- Superintendent's Message
- Monroe County schools
The Tassel's Worth the Hassle!
Over
the past week it has been my honor and privilege as Superintendent
to share in graduation ceremonies and celebrations district-wide.
Celebrations have taken place at all schools and all levels, as
students complete Kindergarten, 5th grade moving to
middle school, 8th grade moving to high school, and
finally – GRADUATION!! My congratulations go out to every teacher,
counselor, administrator and mentor who supported this year’s
graduates along the way. In addition, it is a time for all staff
members to take pride in this achievement as well. 82% of the 576
Monroe County graduates are now planning to continue their
education, 12 are entering the military and many are going to
prestigious universities, including MIT, New York University,
Southern California, Columbia, Tufts – to name a few.
Coral Shores High
- 170 Graduates
- More than 85% of the graduates will continue their education after graduation
- Total Scholarship dollars for the Class of 2008 is estimated at $3,700,000. with 182 students receiving some type of assistance.
- Local / Community Scholarships totaling more than 247,000.
- Total Documented Community Service Hours for the Class of 2008 is approximately 16,000 hours.
- One student entering the service
Key West High School
- 314 Graduates
- More than 80% of the graduates will continue their education after graduation
- Total Scholarship dollars for the Class of 2008 is estimated at $2,600,000.
- Local / Community Scholarships totaling more than 210,000.
- Total Documented Community Service Hours for the Class of 2008 is approximately 16,000 hours.
- Four students entering the service
- 79 of KWH students from the Class of 2008 qualified for the Bright Futures scholarships.
- Florida Keys Community College: Board of Trustees Scholarship and their College Explorers Scholarship --- estimate - $160,000
- This class was also recognized with the school as Newsweek's top 5% of the nation's high schools.
Marathon High School
- 92 Graduates
- More than 86% of the graduates will continue their education after graduation
- Total Scholarship dollars for the Class of 2008 is estimated at $1,400,000.
- Total Documented Community Service Hours for the Class of 2008 is approximately 8,000 hours.
- Seven students entering the service
I’m so proud of the outstanding performance students have made in recent FCAT Testing:
Reading:
- 3rd Grade - Eighty-one percent of third graders are reading at or above grade level; an increase of six percentage points over the previous year. This increase is double that seen at the state level (from 69% last year to 72% this year).
- 4th Grade – students reading at or above grade level remained 75% for the second consecutive year. Statewide, a two point increase was seen (68% to 70%) from the previous year. 5 schools showed a gain in this crucial category: Glynn Archer for the second year in a row led the group with a four percentage point jump; Sugarloaf (+3), Poinciana, Gerald Adams, and Plantation Key all moved up two percentage points. Special notice should be given to Big Pine Academy which led the district with 91% of its fourth graders reading at or above grade level.
- 5th Grade – students reading at or above grade level decreased from the previous year (from 78% to 70%) but they continue to be above other fifth graders in the state who dropped to 67%. Again, only Glynn Archer Elementary was able to garner a gain; moving from 54% last year to 63% this time, a gain of nine percentage points.
- 6th Grade – students reading at or above grade level increased three percentage points by moving from 69% last year to 72% this year (compared to a one percentage point rise at the state level). Two schools posted gains with Plantation Key School leading the way with a remarkable 18 percentage point leap (from 71% to 89%). Horace O’Bryant Middle School sixth graders also earned a significant gain as their percentage of students reading at or above grade level went from 61% last year to 67% currently.
- 7th Grade - students reading at or above grade level jumped from 64% last year to 73% this year; a nine percentage point increase. Just about every school in the district contributed to this rise with Marathon leading the way with an outstanding 23 percentage point leap from 59% to 82%; the highest in the district. Key Largo seventh graders also posted a double-digit gain by moving from 66% to 79% reading at or above grade level. Other schools that saw their scores rise included Sugarloaf (+9, from 66% to 75%) and Horace O’Bryant (+6, from 60% to 66%).
- 8th Grade - students reading at or above grade level moved up three percentage point from 53% to 56% which is three percentage points higher than the state figure of 53%. Three schools displayed increases with a 21 percentage point increase by Plantation Key leading the way. Marathon Middle and Horace O’Bryant had increases of four and one percentage points respectively.
- 9th Grade - students reading at or above grade level increased from 49% last year to 57% this year; a significant jump of eight percentage points. This value is 11 percentage points above the state average of 46%.
- 10th Grade - students reading at or above grade level in Monroe County also increased; going from 40% last year to 45% this year; a value that is seven percentage points above the state average. All three of the district’s schools posted gains with Marathon High earning the largest improvement moving from 38% to 50%; a 12 percentage point increase.
Math:
- 3rd Grade - Eighty-four percent of Monroe County third graders are at or above grade level in math; a jump of four percentage points over the previous year. This increase is twice that seen at the state level (and is eight points higher (74% to 76%). Seven schools posted higher scores in this important area; three of them with double-digit gains.
- 4th Grade - students doing math at or above grade level increased five percentage points (from 72% to 77%) from the previous year. Seven schools contributed by increasing their percentages. Leading the way was Treasure Village Montessori with a 15 point increase (from 50% to 65%).
- 5th Grade scores increased by four percentage point (from 64% to 68%). Seven schools showed gains with five of these moving their percentages up substantially from 312 to 323 (eight points above the state average).
- 6th Grade students performed at or above grade level in math increased at both the state and district level. The state percentage rose three points (50% to 53%) while the district gained four points (55% to 59%). Again three schools were able to show an increase over the previous year and all three were in double digits.
- 7th Grade scored at or above grade level in math and increased an impressive 12 percentage points (from 58% to 70%) which, when coupled with the two percentage point increase at the state level puts MCSD nine points higher than the state average (state: 61% – Monroe: 70%).
- 8th Grade math scores at or above grade level went up three points when compared to the 2007 school year (71% to 74%). Four schools made this increase possible with Plantation Key leading the way with a 12 percentage point increase from 75% to 87%.
- 9th Grade students in the district scored at or above grade level in math and also increased notably from a score of 69% last year to a new high of 74% this year. This value continues to be nine percentage points higher than the state average.
- 10th Grade students doing math at or above grade level in Monroe County decreased; the drop being from 73% to 72% (1st time in 5 years). Coupled with the fact that the state score rose four percentage points to 69%, the difference between the district and state averages now stands at three percentage points. Marathon High School was the only school to show a gain by moving their percentage from 71% to 77%.
Science:
- 5th Grade students performing at or above grade level in science increased three percentage points (from 54% to 57%) from the previous year. With a one percentage point increase at the state level (from 42% to 43%), this puts MCSD students 14 percentage points ahead of other fifth graders in the state (tied for 3rd in the state)
- 8th Grade students performing at or above grade level in science remained at the same level as last year (45%). Since the state percentage rose two points (38% to 40%), this decreased the difference between Monroe County eighth graders and those in the rest of the state to five percentage points.(tied at 14th in the state)
- 11th Grade students in the district at or above grade level in science also increased from a score of 41% last year to 45% this year. This value increases the difference between Monroe County Juniors and the rest of the state to seven percentage points (state – 38%; Monroe – 45%).
Writing:
- 4th Grade students scoring at or above the proficiency level (3.5) decreased two percentage points from 74% in 2007 to 72% in 2008. This is one point more than that seen at the state level where the drop was from 78% to 77%.
- 8th Grade students at the district and state scoring at or above grade level increased from 2007 to 2008. The state value increased two percentage points from 86% to 88% while the Monroe County value went from 82% in the 2007 school year to 83% in 2008.
- While the state percentage of 10th Grade students scoring at or above proficiency dropped by one percentage point (79% to 78%) when compared to last year, Monroe County’s figure rose dramatically by six percentage points (71% to 77%). This greatly reduces the gap between the two from the eight percentage point difference last year to just one percentage point in 2008.
I wish all of you a safe and relaxing summer. Many of you will continue to work on the responsibilities that support our educational goals, as our summer seems one of our busiest times of year. Thank you in advance for the time you’ve committed to plan for the 2008-2009 school year. Data is already being analyzed and budgets created to prepare an exciting and productive year ahead. Be safe as you travel!
God Bless, we’ll see you next year!
Randy
Acevedo,
Superintendent
Thanks to
Tom Oosterhoudt and ConchColor.com for
Graduation
Pictures
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