Marion school grades improve: No F’s, more A’s  

File Photo: Dr. Diane Gullett, the Superintendent of Marion County Public Schools, speaks during the Technical Working Group meeting at Marion Technical Institute on East Fort King Street in Ocala, Fla. on Monday, Nov. 27, 2023. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2023.

The Florida Department of Education recently released school grades, revealing large educational gains for Marion County and Florida school districts overall.

The FDOE assigns letter grades —A through F— based on student performance to inform parents, communities and policymakers about school effectiveness and identify areas in need of improvement.

This year, 71% of Florida schools earned either an A or B grade, a 7% improvement from last year. Among the state’s 67 districts, 28 earned A’s; 31, including Marion County, earned B’s; eight earned C’s; and none received a failing grade.

Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a press release the day the grades were announced, on July 7, saying the statewide progress monitoring system the state uses is further proof that Florida is among the leading states in public school student performance.

“Providing more opportunities for parents and teachers to intervene in a child’s performance in school leads to better outcomes and a higher quality education,” DeSantis said.

Looking specifically at Marion’s results, eight schools received A’s compared to six last year; the number of B schools remained consistent at 10; 28 schools earned C’s from 32 last year; D schools increased from two to five; and the McIntosh Area School improved its’ F grade to a C this year.

In a previous “Gazette” article, “Overcoming the Denominator,” the Marion County School Board predicted it would be difficult for McIntosh and other charter schools with small student populations to raise their failing school grades.

McIntosh Area School Principal David Friedlander presented an “Academic Corrective Action Plan” to the board on Feb. 6 explaining its attempt to get a passing grade for the 2024-25 school year.

Board member Nancy Thrower had told Friedlander after the presentation that if McIntosh failed a second year consecutively it could close, and the state would have to intervene.

In response, McIntosh conducted a schoolwide student performance analysis that found educational gaps. To fill them, it then adjusted personnel, curriculum, student support, family engagement, and the school day schedule. As McIntosh earned a C grade this year, the corrective plan paid off.

With all of Marion schools testing above 35%, none of the district’s schools failed.

The FDOE report also showed Marion had 16 schools test 100% of its students and still earned a C or better. The county also has an average graduation rate of 85%. Although most schools are average with a C grade, 43 out of the 51 grades either remained the same or improved.

“These school grades are another example of how our approach is working,” incoming Commissioner of Education Anastasios Kamoutsas said in the press release.