|
|
|
Community
|
|
Written by Gary Govanus
|
|
Even though the second annual Taste of Four Corners was delayed by rain, the crowds still found their way to the Formosa Gardens Shopping Center on Highway 192. Organizers had to delay the event because of all the rain the area had in late May and early June. Finally, Florida returned to the Sunshine State and the event was held on June 11th. 
Robin Hughes, of the Kissimmee Area Chamber of Commerce said the organizers were very happy with the turnout, especially after the delay. Promotion for the rescheduled event was by what Hughes called the grass roots method, basically word of mouth and e-mail. |
|
Read more...
|
|
|
Community
|
|
Written by Jim Siegel
|
|
As Four Corners and Celebration students have received their final grades for the 2008-2009 academic year, so too has the State of Florida sent grades to the individual schools on how well they performed in educating their respective students. These school-level grades are based on the annual (and somewhat controversial) state-mandated student testing process called the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). The Independent has conducted an in-depth analysis of ten Four Corners and Celebration schools. The results are mixed at best.
Instituted in 1989, FCAT is administered in February and March to all public school students in grades three through eleven. (Private and parochial schools are not required to administer FCAT; most instead use another standardized test, the Stanford Achievement Test or SAT.) Students received their numerical scores, and those scores are complied using rather complex formulas to yield school-level scores, which are then reduced to a single overall grade, using the familiar A through F scale. The higher the grade, the more public funding that the school receives. 
We based our analysis on the hard data presented on the Florida Department of Education site, http://schoolgrades.fldoe,org. Specifically, we examined the school grades, the school report cards, and the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) reports. In the publically available reports on the Florida website, the data are dissected only by ethnic group, economic disadvantaged, and students with disabilities. Our assessment simply reflects this analysis; we are not trying to establish or propagate ethnic stereotypes. Some might take exception to the FCAT methodology and scoring techniques, but (as they say) it is what it is.
First, let’s establish a frame of reference by reviewing county-level data for Osceola, Polk, and Lake Counties, as well as for nearby Orange and Seminole Counties as comparators.
Osceola County has been improving in the last three years, moving from a C rating in 2007 to a B last year and this year. The largest gains were made in math and science.
Polk County mirrors Osceola County with a C in 2007, and Bs in 2008 and 2009. Polk and Osceola overall have similar levels of reading, math, writing, and science competency.
Lake County slipped slightly from an A in 2008 to a B in 2009, falling just below the A threshold of 525 numerical score to 522. A slight decline in math proficiency was apparently the reason.
Orange County squeaked into the A category with a 526 in 2008, and improved in 2009 with a 533 score.
Seminole County has achieved an A grade in all of the last three years; the 2009 score was 572. Seminole is noticeably stronger than the other counties in reading, math, and science.
Now let’s go the schools that we evaluated:
Osceola County
Celebration K-8 School continued its steak of A grades in 2009 with a numerical score of 613. Science is particularly strong. The school meets proficiency standards in all categories except for math among Hispanics and the economically disadvantaged.
Celebration High School had another D grade this year, despite gains in math and science proficiency. About three-quarters of Hispanics are below grade level in reading (compared to 44% of whites), and about half are below grade level in math (vs. 20% of whites).
Four Corners Charter School achieved an A grade for the second consecutive year with a numerical score of 572. The largest improvement was in math proficiency. Nevertheless, among Hispanics, 42% are below grade level in reading and half below grade level in math (vs., 20% and 24% respectively for whites).
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
Community
|
|
Written by Jim Siegel
|
|
As they tossed their caps into the air, 370 graduating seniors of Celebration High School closed another chapter of their lives. Overlooking the floor of the Silver Spurs Arena, family and friends applauded their congratulations and approval. The traditional graduation ceremony capped a three-day series of events, beginning with an awards dinner and convocation on May 27 at the high school campus. To the enthusiastic cheers of their fellow students, the seniors were singled out for recognition by faculty, parents, friends, and community groups.
Among the presenters was mathematics teacher Bruce Gillett who led the awarding of the gold National Honor Society cords to an amazing forty-one graduating seniors. Moments later, the stage was lined with ninety students who had a 3.75 or higher grade point average (GPA). As a cresendo to the evening, Sue Bates and Kathy McGaughney announced the selection of the class academic leaders: Eric Mercer as Valedictorian (4.0 unweighted GPA, and 4.83 weighted) and Shana Sullo as Salutatorian (3.98 unweighted GPA, and 4.77 weighted).
Asked whether Eric had required much prodding to do his homework or get good grades, his mother Stacy Mercer responded, “We never had to push him. And he hadn’t been striving to be valedictorian when he started at CHS. He’s just a hard-working student. At the end of his junior year, though, he learned from some other students that he had the highest GPA in the class. His hard work this year helped him maintain that standing.”
The Class of 2009 was the first to have students who began their academic careers as kindergarteners when Celebration school opened in 2006, then as a K-12 facility. The seven seniors with that distinction are Ashlee Hawk, Mitchell Haeuszer, Katie Neff, Kristen Neff, Caneel Palacios, Andrew Rogers, and Alex Sunnarborg.
Two days after the awards ceremony, the students gathered one last time for graduation at the Osceola County Silver Spurs Arena. A bagpipe ensemble led the students into the arena, to the cheers of family and friends; ninety-minutes later the same group led the students, some minus their caps, out the front door and into the next phase of their lives.
For some, that next phase will be a technical trade or a local career. For others, it means ratcheting up their studies to another academic level. Regretfully, we are unable to cover everyone, but the following are a few examples.
Valedictorian Eric Mercer, who also had the highest ACT score in Osceola County, is in for a bit of a climate change as he heads for Duke University, a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina. Eric will be representing Celebration at a highly regarded university. Duke is ranked in the top ten undergraduate schools by US News & World Report, and in a separate study the thirteenth best university in the world in the 2008 THES - QS World University Rankings of universities worldwide.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
|
|
<< Start < Prev 1 2 Next > End >>
|
|
Page 1 of 2 |
|
Who's Online
We have 2 guests online
|
Feed Entries 
