CLAY COUNTY – The Florida Department of Education notified the Clay County District Schools that for the second consecutive year, 12 of its schools had earned the designation as a School of Excellence.

Discovery Oaks, Fleming Island, Keystone Heights, Lakeside, Orange Park, Robert M. Paterson, Lake Asbury, Thunderbolt and Shadowlawn elementary schools, Fleming Island High and Lakeside and Green Cove Springs junior highs all returned after earning spots for the 2022-23 school year.

“You know, it’s an interesting time in public education,” Superintendent David Broskie said. “I would just express how proud I am of all of our schools in Clay County. For schools to achieve schools of excellence is even that much more special for those schools.”

The state requires to designate a school as a School of Excellence, the school’s percentage of possible points earned in its school grade calculation is in the 80th percentile or higher for schools comprised of the same grade groupings (elementary, middle, high and combination) for at least two of the last three school years. Schools that initially qualify for the designation retain their designation as a School of Excellence for up to three years, at the end of which they may renew the designation.

“It’s been a good year, a good year indeed.” Broskie said. “It really has been an exciting year, and we’re looking forward to the future. We’re going to focus on early literacy, focus on CTE programs and providing educational opportunities for all students, regardless of their ability level and interest. Which, I said in the State of the Schools, is very difficult. Everybody has a different interest, and you have 42,000 (student) different interests. It's kind of hard to consolidate it into a program, but I think we do a pretty good job of providing opportunities for all students in Clay County.”