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Mixed Grade Report: 3 Schools Improve, 3 Drop

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By MARC VALERO

Highlands Today

Published: July 9, 2008

SEBRING - SEBRING - Highlands County public schools continue to fall within a wide range, A to D, on the state school report card.

Among the district's 15 schools, three had a lower grade, but three improved upon last year's grade, according to the accountability grades released Tuesday by the Florida Department of Education.

On the bright side, three schools maintained an A grade - Lake Country and Lake Placid elementary schools and Sebring Middle School.
Sebring Middle earned its seventh A in eight years.

"We are very excited about that," Sebring Middle Principal Sandi Whidden said. "The secret is having the best staff in the county, that's my opinion, and they work wonders with these children."

The school has very supportive and cooperative parents and that helps, she added.

The school grades are based on a point system with schools being awarded one point for each percent of students who score high on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test and/or make annual learning gains.

The district's grade improved from a C to a B based on an overall increase in points earned by the schools.

The schools that improved their grade are: Park Elementary (C to A), Hill-Gustat Middle (B to A) and Lake Placid Middle (C to B).

The schools that went down in grade are: Avon Elementary (A to C), Cracker Trail Elementary (A to B) and Sun 'N Lake Elementary (A to B).
Cracker Trail missed an A by one point.

Also, though Avon Park and Lake Placid high schools earned enough points to improve to a C grade, the schools fell short of the reading learning gains requirement, which is 50 percent. That penalized the schools one letter grade resulting in their D grades.

Lake Placid High missed the 50 percent requirement by only one point.
Avon Park Middle maintained a C grade.

Dan Johnson, Avon Park Middle principal, said, "we made a C two years in a row, I want to see if we made a numerically higher grade."

Primarily due to improvement in three reading categories, the school did in fact improve from 440 points in 2007 to 467 points in 2008. The minimum point total for a B grade is 495 points.

"I wish we had an A, but we

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