Broward school district earns A grade from Florida for first time in over a decade
Broward County Public Schools has earned an A rating for the first time in over a decade.
The Florida Department of Education released its Florida School Accountability Reports, which revealed school and district grades for the 2023-2024 year, on Wednesday.
Broward was once a consistently A-rated school district in the early 2000s but fell into a B-rated pattern in 2012.
Broward held a press conference on Wednesday afternoon announcing the district’s accomplishments.
Superintendent Howard Hepburn first thanked board members for giving autonomy to leaders who know their schools and communities best at the press conference. He said board members gave schools a roadmap to success and focused more on building resources and finding people who get the job done in the classroom.
”When our focus is off students we start focusing on things that don’t help us accomplish what we have accomplished today,” Hepburn said.
Broward employs over 18,000 workers, said Daina Sanders, chief of staff of Broward Teachers Union. She thanked the teachers who worked well past 3 p.m. to put in extra time to tutor students and go above and beyond.
“Becoming an A district is only possible when teachers work nights, weekends,” she said. “Taking away from time with their own family to make sure that they are coming up with engaging lesson plans to ensure that each and every student has everything they need to learn and grow.”
Hopefully, Sanders continued, the district will show teachers the compensation they deserve.
Overall, 82 schools earned A ratings, 62 earned B ratings and 69 received C ratings. None of the schools received a D or F grade.
Four schools improved from a D grade to a B grade including Blanche Ely High School, Deerfield Park Elementary School, Oakridge Elementary School and Robert C. Markham Elementary, according to a press release from the district. Seven schools improved from a D grade to a C grade.
Walker Elementary, who received an F-rating last year earned a C this year.
According to the state Department of Education release, South Florida came out on top with Miami-Dade earning its fourth consecutive A rating and Palm Beach earning the same after being rated a B last year.
Florida’s school grading system is based on the following student success measures: Achievement; learning gains; graduation rates; acceleration success and maintaining a focus on students who need the most support. The district’s grade is calculated as if the district’s students are enrolled in one large combination school.
Around Florida 1,300 schools earned an A grade this school year, which is 6 percent higher than last year, according to a release from the state Department of Education.
