The grades are said to be preliminary until September. Here is an Excel file. Some key takeaways:
*Only 3 of 36 F schools are not designated as Title One Schools – a funding status which indicates these schools are in high poverty areas. The 3 schools which were not Title One Schools were charter schools. Poverty does matter.
*A second benchmark for poverty is the number of children who qualify for free and/or reduced lunch. 20 of 36 F schools had 90 % or more. 31 of 36 had 70 % or more. The three schools which did not qualify as Title One Schools were the only ones with less than 50 percent qualifying for free and/or reduced lunch.
*19 of 36 F schools had minority rates of 90 % or more. 32 of 36 had minority rates of 70 % or more.
*Imagine Schools – who gets beat up pretty good in this blog – has two F schools on the list from Pinellas county. Kudos to Imagine for not always looking for affluent neighborhoods to open schools.
The continuing trouble of charter schools in impoverished areas should trouble charter school cheerleaders in the Florida legislature. A simplistic “no excuses” mantra and the “failing school” meme have driven their justification for charter school expansion in the state. There’s no evidence they plan backing off either during March’s legislative session.
