SEE WHERE: Gadsden County School District sees improvements in school grades

• Gadsden County School District didn't have any schools who received an "F."
• They are continuing to work on improving the districts overall proficiency level.
• Watch the video to see how some schools improved their grades.

BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:

Gadsden Elementary Magnet School and many others in Gadsden County received passing grades this past school year. I’m Ashley Engle your Quincy neighborhood reporter. I’m looking at how these schools made these improvements and what they're going to be doing this next school year to keep the momentum going.

Improvement that took some hard work.

“It was the best ever.”

Hard work, Allysun Davis says, paid off.

Davis is Gadsden Elementary Magnets School’s Principal.

This year, they improved their grade to an a, but it did not come easy.

“Last year we dropped to a “B”. We have been an “A” consistently and we got a “B” and that was just heart breaking.”

Just like Davis, other school leaders in the District like Tammy McGriff Gadsden County’s assistant Superintendent, came together with a plan.

“We focused on proficiency, because we know if we focus on schools doing very well, then they’ll do better than just get by.”

McGriff tells me fewer than 50% of their students in the district are ready to go onto the next grade level in their reading skills.

“We’re proud of the schools that did maintain, but we definitely want to see more of our students ready to move onto the next grade level.”

Principal Davis tells me, Gadsden Elementary Magnet has been focusing on progress monitoring.

This means keeping students and parents informed with their child’s performance and tracking how they’re doing in areas they need improvements in.

We changed the way we provided instruction, and the kids were learning, and they were not realizing it, but they were having fun. It made an impact on how well our students did on the assessments."

Despite the state's adjustment of grading criteria. The school district didn't have any schools who received an "F"

With that motivation, leaders are excited to see what the next school year will bring for them and their students.

“There’s a lot of collaboration here which has totally impacted our school community.”

The school district expresses their congrats and gratitude to all students, teachers and staff for their hard work. They want that to continue for all schools in the district to receive passing grades this next school year. In the Quincy neighborhood, i’m Ashley Engle, ABC 27.

Check out all the schools grades here.