TAMPA, Fla. — Hillsborough County school leaders are celebrating this summer. The state recently released all school and district grades, and for the first time in more than a decade, Hillsborough County Public Schools has earned an “A” district grade.
In addition to that A grade, the district is also celebrating that for the first time in district history, all transformation network schools earned an A, B or C.
Shawnette Singleton is the proud principal of Lamb Elementary School, which for the first time in school history received an A grade from the state. She showed us the data wall which is one of the ways her team tracked students’ progress.
“It’s how we track data throughout the school year from the very beginning to the very end,” she said.
“Throughout the year to see students move and grow into the next bucket is very exciting and a lot of ah-ha moments,” she said.
Florida assigns school grades based on five measures, including student achievement, learning gains, graduation rates, acceleration and how well schools support their highest-needs students. Lamb has shown significant growth in all areas.
“We focused on building collaboration, team planning, we focused on making sure we had the right staff in place for our students,” Singleton said. “We didn’t just hire to hire bodies, we made sure we had the right fit.”
Just four years ago, Lamb Elementary was two points shy of being a F school. That’s when Singleton and her assistant principal came in. Over the years, she says staff and students worked hard, aiming for an A, focusing on positive behaviors, goal setting, and celebrating achievements.
“Just to hear the feedback from the community, the feedback from the parents, was a test to of my why and to show that this work we’re doing is meaningful and really works,” she said.
In a statement, Hillsborough County Schools Superintendent Van Ayres said: “Earning an A district grade is a milestone that reflects the extraordinary dedication of our students, teachers, support professionals, school leaders, and families,” he went on to say, “These results show that our students are succeeding at higher levels than ever before, and we are committed to building on this momentum for each child we serve.”