GADSDEN COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) - The school year is winding down for districts in the Big Bend, but for Gadsden County, all eyes are on the newly-formed high school and who operates it next year.
Gadsden County High School has had two straight years of earning a "D" grade.
The district merged its two high schools this year and started working with an outside partner to improve that grade.
Last summer, the school district presented a turnaround plan to the State Board of Education.
The goal was to get the high school to a "C" or higher in the 2017-18 school year with outside help.
Superintendent Roger Milton said there's been a lot of pressure on students and administrators to keep that from happening.
"They've been working extremely hard," he said. "Most schools that are in this position have been there because of consistence in several years of low-performing. So, East Gadsden was a low-performing school. West Gadsden was low-performing, so when we put the two together, it took on the designation of West Gadsden. So, we've only had this one year. We're doing the very best that we possibly can."
Milton said the district opted against turning the high school into a charter school.
WTXL has reached out to the Florida Department of Education to see whether the county's plans fall in line with what's been approved on a state level.
