- The Florida Department of Education released school and district grades for the 2023-2024 school year.
- 24 schools increased their total number of points earned because of students' learning gains.
- Watch the video above to hear from parents and one principal about the major progress.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT
"I wasn't shocked. The students worked hard, and I just knew we were going to get a B!"
Thomeca Hawthorne-Glover is a Nims Middle School parent. She tells me the school's historic performance was expected.
"For years people have always looked down on Nims. We've never been a B. Just finally making it to a B is like a dream come true."
A dream that's also come true for other schools in Leon County as well.
The Florida Department of Education released school and district grades for the 2023-2024 school year.
Most schools in Leon County either remained the same or increased their scores. 91% of schools received an A, B, or C grade.
Schools in my neighborhood like Pineview Elementary went from a C grade in 2023 to an A grade in 2024.
Another school in my neighborhood seeing big changes: Nims.
I spoke to Nims Middle School principal, Dr. Benny Bolden Jr., recently about the historic jump in their school grade.
"So here we are 66-year history and have never in the history of this school been an academic B. And going to be that for the for the first time is unreal. It simply comes down to the idea of telling kids regardless of where you are; to simply try."
"I'm proud of Leon County schools and most importantly I'm proud of R. Frank Nims middle school."
In a statement, Superintendent Rocky Hanna says in part quote. "While there is still a lot of hard work ahead of us, we know we are on the right track. There were tremendous learning gains in our schools, and we remain focused on the mission at hand."
24 schools increased their total number of points earned because of their learning gains.
It's something parents like Glover says could continue in an upward direction.
"We're excited, we're on to an A next year!"
Now as for the district level, the district grades were just three points from earning an A. In Southwest Tallahassee, Terry Gilliam, ABC27.
