- January 19, 2025
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Two elementary schools in Ormond Beach were named an "A" school for the 2021-2022 school year: Pine Trail Elementary and Ormond Beach Elementary.
The Florida Department of Education released the latest school grades on Thursday, July 7, stating in a news release that the schools statewide "exceeded expectations" in the 2021-2022 academic year, which marks the first full school grade data release since 2019. Grades were not assessed for the 2019-2020 year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and schools were given the choice to opt-in to be graded for 2020-2021.
The state reported that 100% of schools in Florida graded "F" in 2019 improved their grades in 2022, and that overall, elementary schools had the largest increase in the percentage of schools increasing their grade with 20%, or 351, improving by one or more letter grade.
The trend in Ormond-area schools, however, was not the same. Four schools — Tomoka Elementary, Pathways Elementary, Seabreeze High School and Hinson Middle School — saw their grade decrease by one letter grade. Ormond Beach Middle School and Mainland High School maintained the same letter grade as 2019, "B" and "C," respectively. Beachside Elementary, a new school after Osceola and Ortona Elementary were merged, received an incomplete grade.
The school district grade for Volusia County remained the same as in 2019. The district earned a "B" grade.
Volusia County Schools said in a news release that this is the sixth year that a more rigorous learning gains methodology was used, which requires that "students make meaningful gains toward grade-level performance and beyond."
"Volusia County Schools will continue to engage our students in learning that will transform their lives and experiences," said Superintendent Carmen Balgobin in the news release.
Overall, Volusia, including charter schools, had nine schools earn an "A" grade, 22 earn a "B" grade, 31 earn a "C" grade, seven earn a "D" grade and five with incomplete grades. No schools in Volusia earned an "F" grade.
On a statewide level, DOE was optimistic about the results, which also showed that 84% of schools graded "D" and "F" in 2019 improved their grades in 2022. In addition, the district reported that 469 schools increased their grade in 2022, while 825 schools maintained an "A" grade and 348 schools maintained a "B" grade compared to 2019.
“When I reflect on these school grades and the recent test results, the significant student growth, achievement gap closure and school-wide achievements validate Florida’s approach to get our schools open first and return to normalcy as quickly as possible,” said State Board of Education Chair Tom Grady in the news release. “The lesson to learn here is that the tools and supports we provide our teachers and high-quality instruction and curriculum matter and they make a difference in our schools.”
Here are the grades for local schools:
This story was updated at 5:46 p.m. Thursday, July 7, to include a statement from Volusia County Schools. A correction was also filed at 8:28 a.m. on Friday, July 8, to show that Pine Trail Elementary was also an "A" school in 2019; a previous version of this article incorrectly reported it was a "C" school in 2019.
