-----Original Message-----
From: Montford, Bill
Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2005 6:00 PM
To: District Administrators; District All
Subject: FW: PRESS RELEASE: SCHOOL DISTRICT GRADES ANNOUNCED

District School Grades and Points Earned 2004-05
District Total Points 2004-2005 Total Points 2003-2004 2005 Grade 2004
Grade Alachua 403 407 B B Baker 351 364 C C Bay 407 398 B B Bradford 367
366 C C Brevard 439 442 A A Broward 401 405 B B Calhoun 410 411 A A
Charlotte 424 425 A A Citrus 394 393 B B Clay 416 410 A A Collier 403 404 B
B Columbia 362 362 C C Dade 388 375 B C DeSoto 367 372 C C Dixie 360 363 C
C Duval 397 375 B C Escambia 369 374 C C Flagler 397 404 B B Franklin 345
337 C C Gadsden 314 293 D D Gilchrist 425 433 A A Glades 334 355 C C Gulf
387 395 B B Hamilton 333 340 C C Hardee 366 393 C B Hendry 340 377 C C
Hernando 391 381 B B Highlands 380 385 B B Hillsborough 399 404 B B Holmes
363 382 C B Indian River 412 399 A B Jackson 382 402 B B Jefferson 304 302
D D Lafayette 366 401 C B

Please know how proud our community is of our school system and how much
all of you are appreciated and respected for your hard work and
dedication.  We are blessed to have such quality people as you in our
district and to enjoy tremendous community support.  Congratulations!


From: DOEPressOffice [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2005 3:56 PM
Subject: PRESS RELEASE: SCHOOL DISTRICT GRADES ANNOUNCED

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                           CONTACT:
JACOB DIPIETRE
July 19, 2005                                                 (850) 488-
5394 or
 MELANIE ETTERS
 (850) 245-0413

SCHOOL DISTRICT GRADES ANNOUNCED
~15 Districts Make an ¡§A;¡¨ 23 districts show improvement ~

TALLAHASSEE¡XToday Governor Jeb Bush and Commissioner of Education John Winn
announced grades for Florida¡¦s 67 school districts for 2005.  Overall, 15
districts earned an ¡§A,¡¨ 27 a ¡§B,¡¨ 22 a ¡§C,¡¨ and 3 a ¡§D.¡¨  No Florida
school districts received an ¡§F.¡¨  The district grades are calculated with
the same components as school grades: student performance on the Florida
Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT), student learning gains and the
learning gains of the lowest 25 percent.

 ¡§Students, teachers and administrators should be proud of the magnificent
progress we have made,¡¨ said Governor Jeb Bush.  ¡§We continue to raise the
bar on standards, and our school districts continue to meet the challenge.¡¨

In 2005, Florida¡¦s standards were raised in writing and the learning gains
of students with disabilities and limited English proficiency were included
in the school grades calculation.  In the short term, higher standards
often result in lower grades but district grades this year reflect only
small changes from 2004 when 15 earned an ¡§A,¡¨ 33 a ¡§B,¡¨ 16 a ¡§C,¡¨ and 3
a ¡§D.¡¨

The 2005 ¡§A¡¨ districts are: Brevard, Calhoun, Charlotte, Clay, Gilchrist,
Indian River, Leon, Martin, Nassau, Okaloosa, Palm Beach, St. Johns, Santa
Rosa, Sarasota, and Seminole.  A complete list of district grades is
attached.

The Department of Education has been calculating district grades since
2002.  Since that time, 10 school districts have received an ¡§A¡¨ grade for
four consecutive years.  Those districts are: Brevard, Charlotte, Clay,
Leon, Martin, Okaloosa, St. Johns, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, and Seminole.

¡§I am pleased to see 10 school districts have been able to maintain
continuously high student achievement,¡¨ said Commissioner John Winn. ¡§The
dedication and hard work of students, teachers and administrators has kept
them at the top, and I congratulate everyone involved for this
distinguished accomplishment.¡¨

Despite higher standards, 23 districts saw an increase in grade points over
2004.

The top 10 districts increasing their grade points are:

„«      Duval    22 point increase
„«      Gadsden   21 point increase
„«      Miami-Dade   13 point increase
„«      Indian River   13 point increase
„«      Orange    11 point increase
„«      Union    11 point increase
„«      Hernando   10 point increase
„«      Pinellas   9 point increase
„«      Bay    9 point increase
„«      Franklin   8 point increase

¡§The extraordinary efforts of our school districts to foster an environment
of rising student achievement are paying off with tangible results,¡¨ said
Commissioner Winn. ¡§The improvements made to our schools in the past seven
years will make a difference in the lives of our students throughout their
academic and professional careers.¡¨

For more information, please visit www.fldoe.org.

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