The Florida Board of Education on Wednesday approved a new plan to rehabilitate two consistently failing middle schools in Polk County. It was the third such plan submitted for approval to the board.

  • Board members noted difficulty of recruiting high-performing teachers
  • Problem in Polk is microcosm of statewide problem
  • Teacher grading system possibly keeps good teachers from struggling schools

Several board members noted the difficulty of recruiting high-performing teachers while commenting on the group's decision.

"Probably a lot of it goes to teacher pay at this point," Polk County Schools Superintendent Jacqueline Byrd said after the board's vote. "As you look at the numbers that are going across the district right now, we're just not having those numbers go into the majors anymore."

The middle schools, Lake Alfred-Addair and Westwood, had earned consecutive 'D' or 'F' grades, prompting the district to submit a 'turnaround' plan to the state. While the state board typically signs off on such plans, it took issue with Polk's inability to replace underperforming teachers with teachers rated as 'highly effective' in the struggling schools.

Recruiting those prized teachers, Byrd told the board, was a challenge that ultimately proved unrealistic. The schools now have teachers who are at least rated 'effective.'

"There are no unsatisfactory teachers in those schools. There are none," Byrd said.

Polk's difficulty in finding top-performing teachers to turn around its most troubled schools is a microcosm of a statewide teacher recruitment problem. Critics of Florida's Republican-crafted school and teacher grading system - one largely based on student test scores - argue it dissuades quality educators from signing up to work in perennially struggling schools.

Additionally, Florida teacher pay ranks below the national average, sending many top teachers packing for other states.

Board member John Padget even suggested the very notion of a "fair" school grade could be in doubt under Florida's current scheme.

"We should be seen as a board to be rather fair and equal with all schools, and we're having to do that with imperfect data or different data," he said.