CLAY COUNTY – After receiving a ‘B’ grade from the Florida Department of Education for the 2016 and 2017 school years, the long-range goal for the Clay County District Schools wasn’t for the students to buy into the curriculum but for the students to buy into themselves.

It was a meticulous process, one that required everyone to be involved. By tweaking the ideology, the District changed its culture and its grades. Students no longer hope to achieve excellence. They demand it.

“It takes everyone, every single person on our campus,” said Lake Asbury Junior High Principal Lydia Creel. “None of us do this in isolation – our staff, including support staff, the custodians, cafeteria workers, teachers, and coaches. It includes everyone in guidance. We’re fortunate. We just try to be consistent in the messaging. The students come first, and we’re making sure that we’re trying to be transparent and encourage teamwork.”

Creel’s school was one of four in the District that received a “C” in 2016. Now, it’s one of 23 from Clay County that the state graded as an ‘A’ school on Wednesday, July 24. The others to make the two-grade improvements were Middleburg High, S. Bryan Jennings and McRae elementary schools.

“What the data says to me is there’s a commitment from a variety of people because education is a team sport,” said Superintendent David Broskie. “First and foremost, it’s the teachers in the classroom that work tirelessly each and every day in Clay County. But it’s also the support staff, the administrators, the students themselves, their parents and the community at large.

“I’m looking forward to even greater success. There’s still more work to be done. Whenever you’re not first, more work must be done. I’m excited about the challenges the future brings.”

The report from FDE is the fifth consecutive time Clay schools have received an ‘A’ grade in six years. The District didn’t receive a grade during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019.

Clay County schools also received 17 ‘B’ and six ‘C’ grades. Eight schools improved their grades compared to 2023, including Florida Youth ChalleNGe, which jumped from a ‘D’ to a ‘B.’ Four schools dropped a grade level.

Middleburg High opened in 1980. this year’s ‘A’ was just the third in 44 years.

“But it’s our second in a row,” Principal Martin Aftuck said.

The only other principal to receive an ‘A’ grade was Broskie in 2011.

Although the county has nearly 40,000 students, Jennings Elementary Principal Elise Taylor said lesson plans contain basic core information, but they now are tailored to a student’s needs. She said the cookie-cutter method of forcing students to conform to one teaching style is outdated and ineffective.

By finding a student’s interests and making the work challenging, there’s a greater chance to keep a child engaged.

“We’re all working in the same direction, then just really committing to that and digging deep and seeing what do we need to change in terms of how we deliver our instruction, as well as what else do our students need in addition to that academic instruction,” she said. “They have dug in deep and locked arms with those students to close achievement gaps and raise proficiency levels year after year.

“We’re constantly asking ourselves, ‘What can we do better for our kids? How can we make them more successful? Ultimately, that’s why we’re here.”

According to FDE, 64% of the schools in Florida received an ‘A’ or ‘B’ grade. In Clay, that figure was 87%. Also, Broskie said the District’s seventh-grade students finished No. 1 in the state in civics and the District finished third overall in civics for all grades. Clay County also finished fourth overall in U.S. history, fourth in English and 11th in math and science. The District’s eighth graders were fifth in the state in science and sixth in biology.

“Our District has scored above the state average in every grade and level,” Broskie said. " The student has to be actively engaged in learning to learn.”

That’s been a model for success at McRae Elementary.

Despite being in one of the county’s most remote and rural areas, McRae Principal Tammy Winkler’s staff and her students did remarkable work. They set aside their socioeconomic status and concentrated on the building blocks that someday could enrich some of their lives.

As one of 19 Title 1 schools, the Mavericks didn’t let their limited resources affect their abilities to excel in the classroom. They were one of three Title 1 schools to earn an ‘A.’ Moreover, it’s what Winkler wants her students to expect of themselves.

“We discuss the best practices for teaching the best effective practices such as student collaboration, graphic organizers and things like that,” she said. “We are sure to ensure the task aligns with the standard and students get plenty of practice doing these things, completing these tasks and activities so they are ready to take those assessments. There are lots and lots of practice based on those grade-level standards. We’re serious about what we do at McRae.”

McRae has received an ‘A’ grade in three of the past five years. The school didn’t get a score in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Winkler said there is an emphasis on reading at McRae. She said teachers and assistants meet weekly in subject groups to ensure their lesson plans are identical. Winkler said everyone is encouraged to ask a question if they don’t understand something. Getting a quick solution means you don’t waste time being confused.

“We feel McRae is a place where our teachers and our assistants, if they don’t understand something, if they don’t feel confident about something, we have that type of atmosphere, that kind of environment where it’s OK to go ask somebody,” Winkler said. “We support each other. We help each other. We really do have fun together.”

Winkler said McRae has become a school where families want their children to attend and where teachers want to be.

“We’ve done this for many years, and it just gets better and better,” she said. “I think that we offer the best small group support, the most targeted small group support, to our students. We create lessons for small groups of students, and sometimes it goes down to individual students. So, what does that kid need? And we’re intentional about that. We plan it out. So, you know, we have high expectations for everyone.”