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Beach Elementary helps county reach “A” record

By Staff | Jun 24, 2009

Beach Elementary School continued its “A” work by achieving an “A” grade for the fifth year in a row, according to the Florida Department of Education school-by-school grades report for the 2008/09 school year.

Lee County Public Schools reported 60 schools this year achieved an “A” grade the highest number in the history of the district (13 more than last year and a whopping 51 more than in 1999, the first year of school grading.)

On the home front, Beach Elementary Principal Larry Wood credits the community for the school’s successful string of straight “A”s.

“It’s truly a community school,” he said. “The support we get from the community helps insure the success of our kids. They are just achieving at a real high level. We get support from the newspapers, businesses, parents and non-profit groups. Our students work real hard, our staff is outstanding and we receive great support from the parents and everyone else on the island.”

Woods was eager to mention volunteer organizations such as the Pilot Club of FMB, the Ostego Bay Foundation and the Beach Kiwanis.

“They not only donate money to us, but their members come in and work with our kids,” he said. “It’s so rewarding to see all the efforts of these people pay off in our FCAT scores and letter grade.”

Wood said to achieve an “A” grade, the school had to score 525 points. Beach Elementary received 630 points, making it’s point total the fourth highest out of 88 elementary schools in the district.

“We also met AYP -Adequate Yearly Progress – and that’s pretty difficult,” said Wood. “Our School Advisory Committee, a team of the school’s staff, business people, parents and community members, developed seven goals for the school. In order to be an achieving school, you have to pass four out of the seven. To exceed expectations, you have to pass five out of seven. This year we passed six out of seven.”

Wood applauded the district for its record of “A” grades.

“The district leadership is phenomenal,” he said. They set high expectations and then they support us so that we can achieve our individual school goals. To see that many schools in the district achieve the “A” level feels so good. It’s an indication of all the initiatives and money that’s been spent to upgrade our curriculum.

Those thoughts were echoed by the county superintendent.

“The results released today show that we continue to make tremendous strides in certain areas, and I am so proud of our students, parents, faculty and staff,” said Dr. James Browder, Superintendent of Schools. “We’re very pleased to see so many schools reach the “A” level, but this year’s results also show we have more work to do and we’re ready to do it.”

The District achieved another historic milestone for the first time, Lee County Public Schools earned an “A” grade as a district (earning 538 points.) Districts are graded using the same criteria used to grade schools.

“Everyone in the District and community should be proud of our District earning an “A” grade it’s an outstanding accomplishment and I give all the credit to our students, teachers, principals and schools,” Dr. Browder said.

Out of the 88 schools receiving a grade, 71 received an “A” or “B” that’s 80 percent, as compared to the overall state percentage of 78 percent.

For a complete school-by-school listing of grades, visit the following Web site (www.leeschools.net).

“We’re going to look at why some of our schools saw their grades drop this year, and we’ll take a critical look at our high school performance as well,” Dr. Browder said. “Moving to the 4×4 alternating block schedule next year would allow additional time for high schools students to receive reading, writing and math instruction which we believe will help increase student achievement.”

Two local high schools dropped a letter grade this year. Cypress Lake High received a “B” grade, while South Fort Myers High fell to a “C” grade.