EdCircuit Staff 
Strong literacy gains fueled the school’s jump from a C to an A in just three years
Lake Park, Florida — Lake Park Elementary, part of the Palm Beach County School District, today announced it earned an A grade on the Florida Standards Assessments (FSA). This strong performance on the state’s year-end summative assessment marks a significant milestone for the school, which has jumped from a C to an A in just the past three years under the direction of Principal Michelle Fleming. In addition to raising its year-end grade to an A, Lake Park has also reduced the number of lowest-performing students by 29% percent since 2017 and decreased the third-grade retention rate from 20 students to just 7 in that time period.
“When I started at Lake Park in the summer of 2017, only 25% of the students scored as proficient in reading, and the school had been placed on the list of the state’s lowest-performing schools. We had a tremendous amount of work to do to not only improve student performance, but also support our teachers and our families to ensure we were delivering the best educational program possible,” said Fleming. “With sustained effort, we transformed how we were delivering instruction, measuring progress and setting goals for our students. The results have been tremendous, and I’m extremely proud of all that we have accomplished in a short amount of time.”
Key changes under Fleming’s direction included an overhaul of the school’s literacy instruction starting in the 2017-18 school year, including the widespread adoption of i-Ready, which the district had begun using the prior year. Students began using i-Ready for language arts and math instruction as part of a blended learning approach anchored by teacher-led instruction. Teachers also administered the i-Ready Diagnostic three times a year and used instructional usage reports to gather detailed information about students’ strengths and knowledge gaps. This information was used to inform class instruction, differentiate learning and target specific areas of need. In addition, Lake Park Elementary established an on-site pre-K program in 2016 to help meet the growing need for high-quality, full-day preschool.
About Lake Park Elementary School
Led by Principal Michelle Fleming, Lake Park Elementary is a Title 1 school serving 380 students, including 31% English learners. It is part of Palm Beach County School District, which has earned an A grade for two years in a row. Palm Beach County School District is the tenth largest district in the nation and the fifth largest in the State of Florida serving more than 193,000 students who speak 146 languages and dialects. As the largest employer in Palm Beach County, the school district has 22,340 employees, including more than 12,900 teachers.
- eSchool News – 4 actions to drive an elementary school turnaround
- Palm Beach Schools – School District Earns ‘A’ Rating Two Years in a Row
- edCircuit – Using Improved Curriculum to Turn Around Title I Schools
