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| The sweet smell of high school's fall sports season is filling the hot and humid air here in St. Lucie County as teams and individual players measure their success on the fields of play. |
August 16, 2017 - St. Lucie County, FL - Well here we are at the start of a brand new school year. This week we will see the first volleyball and football games of the 2017 season. Swimming, golf, cross country and bowling will all start up next week.
The kids are pumped and coaching staffs primed, while athletic directors and high school principals are ready to function on only a few hours sleep. Games will be won, championships will be had and student-athletes will earn scholarships and offers to colleges.
Ah, the sweet smell of high school's fall sports season is filling the hot and humid air here in St. Lucie County as teams and individual players measure their success on the fields of play.
Yet what about the successes off the field, in the classrooms and buried deep within those dreaded school grades that the state assigns each summer? You know, the ones that determine if a child is going to be held back; if a teacher is performing to standards or if a school is going to receive bonus money or be punished.
Yea, those grades, the ones based on the Florida Standards Assessment (formally FCAT), learning gains, graduation rates, and a few other things. The grades based on that one test, given on that one day.
Here in St. Lucie County it is no secret that our schools have struggled over the past several years. In fact, a couple of our schools were at risk of being taken over by the state or worse - turned into charter schools.
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| E. Wayne Gent - Superintendent of St. Lucie County Public Schools. |
Now, don't get me wrong, there is some amazing administrative talent in this school district. The prior Deputy Superintendent went on to become the Superintendent of Indian River County Schools, while the districts current Chief Academic Officer was a finalist for the same job.
But the board wanted a to go in another direction. And, as luck would have it, the Superintendent for the nations 13th largest school district was looking for a new challenge.
Enter Wayne Gent, a former St. Lucie County School District employee who had been off the district's radar for almost a decade. Gent had been passed over for the St. Lucie job several years ago prior. He wanted the job here and he made that known in his interviews and public forums. Of the dozens of candidate's that applied, Gents resume always seemed ended up at the top of the pile.
As a former St. Lucie Public School's teacher, coach, and principal and a current resident of the Treasure Coast, Gent was well seasoned in the dynamics of the county. As the leader of Palm Beach Counties School's, he knew his way around the Florida Department of Education and the state's complex education laws. A lifelong educator, Gent knew what it took to make the gains St. Lucie's School Board demanded. He knew where to find the right talent and how to assemble a team.
School Board Members were looking a gift horse in the mouth - and they knew it, as did the search committee made up of dozens of stakeholders throughout the county.
So, just two short years ago Wayne Gent took the reins as Superintendent of St. Lucie County Public Schools. Quickly and quietly Gent shuffled things around at the district office drawing praise from not just the board that had appointed him but from the union head, teachers, parents and the community as well.
He assembled a dynamic team to lead St. Lucie County Schools with a goal of increasing just a little bit every year. Last year (his first in St. Lucie as Superintendent) saw a small increase in points as the district grade remained a C. But Gent and his team knew the district could do better and they implemented a plan for success.
"We were (are) very targeted and strategic," says Dr. Jon Prince the Deputy Superintendent in St. Lucie County and a Gent hire.
"We don't teach to a test, we teach to a standard utilizing reliable tools that help our teachers focus in on areas in which an individual student may need some extra support. We use unit assessments and chapter tests by grade and by course. And, here in St. Lucie we have some of the best teacher talent anywhere", says Prince.
And that talent showed itself off as the School District cruised to an overall B grade, an overall 9.4% increase in points accounting for the sixth highest overall district improvement state wide.
In virtually every domain measured St. Lucie kids outshined the state and even outperformed the states top rated district - Martin County. In English Language Arts the district saw a 10% point increase compared to 5% for the state and 4% to Martin and Indian River Counties. Math saw our students jump 9% while the state rose 4%. In Science, the district remained the same while the state actually lost 2% points, and Social Studies saw a 5% gain - only 1% lower than the state average.
Middle School Acceleration (middle schoolers taking advanced classes) saw an 18% rise compared to 14% for the state, 0% for Martin County and -4% for Indian River County, while college and career readiness recorded a 6% gain compared to 4% for the state and -1% for Indian River County.
But the kicker - that real measure of success - is the graduation rate, a score that measures the number of students that complete high school in four years. And St. Lucie County kids hit it out of the ballpark leapfrogging from 45th place in the state to 13th - a 246% increase. An almost 20% net gain as compared to 6% state wide while racking up the equivalent of over $8,000 in college scholarships for each eligible graduating senior last year - an astounding $24 million in all.
Is it any wonder that for the first time in history, the average grade of St. Lucie's high schools is a B?
The district has no failing schools, even in the highest poverty area's and in areas in which English is a household's second language, huge barrier's to learning for children. And 23 St. Lucie County Public Schools are high performing A or B schools.
So, while athletic teams take to the fields this week let's remember that there are a whole lot of kids that don't play sports and teachers that may not coach that deserve just as much attention and praise as those "superstars" under the lights on Fridays.
Our children's teachers made the difference last year as our kids exceeded expectations.
And it all started because five school board members, who are often criticized in public, decided to give a guy who was overlooked a decade ago a chance.
