South Florida schools get late report cards

Five South Florida schools can celebrate being A-rated after the state released a new batch of school grades.

The list of new A schools include three charter schools: Atlantic Montessori in Pembroke Pines, Coral Reef Montessori in Miami and Mater Academy Charter Middle in Hialeah Gardens.

The other two schools are Palm Beach County School District’s Virtual School and Henry S. West Laboratory School, run by the Miami-Dade school district and the University of Miami.

The grades show varying achievement for other schools.

New Life Charter Academy in Fort Lauderdale vaulted up to a B after two straight F grades that had put it in danger of being shut down.

Lake Worth High fell from a C in 2016 to a D, after battling a tumultuous school year resulted in the removal of the principal.

Three alternative schools in Palm Beach County are the only new F-rated schools.

The state released most school grades in late June, but gave 101 schools “incomplete” grades while they further reviewed their data. In South Florida, 33 schools received incomplete grades, 24 of which now have grades.

The state is still reviewing the remaining nine schools.

School grades are based largely on how well students perform on the Florida Standards Assessment, as well as other high-stakes tests.

They are highly anticipated every year, as they affect everything from student enrollment to teacher bonuses to neighborhood property values.

Lake Worth High expected the D grade after seeing its scores drop, Palm Beach County School Board member Erica Whitfield said.

The school’s grade was held back initially because too few students took the test, she said.

If fewer than 95 percent of students take it, the state worries that schools may be encouraging lower-performing students to stay home. At Lake Worth High, 94 percent of students took it, despite school officials trying to get more students to show up, Whitfield said.

The school went through turmoil last year, with an assistant principal being attacked by a student and being transferred. The principal, George Lockhart, was removed from the school as the result of an investigation that found he asked teachers to do math assignments for his son.

“I think culture definitely has an impact on the way a school functions,” Whitfield said. “Hopefully there will be a bit more stability this year. I know they’re putting a big emphasis on climate and culture this year.”

The three new F-rated schools are all alternative schools run by the Palm Beach County school district to serve at-risk students.

They are Turning Points Academy in West Palm Beach, Crossroads Academy in Belle Glade and Riviera Beach Preparatory & Achievement Academy. Two other alternative schools received F grades in June: Gold Coast Community School and North Area Elementary Transition School, both in West Palm Beach.

Palm Beach County school officials are overhauling their alternativeeducation efforts this year, including closing some programs and changing the focus of others, to try to improve results.

In addition to New Life Academy, four other schools received B’s: Coral Springs Middle, Rise Academy School of Science and Technology in Margate, Summerville Advantage Academy in Homestead and Mater Academy High School of International Studies in Miami

Ten schools received C’s, including Northeast High in Oakland Park and Lauderdale Lakes Middle, both of which improved from a D.

With the newly released grades, Broward has 88 A’s, 61 B’s, 125 C’s, 11 D’s and four schools that still have incomplete grades.

Palm Beach County has 72 A’s, 48 B’s, 69 C’s, nine D’s, eight F’s and one incomplete. Miami-Dade has 168 A’s, 120 B’s, 124 C’s, 22 D’s, two F’s and four incompletes.

“I think culture definitely has an impact on the way a school functions. “Hopefully there will be a bit more stability.” Erica Whitfield, Palm Beach County School Board member