BROOKSVILLE — Though the results come with an asterisk, Hernando County School District officials are celebrating the B grade the district received from the state after three straight C's, and a report card free of schools that received either D or F grades for the first time in six years.
Superintendent Lori Romano was quoted in a statement saying that she was "thrilled" with the results and said they were proof that the district is moving toward her goal of creating an "A-rated school district of excellence."
Kristina Garofano, principal of Westside Elementary School, said the results were "huge news" for her school, which showed perhaps the most dramatic improvement in the district.
Westside, which received a D grade for 2013-14 and was saved from an F only by a rule that prevented drops of more than one letter grade, scored a B for 2014-15 — the school year for which grades were released last week. Another former D school, Pine Grove Elementary, also improved to a B.
Eastside Elementary School, an F school three years ago, was one of four district schools to improve from a C to a B. And after receiving several B's in recent years, Springstead High School joined Chocachatti Elementary School and Challenger K-8 School of Science and Mathematics as A schools.
"Our teachers and staffers and kids all worked extremely hard last year," Garofano said.
But School Board member Susan Duval, while praising the results, said they must be taken with a "grain of salt."
Last year's test, the Florida Standards Assessment, was administered for the first time, meaning there is no baseline for a comparison of results.
Because of that, the state Department of Education has called the grades "baseline" results — and, because they will not be used to penalize low-performing schools, "informational."
The grading standards, initially expected to result in a large increase in the number of failing schools, were eased last month to keep grades throughout the state nearly stable.
"The significance is hard to determine because the state changes its target all the time," Duval said. "I'm happy for the schools and the district, but it's hard for me to feel totally comfortable."
But board member Mark Johnson said if the revised standards kept most schools and districts the same, Hernando's improvement is significant.
"We're doing something better than a lot of other districts," Johnson said. "You can't help but feel good about it."
Deputy superintendent Eric Williams saw another significant sign. Hernando has historically depended heavily on the credit the state has given for showing improvement to achieve any of its good grades. This year, gains were not figured into grades because of a lack of comparisons from previous years.
When they are next year, Williams said, it should mean even better grades.
This year's performance, meanwhile, could create momentum in schools by supplying an "infusion of positivity," he said.
"I believe success is addicting, and the more you get the more you want," said board member Gus Guadagnino.
Contact Dan DeWitt at ddewitt@tampabay.com; follow @ddewitttimes.