Alachua County Public Schools’ early education programs outperform programs across Florida
Press release from Alachua County Public Schools
ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla. – Alachua County Public Schools’ early education programs significantly outperformed similar programs across the state, according to new ratings released by the Florida Department of Education (FDOE).
According to the FDOE, 78% of the district’s Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) programs were rated ‘Excellent’ based on the academic performance of students and direct classroom observations. Only 33% of the nearly 6,100 VPK programs statewide, including thousands of private programs, received an ‘Excellent’ rating.
Thirty-one percent of the 68 public and private VPK providers in Alachua County were rated ‘Excellent.’ The vast majority of VPK providers in Alachua County are private.
“Something that really sets us apart is the quality of our staff, who are highly educated and trained in early childhood education,” said Trisha Rodriguez, who coordinates the district’s VPK programs. “They are very dedicated to this field and are always looking for new ways to prepare children for kindergarten and beyond.”
The seven district programs receiving the top rating are based at Chiles, Talbot, Wiles, Newberry, Archer, and Irby Elementary Schools and at the Duval Early Learning Academy. The VPK programs at Norton and Terwilliger were both rated ‘Above Expectations,’ the second-highest ranking offered by the state.
Four of the top ten VPK programs in the county for overall performance (academics and observations) are in Alachua County Public Schools, including Chiles (#2), Talbot (#3), Wiles (#6) and Newberry (#8).
Five of the top ten VPK programs in the county in the observation category are in district schools, including Newberry (#1), Chiles (#3), Talbot (#4), Irby (#9), and Archer (#10).
Newberry scored #11 among all the 6,095 VPK providers in the state in that category.
This is the first year that the state has implemented a formal performance metric to rate VPK programs. Providers that don’t perform well enough risk losing VPK funding from the state.
“The best way to prepare students for school is to place them in the school setting,” said Rodriguez. “These results show that a high level of learning is happening in our school-based VPK programs.”
Despite the budget cuts, and best efforts made by the District, there are some people who are committed to the education of our children. Kudos to them, their parents, and the kids, who at this point, value a child’s education.
That says much more about the employees than it does the SBAC and its ‘positioned’ administration.
Yeah, I guess parents on the other side of the Santa Fe River, west of Newberry, east of Hawthorne, and south of Micanopy just don’t love their kids like the blue voters here at home. I thought you think they are all not capable of voting and should be disenfranchised for their own good.
So true! This state had a pro-agenda for early childhood education back in the days when I started teaching. Now, I’ve heard, there is NOT a certification for early childhood. Guess what? Even K is NOT the same as First grade—not to mention VPK & pre-school. Our society wonders why? about so many behaviors when it comes to current day kids. We’ve lost sight of developmental education. Pushing & rushing a child through stages they are not ready for, shows up later. Hip—hip—hoorah for child centered early childhood education! Thank you to those who focus on the child.
Commendable BUT what has happened with the dismal results for K-12 throughout Alachua county. An upper tier nationally recognized university is here and this area still puts out marginal students compared to other stqates. Thank god for Frazier – one bright spot.
I wonder the same. I retired from teaching in another county to come here with great expectations! I am shocked & especially after volunteering in the elementary schools, plus having 2 adult kids who teach here after earning Masters in education from UF.