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Eakins: Schools are improving, despite what was said at Tuesday’s board meeting

A school by school list measures state test scores between 2016 and 2018.
 
Test scores at Palm River Elementary improved by four points in reading and two points in math between 2016 and 2018, according to a report to the School Board from Superintendent Jeff Eakins. [TWITTER PHOTO]
Test scores at Palm River Elementary improved by four points in reading and two points in math between 2016 and 2018, according to a report to the School Board from Superintendent Jeff Eakins. [TWITTER PHOTO]
Published Feb. 21, 2019|Updated Feb. 21, 2019

A lot of things were said when the Hillsborough County School Board sat down Tuesday to deliberate on the superintendent’s $17 million teacher recruitment plan for the 50 low-performing Achievement schools

Chairwoman Tamara Shamburger questioned whether the plan would bring about meaningful change -- or much of the same, including some teachers who work strictly to their union contract and principals who keep their jobs when they really should leave.

Member Cindy Stuart agreed that some schools faced “leadership issues.” Member Lynn Gray described “a crisis” in reading, based on a day she spent helping out at Sulphur Springs K-8.

Although the board voted unanimously to approve his plan, Superintendent Jeff Eakins felt the need to respond Wednesday to this criticism with a letter reassuring the board that schools, under his watch, are getting better, not worse.

An attached a chart, linked here, shows just how much better.

The improvement is not universal. Following double-digit test score increases at elementary schools Edison, Bing, Dunbar and Frost, the document shows single-digit decreases at Greco and Van Buren middle schools, and Sulphur Springs. Not mentioned in the letter, but worth noting here, is that Van Buren merged with Cahoon Elementary to form the Woodson K-8 school. And discussions are under way to turn Greco into more of an international baccalaureate school for Temple Terrace.

Some schools went up in one subject and down in another. And Eakins noted which schools - the vast majority, it turns out - have new principals since 2015.

Here is his letter in full:

Board Members,

Based on comments that were made at last night's Board meeting regarding Achievement School progress, I feel it is necessary to provide all Board members with the facts regarding Reading/ELA and Math proficiency progress since 2015-16, my first year as Superintendent. Also I feel all Board members need to know the principal leadership decisions that I have made since 2016 that, I believe, have and will set our Achievement Schools up for success moving forward.

Attached is a document showing data from all 50 Achievement Schools. It contains Reading/ELA and Math proficiency in 2015-16 and compares it to the latest results in 2017-18. This data comes straight from the FLDOE website. During that 2-year time period, our district has shown a 3 percentage point increase in both ELA and Math proficiency. During that same time period, our Achievement Schools out-paced the district's proficiency growth in ELA and matched the district in proficiency growth in Math. You'll see in the 3rd and 6th columns some of the incredible gains that have been made by several of our Achievement Schools during that time. 31 out of 50 Achievement Schools matched or exceeded the district's ELA proficiency growth which is an indicator of gaps that are beginning to close. So much more work is ahead, but leaders and teachers need to know that we recognize that in spite of the heavy lift, things are changing for the better for many of our students and schools.

As was mentioned last night, great leadership is so important for this work. I believe it is the number 1 catalyst for improvement. That is why, since beginning my tenure as Superintendent, I have appointed new principals at 41 of the 50 Achievement Schools. These decisions are very difficult as they sometimes disrupt school culture and relationships. In spite of these challenges, the goal is to put students at the center of the decision. The huge gains that you see in the attachment at many schools are due to great leaders working with a dedicated staff. As I bring further leadership decisions to the Board, I wanted you to be aware of the facts leading up to this point. The far right column of the attachment shows schools where I have appointed new principals since 2015.

As we continue to support our Achievement Schools, this document can serve as key information to gauge further progress but also celebrate the progress made at many schools thus far. Please let me know if you have any further questions or need further clarifications.

Thank you for your continued support.

Preparing Students for Life

Jeff Eakins, Superintendent

Hillsborough County Public Schools