JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two underperforming Jacksonville schools could be getting help if their grades don’t improve.
The Duval County School Board on Tuesday night approved a $1.4 million plan to bring in two companies to help get the schools back on track, if needed.
The schools include Susie E. Tolbert in Northwest Jacksonville and Ramona Boulevard Elementary on the Westside. They could have external operators MGT of America Consulting and Jacksonville-based Turnaround Solutions brought in to help bring up their “D” grades, and if they don’t improve after that, the schools could be shut down.
George Washington Carver Elementary School already has an external operator and could face the same consequence if it doesn’t improve this year.
But Chief of Schools for Duval County Public Schools Scott Schneider said the schools are projected to finish with “C” grades this year which would keep that from happening.
“All of our data shows that we are projected to come out of that status to be a “C” school this year,” Schneider said, referencing George Washington Carver Elementary. “We also show the same for Susie Tolbert as well as Ramona.”
The district expects to get official grades from the state at some point this summer.
According to state law, if the schools don’t improve to at least “C” grades in the coming years they could be shut down, a charter school could take over, or management of the school could be turned over to an educational management organization or district charter.
But Schneider said the plan approved by the school board Tuesday is a safeguard required by law and he expects to see higher grades this year for the schools despite the lingering effects of the pandemic.
“As we continue to get those students back in school, the staff of those three schools are doing an outstanding job trying to bridge that achievement gap that they have, due to not having a one-to-one education,” Schneider said.
The district noted that the money that would be used to hire the outside companies if they don’t report higher grades will not be from taxpayer money but instead from the state.