Emma E. Booker – D
Englewood Elementary – A
Fruitville Elementary – A
Garden Elementary – C
Glenallen Elementary – A (up two grades)
Gocio Elementary – B (up one grade)
Gulf Gate Elementary – A (up one grade)
Heron Creek Middle School – B
Imagine School at North Port – B
Imagine School at Palmer Ranch – B
Island Village Montessori School – A (up one grade)
Lakeview Elementary – A
Lamarque Elementary – A
Laurel Nokomis School – A
McIntosh Middle School – A (up one grade)
North Port High School – A (up one grade)
Phillippi Shores Elementary – A
Pine View School – A
Riverview High School – A
Sarasota Academy of the Arts – A
Sarasota High School – A (up one grade)
Sarasota Middle School – A
Sarasota Military Academy – B
Sarasota School of Arts/Sciences – A
Sarasota Suncoast Academy – A
Sky Academy Englewood – A
Sky Academy Venice – A
Southside Elementary – A
Student Leadership Academy – A
Suncoast Polytechnical High School – A
Suncoast School for Innovative Studies – C
Tatum Ridge Elementary – A
Taylor Ranch Elementary – A
Toledo Blade Elementary – A (up two grades)
Tuttle Elementary – C
Venice Elementary – A
Venice High School – A
Venice Middle School – A
Wilkinson Elementary – C
Woodland Middle School – B