The newest scores for the state, school districts and individual schools have been published by the Florida Department of Education for the 2022-2023 school year. This year marks the beginning of new standards and assessments across the state. The Argus Foundation has previously published the district and school data for the ‘20-‘21 and the ‘21-‘22 school years. We are now doing it again for the ‘22-‘23 school year.

There are both new standards and new forms of assessments to measure how the students are doing in these new standards. The new standards are called Benchmark for Excellent Student Thinking, or BEST. Students are assessed on the BEST standards using Florida Assessment of Student Thinking, FAST.

FAST has three progress monitoring windows. These include a baseline assessment at the beginning of the year called PM1, a mid-year assessment called PM2, and the end of year summative assessment to measure how well the student mastered BEST standards called PM3.

District and school scores have not been released with overall scores and grades, but district and school scores have been released in specific subjects. The Argus Foundation has restarted our “Sarasota Schools Data Dig” social media campaign to help the community understand the scores and how we compare to the state and other school districts. This data is important to understand where we are at and help our community voice their goals for the district.

The Argus Foundation has started our Data Dig campaign by releasing data on English Language Arts, ELA.

In ELA for Grades 3-8, Sarasota County Schools tied for fourth with Gilchrist County. St. Johns, Nassau, and Lafayette counties ended up ahead of Sarasota County as measured by the PM3 assessment. Out of the top ten districts, Sarasota County had the smallest growth from PM1 to PM3 at 16% improvement over the course of the school year.

When you focus on the pivotal year of third grade using the average scores, Sarasota tied for fourth in ELA. In front of Sarasota County for this measure was St. Johns, Nassau, and Baker counties. Sarasota County tied with Indian River and Liberty counties for fourth place. While this sounds like good news, the bar is low for all of the districts in the state. Sarasota County has 39% of its third graders below satisfactory or inadequate in English Language Arts.

When you look at individual schools in Sarasota County, 30% of our schools have more third graders who are below satisfactory or inadequate in ELA than are On-Grade-Level-or above. That amounts to ten schools in the county with over half of the kids not on grade level or above.

Let us jump ahead to 10^th grade. The numbers are getting worse in our county, 42% of our high schools have more 10th graders who are below satisfactory or inadequate in ELA than are On-Grade-Level-or above. That amounts to five high schools in the county with over half of the students not on grade level or above.

Here again, the school rankings sound good as Sarasota County was fifth in 10^th grade ELA average scores in the state. We are behind St. Johns, Gilchrist, Walton, and Okaloosa counties. However, Sarasota County has 42% of its 10^th graders below satisfactory or inadequate in English Language Arts. In less than a month, these kids will be starting their junior year, the most critical year when it comes to applying for college.

These numbers are just the beginning in terms of the data available. For more data dig releases, like and follow our Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages. Data Digs will be posted Mondays and Thursdays at 10AM.

Christine Robinson is Executive Director of The Argus Foundation. 

Chart courtesy The Argus Foundation. Data courtesy the Florida Department of Education.

A new chapter of leadership is unfolding at Gulf Coast Community Foundation. Along with new President and CEO Phillip Lanham taking the helm of the foundation, we elected a new Board of Directors Chair, David Sessions, new Vice Chair, Anand Pallegar, and three new Board members, Pete Petersen, Keith G. Johnson and Frank Martucci, in June. We sat down with Board Chair David Sessions to get his perspective on the future of Gulf Coast. 

Q: What inspired you to lead Gulf Coast Community Foundation’s Board? Why now?
Sessions: “Leading Gulf Coast’s Board of Directors was an incredible opportunity that was presented to me in my fourth year on the Board. I am both honored and humbled that my fellow Board members considered me to lead this year. I’m grateful for the opportunity and ready to get started on transforming our region through bold and proactive philanthropy. This is not something I take lightly, especially with all of the exciting opportunities ahead for our region. It’s the beginning of the next chapter in leadership for Gulf Coast.”

Q: It’s an exciting time at Gulf Coast Community Foundation with new President | CEO Phillip Lanham recently completing his first 30 days. What are you most excited to partner with him on in his first year?
Sessions: “The number one thing I want to ensure is that I am a constant resource to Phillip, supporting him wholeheartedly in his first year at Gulf Coast. It is our job, as a Board of Directors, to set a direction, get out of the way, and let leaders lead. In Phillip’s first 30 days, he’s taking a drink from the firehose, so to speak, getting to know the lay of the land in Sarasota and meeting our invaluable nonprofit and philanthropic partners. I value his passion for Gulf Coast’s mission: Together with our donors, we transform our region through bold and proactive philanthropy. I also appreciate Phillip’s hands-on management style with the team. Right now, he’s like a sponge absorbing everything, processing information, and determining the future direction for the great ship of Gulf Coast. He will continue to listen, meet our community, and absorb information as he is in the early stages of developing his vision for Gulf Coast.”

Q: You have worked on many important, long-lasting projects for our community. What makes you passionate about Gulf Coast Community Foundation? 
Sessions: “I’ve spent 35 years building a business in this community, and I’ve been very fortunate along the way. Now I am thrilled to take some of that experience and use it in the philanthropic world. I’ve been associated with Gulf Coast for 15 years. I am fully honored to now serve and lead the Board, and to really look at Gulf Coast’s mission, as we have very aspirational visions to solve our region’s priorities. For me, it’s exciting to strategize as a Board and collaboratively with the team to determine what we choose to tackle in our community. That is much different than what I’ve done in the business world, and I’m looking forward to learning a lot more about the community along the way.”

Q: What do you see for the future of Gulf Coast Community Foundation? 
Sessions: “Gulf Coast has a great opportunity to serve and address our regional priorities. The Board, team, and philanthropic partners use philanthropy to help realize the real opportunities of our community.”

Q: What does leadership mean to you?
Sessions: “Leadership means to boldly go out there, even if it is outside of your comfort zone, and strive to do something tremendously impactful. You learn more from going after something boldly, than just hitting status quo every time.” 

David Sessions is Chair of the Board of Directors of Gulf Coast Community Foundation. He is also Owner and CEO of Willis A. Smith Construction, Inc Rachel Denton is a public relations associate for Gulf Coast Community Foundation 

Photo courtesy Gulf Coast Community Foundation: David Sessions.

In 2021, the U.S. Department of Education awarded the State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota a highly competitive federal TRIO Student Support Services grant of $261,888 annually over five years.

Through TRIO, SCF expanded its student service initiatives to identify and provide year-round academic and financial coaching and other integral services for first-generation college students, those from underserved economic backgrounds or students with disabilities. The TRIO program's overall goal is to increase its participants' college retention and graduation rates. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2022), only 61% of first-time, full-time degree-seeking students are retained fall to fall at public institutions.

Statistics also tell us that students who are engaged and offered guided pathways are more successful. At SCF, we’ve taken a student-centered approach, and the TRIO staff provide student-centered support through individualized academic and career advising, financial literacy and planning, mentoring, workshops, cultural enrichment activities and tutoring. 

"My parents did not go to college," said Angel, who will graduate in 2024 as an occupational therapy assistant. “I had no one to ask or seek guidance from and needed assistance.” She credits the TRIO program with helping her to procrastinate less, building her social network of peers, and helping her to write her cover letter and resume so she can graduate with employment. 

Julie, a first time in college student, graduated from high school in 1995 and decided to return to set an example for her son and due to an injury, needs to find a new career. Finding the enrollment and ongoing college experience challenging to navigate, she said, “The TRIO staff are helpful beyond belief,” and she attends nearly every workshop and aims to see the staff at least once a month. She will graduate with a degree in graphic design and hopes to travel the world while working remotely.

Jimmy, affected by a disability, was told as early as elementary school that he would not succeed, let alone graduate from college. However, with the provision of services and self-determination, he’s persisted and maintains a 4.0-grade point average. He will soon graduate with an associate degree and plans to pursue his bachelor’s and a PhD in history, with his dream job being a professor or working in government. He commented that the staff of SCF “feel like family” and have helped him “to be self-sufficient and confident.” Jimmy received tutoring, a scholarship, mentoring, and writing assistance through TRIO’s student support services.

Funding provided by the grant allows SCF to serve 140 students each year. SCF’s goal was to achieve a 74% persistence and a 67% good academic standing rate. As is our tradition, SCF not only delivered on our promise, but we surpassed our goal. Of those participating in the program, 86% will persist by continuing their higher education or graduating with their associate degree or certificate. 88% of students enrolled in the program are in good academic standing with a 2.0 or above GPA.

Imagine if we could provide this type of student-centered support service to all who need it, but the program is expensive and requires adequate funding. SCF is seeking funding from the State, on par with other Florida College System schools of comparable size, to expand these services so that anyone pursuing higher education can access the support they need to succeed. As your state college, we serve more than 10,000 credit-seeking students each year. With the appropriate resources, SCF can help them become self-sufficient so they can persist,  graduate and enter the workforce at rates far exceeding the national average.

Dr. Carol Probstfeld is president of State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota.