A new grade, a new day: Bond Elementary begins 2022 school year as a B school
Carlin Towels remembers playing football in the grass in front of Bond Elementary School.
The 63-year-old grandfather, who grew up on Saxon Street, dropped his 8-year-old granddaughter off for her first day of school, his former elementary school, with pride.
Bond, for the first time in about 10 years, is a B school.
“They have a great principal and staff,” he said. “There’s a lot to be proud about.”
Analysis: Tallahassee takeaways for Leon County School grades: Highs, lows and incompletes explained
The Bond Community is a historic Black community near Florida A&M University that spans from Orange Avenue to Railroad Square.
A vast improvement while other schools sunk during the pandemic
While most schools in Leon County and the state dropped in performance during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bond, a Title I school, did the opposite.
In 2019, Bond was a D school. In 2020, it rose to a C. And in 2021, Bond is a B, just three points shy of an A.
Bond isn’t the only school in Leon County with improved grades, either. Pineview Elementary School went from a C in 2019 to a B in 2021, Chaires Elementary School rose from a C to a B, and Griffin Middle School rose from a D to a C.
The Florida Department of Education did not give grades in 2020 because of the pandemic, and in 2021, districts could opt out of receiving a grade. In 2021, Leon County Schools decided not to request grades for the district or schools except for a handful, including Bond Elementary School, which was on a state-mandated improvement plan for receiving a D in 2018 and 2019.
'Come a long way'
At Bond, the grassy field Towels remembers is now a parking lot and a bus ramp, and on this muggy morning on the first day of school, parents were checking in with members of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity who volunteered to help that day.
Each child had a name tag that said how they were getting home. There were some tears and silent nods when parents would say “Ok, it’s time to go inside now.”
Principal Delshauna Jackson, who was wearing a bright rainbow-colored skirt, greeted every child before they made their way through the gate and to the cafeteria.
She said “good morning,” and waved to parents countless times, but never without a smile.
“We’ve definitely come a long way,” Jackson said. “I give all credit to our teachers, our staff and our students. They are the ones who put in all the hard work and got the job done, and I’m forever grateful.”
The secret to success
If a school is given a D grade, the Florida Department of Education provides the school with targeted help and professional development for teachers.
In Bond’s case, DOE focused on specific learning gaps in reading and math, and the school district helped faculty administration with progress monitoring of not only the faculty but also the students.
Jackson said Bond offers tutoring before school, after school programs and Saturday school.
“We’ve implemented various strategies throughout the years to accelerate student achievement here at Bond, and we’re seeing the impact,” she said.
Canice Stevens dropped off her second grader Wednesday morning with her two middle schoolers who were on their way to Nims. Nims is also a B school.
“I’ve lived on the south side for a long time, so I’m actually pretty happy (Bond) came up,” Stevens said. “I’m happy to hear they’re closer to an A than they are to a C, so that’s great.”
Bond is in District 3, which is represented by Darryl Jones, chair of the Leon County School Board.
"Leadership determines attitude," he said.
Jackson, who was a principal in Gadsden County, became Bond's principal in 2019.
"She has inspired her teachers by empowering them with the resources they need to create optimal learning environments," Jones said.
'We weathered the storm'
Earlier in the morning across town, in front of Lincoln High School, Superintendent Rocky Hanna was mingling in between students wearing green tie-dye “senior” shirts.
“I’m just so proud of their efforts, all of the hard work they’ve put in to really transform that school and that school environment into one of positivity,” Hanna said. “The school grade improving to a B is just icing on the cake.”
Hanna said every school is uniquely different, and he’s not a fan of grading, but he takes the responsibility seriously – the goal is to not have any D or F schools in the district.
The district does not have any F schools, but it does have five Ds: Apalachee Elementary School, Astoria Park Elementary School, Hartsfield Elementary School, Riley Elementary School and Springwood Elementary School.
Florida will move away from the Florida Standards Assessment testing to progress monitoring this year.
Hanna is optimistic about the 2022-2023 school year.
He woke up at 3:30 a.m. that morning with “the jitters,” and couldn’t go back to sleep, so he got ready and took the bus to Lincoln. The first day of school this year looked a lot different than last year, when the district was embroiled in a mask battle with Gov. Ron DeSantis and DOE during the COVID-19 delta wave.
“Considering what we’ve been through the last several years, I think we’ve shown we can do anything,” Hanna said. “We weathered the storm. The sun came up this morning, it’s a new dawn on a new day, and I’m just so proud of what our kids will accomplish in the future.”
Contact Ana Goñi-Lessan at AGoniLessan@tallahassee.com and follow her on Twitter @goni_lessan.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Leon County's Bond Elementary begins 2022 as a B school
