Law opened the door for thousands to shift schools, but most stay put. Meanwhile, the number of third-graders held back is unclear.
By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK
Published August 12, 2004
The threat of wide-scale student transfers under the federal No Child Left Behind Act never materialized for Hernando County schools.
Just six children, of about 7,000 who were eligible, took advantage of the rules that allow them to switch schools if the one they originally attended failed to make "adequate yearly progress" in the same category - reading, math or writing - for two consecutive years.
Adequate yearly progress, or AYP, standards are based on student performance on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.
The number of third-graders held back because they failed FCAT remains uncertain, meanwhile. More than 250 children faced retention because they scored at Level 1 on the standardized test.
The AYP rule applied only to schools that receive federal money for having large populations of low-income students. Six Hernando campuses - Brooksville, Eastside, Moton, Pine Grove and Spring Hill elementaries and West Hernando Middle - were affected.
"The ones that wanted to transfer have transferred," said Diane Dannemiller, the district's federal programs supervisor.
Initially, 74 children said they wanted to transfer after the district made the offer in June. When asked to confirm their desires, most decided to stay put.
Several had requested to enter Chocachatti Elementary, the district's performing arts magnet school. They were denied access to the school ahead of the families already on the lengthy waiting list, though.
To get into Chocachatti, board attorney Karen Gaffney determined, they would have to go to the end of the line. Some went on the list, others did not.
Even though the transfers were limited, the district continues to look for ways to give extra services to the children who showed an early interest in change.
"We're working on a school within a school" at Brooksville, Eastside and Moton, Dannemiller said. "It's a different program offered by someone different, and something different that the students have never had."
The Florida Department of Education, which set the standards for "adequate yearly progress," encouraged districts to create such alternatives, partly as an acknowledgement that many campuses are too crowded to accept new transfer students.
Hernando educators are waiting for more specific details about what the school within a school programs may include. However, Dannemiller said, she expected whatever gets offered to take place after classes let out each day.
Officials also are waiting for guidance from the state regarding third-grade retentions, a "third-plus" program and midyear promotions.
In the meantime, curriculum specialist Elaine Wooten said, they are trying to make sure all the 253 children who failed FCAT last spring get into the correct classes this year.
"I'm still finding kids that are falling through the cracks," Wooten said. "We found one (Tuesday) morning."
When in doubt, a student went into third grade. Some were exempted from retention, though, because they passed an alternate test, submitted a portfolio demonstrating their ability to read at grade level, or met other state criteria such as being in special education.
In 2003, 234 third-graders failed the FCAT. Of those, 152 were retained - 11 times as many as the previous year.
