Editorial/Commentary

Gov. Bush's A+ plan proves to be winner for schools

Before the passage of Gov. Bush's A+ Education plan last year, many people had never heard of Spencer Bibbs or A.A. Dixon elementary schools. Although the concerns of low test scores had been identified earlier, it took the Legislature's action of supplying additional funding and support to accelerate the process of correcting the problems at these schools.

The changes didn't come easily. To hear many people tell it, the A+plan was going to leave our public schools in crumbling ruins. Some teachers and administrators called the program ``dangerous'' and ``destructive,'' worrying that allowing students to leave failing schools would condemn those schools to continued failure. But they were wrong.

Instead, the Escambia County School District responded to the threat of competition. Extended reading, math and writing time blocks were instituted at Bibbs and Dixon. Students were offered after-school and Saturday tutoring. A major effort was launched to reduce student absenteeism. And, the community became involved through mentoring and volunteer programs to assist teachers in working with children to increase their performance.

With the recent return of this year's FCAT scores and new school grades, Escambia County schools have shown nothing but improvement across the board. Last year, nine of our county's schools were given a failing grade by the state. We should be particularly proud that all of them have improved their scores this year.

As one example among many, the percentage of students passing the Florida Writes! Test at A.A. Dixon Elementary School skyrocketed from 28 percent last year to 94 percent. Amazingly, Brentwood Elementary School jumped from an F to an A rating, one of only two schools in the whole state to make that incredible leap in such a short time. Most important, there are now no failing schools in Escambia County this year.

Student performance, in fact, was up all over Florida. Twenty percent of elementary schools statewide rose by two grade levels. Nearly a third of the state's elementary schools earned an A. Out of all schools, the number of A's jumped from 203 to 551. Out of 2,388 schools in Florida, only four of them received a failing grade this year.

The opportunity scholarship program uses the most persuasive tool we have as an incentive to get schools to perform - money. And it doesn't only take money away when students leave. While some still call the system harsh, in actuality the state has made a $1.5 billion commitment to additional public education funds for the 1999 and 2000 fiscal years.

Florida rewarded 323 A schools with over $30 million last year thanks tothis program, and this year they will have to spend over $70 million to award the 551 high-performing schools. This is a huge boon to school districts, and it comes because we're producing results.

Undeniably, there were a few small problems. The FCAT scores for this year were not returned until much later than we expected, causing some planning problems and hand-wringing at schools across the state. This is not the fault of the program, of course, but of the company hired to score the test. A strong message needs to be sent to the state Department of Education that this is not acceptable!

A common complaint is also that teachers are now ``teaching to the test.'' But what they are actually teaching is subjects that should be taught to our children: reading, writing and math skills that are essential to their continued success. We should also note that additional subjects will be added to the FCAT test, such as science, in the upcoming years.

The special-interest groups opposing the opportunity scholarship program have focused on the negative rather than the positive aspects of the plan. Because of their misinformation about the nature of school choice, they turn a blind eye to the simple fact that the opportunity scholarship program has improved education for all the children in Florida's public schools, and will continue to do so in the coming years. After a year of the program in action, there were no losers - only winners.

Cary Stidham is chairwoman of the Escambia County School Board. Editorial/Commentary