BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
STARKE — Assistant Superintendent of Bradford Schools Karen Clarke discussed recent school grade reports with the school board Aug. 1 as well as what the district is planning as it moves forward.
To review, Bradford had two D schools, Lawtey and Southside Elementary Schools. Bradford High received a C and Starke Elementary received a B. Bradford Middle School’s grade was incomplete because fewer than 95% of students were tested.
Superintendent Will Hartley has since written to Tallahassee and asked that BMS be assigned a grade, stating the current scores are consistent with past performance. The anticipated grade is another D because of a drop in multiple categories, most notably a 22-percentage point decline in proficiency on the civics exam.
Both Lawtey and Southside were one percentage point away from a C. Had grades been assigned in 2020-21, Lawtey would have earned an A that year, so the school slipped three letter grades. This was due to decreased proficiency in English and math and a low percentage of learning gains. Fifth grade performance in math and science greatly impacted the school grade.
“There were only 27 students (in fifth grade), so if you’re talking about two or three students who don’t perform well, that can drastically impact a school grade,” Clarke said. “That’s the thing about small schools: A handful of students can impact a grade immensely, one way or the other.”
Southside was a different story. Had grades been assigned on 2020-21, the school would have been one percentage point away from an F. The school improved the number of points it earned on testing this past year, from a very low D to nearly a C. Improvement in math and science were responsible for the turnaround.
Moving forward, some of the strategies that have worked in other schools will be expanded districtwide, Clarke said.
“We’re a small enough district with three (elementary) schools, there’s no reason why we can’t have more consistency in some of the things that we’re doing, especially when things are working at one school,” she said.
One of those things is a supplementary math program known as Acaletics. Southside’s learning gains were attributed to the program, which will now be introduced at Lawtey.
Consistent progress monitoring in fifth and eighth grade science is also on the agenda. Science often takes a back seat to English and math. Half of the learning day can be spent on those subjects. But Starke Elementary’s focus on fifth-grade science — implemented by Principal Raymond Schaefer with the assistance of his staff — is proof that emphasizing science performance can have great results.
Science progress monitoring will be embedded in teachers’ pacing guides, and teachers and administrators will be held accountable for reviewing the results and adjusting to that data.
In fact, there will be increased accountability for progress monitoring at all grade levels to ensure students are exposed to the tested standards, Clarke said, and plans can be made for remediation when necessary.
Clarke previously discussed a supplemental reading program known as UFLI for grades K-2, which focuses on foundational reading skills in preparation for third-grade reading and assessments. The district also has a new supplementary reading curriculum for the elementary level to replace iReady, which is “stale” after many years in use. The new program is known as Freckle and aligns with the required standards.
More instructional support for reading and math curricula will be introduced at the middle and high schools. Clarke said the district lost a secondary level reading coach last year and went the entire year without a math coach. The positions are difficult to fill. Bradford is contracting with the Northeast Florida Educational Consortium to help provide that support.
It’s a lot of “new” for everyone to absorb, Clarke said.
“But, when we look at the performance we have, and the urgency we have, we have to do this. We have to do something different for our kids,” she said. “When we have less than 50% of our students reading at grade level in third grade, we have to do something different.”
“Implementing lots of new things is stressful,” she continued. “It’s stressful for teachers. It’s stressful for the district staff that’s trying to support the teachers in the classrooms. It is a lot. I’ll be the first to admit that. But our kids deserve it. The urgency is there that we’ve got to make sure that we’re making these changes for our students.”
The district will also be receiving support from the state, both financial and in terms of oversight.
The district’s D schools are eligible for an additional $500 per student — or $283,000 — through the Unified School Improvement Grant that can help pay for professional and leadership development and more.
The district has also been assigned to a regional executive director heading up a team from the Department of Education that will conduct classroom walkthroughs and offer feedback, professional development, etc.
