JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The number of persistently low-performing schools in Florida has ballooned compared to last year, and that could pave the way for more charter schools.
Statewide, the number of low-performing schools exploded from 51 last year to 267 this year.
The giant shift in the numbers comes as the result of a change in the way underperforming schools are defined.
Last year in Duval County, six schools were designated as persistently low-performing, which at the time meant they had been rated below a C grade for at least three of the last five years and hadn’t attained a B grade or higher in the last two years.
But this year, state lawmakers expanded the definition to include schools that ended up in the bottom 10 percent of Grade 3 English or Grade 4 math scores for two of the last three years.
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As a result, 23 Duval Schools this year are now listed as persistently low-performing.
That includes some like John E. Ford K-8 School, which has been graded a B or higher for the last five years in a row.
“The idea that a school that is rated A or B and then yet is labeled critically underperforming just doesn’t jive with their own system,” said Andrew Spar, President of the Florida Education Association.
Spar explained the change could mean more charter schools known as Schools of Hope.
Schools of Hope are privately operated turnaround schools with access to public dollars that are allowed to move into areas around persistently low-performing schools designated as “opportunity zones”.
More schools falling into that category means more opportunity zones, dramatically expanding the footprint where Schools of Hope can set up shop.
“We can look and see charter schools perform no better, and in a lot of cases worse than public schools,” said Spar.
Spar said he views the change as simply the latest move in a multi-year effort to drain enrollment out of traditional public schools in favor of charter and private schools.
“This is just a shell game and it’s all about lining the pockets of those who want to make money off of the education of our children,” said Spar.
Despite the concerns, at least so far, DCPS told Action News Jax it has not received any applications for new Schools of Hope in the district this year.
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