- September 7, 2024
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Five of Ormond Beach area schools earned an "A" for the 2023-2024 school year, according to data released by the Florida Department of Education on Wednesday, July 24.
And one of those schools was Seabreeze High School, which hasn't been an "A" school since 2015.
That was a goal of Principal Tucker Harris, a graduate of Seabreeze himself. When he became principal in 2022, Seabreeze was a "C" school. He made it his goal to get the school an "A" grade in two years. His job, he said, was to remind faculty, staff and students that they could really achieve that and to get them to believe in themselves.
"They did what I always knew they could do," Harris said. "From a motivator or a coach standpoint, anytime you can get your team to recognize how good they really are, and then you just get out of their way. ... I'm just over the moon for them."
This also is the first year since 2018 that a Volusia County high school has earned an "A" grade; Seabreeze is one of four. The other three high schools are Spruce Creek High School, Deltona High School and Volusia Online.
Seabreeze earned a "B" grade last year, missing the "A" grade by just two points. For the 2021-2022, the school earned a "C" grade.
Seabreeze also reported the highest total points for any VCS school accumulated for student achievement based on the state's calculation, testing 96% of its student, according to FDOE data.
Harris said he couldn't be more proud of the faculty, staff and students at Seabreeze, who worked hard for this achievement. As their principal, Harris said he's honored to be a part of what Sandcrab Nation is achieving.
"In my world, it's like winning the Super Bowl," Harris said. "... The feelings are really about the faculty and staff and students and community. I'm just so happy for them."
Pathways Elementary, Pine Trail Elementary and Ormond Beach Elementary all retained their "A" grade for the 2023-2024 school year.
Ormond Beach Middle School also earned an "A" grade, up from a "B" grade last year. Principal Heather Iannarelli said it's something the school's students, families, staff and teachers have been working hard toward.
"We're really proud and we're excited and looking forward to the future," Iannarelli said.
The community, she said, also played a role, with tutoring initiatives before, during and after school. She is looking forward to continuing that community involvement.
"We're hoping to continue to work together to help keep Ormond Beach Middle a high achieving and successful school," Iannarelli said.
Mainland High School also improved, going from a "C" to a "B."
Hinson Middle School retained its "B" grade, and Tomoka Elementary went down to a "B" from an "A."
Volusia County Schools earned a district grade of "B," just three points short of an "A," according to a press release by the school district.
“Volusia County Schools is thrilled to narrow the gap toward an ‘A’ and continue to see significant academic progress, even with a shift in the state’s grading scale," Volusia County Schools Superintendent Carmen Balgobin said in the press release. "Our administrators, faculty and staff continue to provide Volusia County Schools’ students with an exemplary public education preparing them for successful post-secondary opportunities. Our focus remains on continuous improvement, and we are excited to build on this success in the upcoming school year. Thank you to our parents, community and partners for their continued support in our educational mission.”
This is the second year that school and district grades were calculated using the Florida Assessment of Student Thinking Progress Monitoring and Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking assessment results. A school's grade is calculated based on components such as achievement in reading, math, science, and social studies as well as acceleration and graduation rates, according to FDOE guidelines. The school district states that learning gains and learning gains of the lowest 25% — which measure academic growth or improvement shown by a student from one year to the next — were reintroduced for English Language Arts and math after the 2022-2023 year, when they were not included.
A total of 63% of schools in the district earned an "A" or "B" for the 2023-2024 academic year, up from last year's 57%. This figure, the district states, includes charter schools.
Overall, 18 schools received a "A" grade, 27 received a "B" grade, 25 received a "C" grade and two received a "D" grade. No schools earned an "F."
