The Argus Foundation last month began to publish scores from the Florida Department of Education comparing the Sarasota School District to the state average and other districts and also comparing our schools within the district. We began with English Language Arts and from there, we compared the data sets for math.

We have heard from many readers that the ranking is deceiving in terms of subject proficiency. You can rank high as you are compared to other counties or the state average, but the actual numbers of how many students are On-Grade-Level or above tell a different and more troubling story, with significant numbers of students below satisfactory or Inadequate in proficiency. This was true for English Language Arts, and you will see it is true for math as well.

Sarasota County ties for 7th in the state for Grades 3-8 math in the percentage of students On-Grade Level or above. Sarasota was 10 points above the state average, but 12 points behind first place Nassau County. Sarasota trailed Nassau, St. Johns, Walton, Collier, Lafayette and Okaloosa counties. It tied with Santa Rosa and Sumter counties. While being tied for 7th looks good, this translates to one third of Sarasota County students who tested in Grade 3-8 as being Below Satisfactory or Inadequate in math.

When you look closer at 3rd Grade math within the district by the average scores of schools, Sarasota County has nine schools below the state overall average. Those elementary schools are Gocio, Wilkinson, Glenallen, Emma E. Booker, Lamarque, Tuttle, Island Village Montessori, Imagine School at Palmer Ranch and Suncoast School for Innovative Studies.

When comparing 3rd Grades by percentage At-Grade-Level or above, one school, Emma E. Booker, ties the state average. Five schools — LaMarque, Tuttle, Island Village Montessori, Imagine School at Palmer Ranch, and Suncoast School for Innovative Studies — are below the state average. Island Village Montessori, Imagine

School at Palmer Ranch and Suncoast School for Innovative Studies have more students who are Below Satisfactory or Inadequate in 3rd Grade Math than those that are On-Grade-Level or above.

Examining 8th Grade math by the average scores of schools, one middle school, Sky Academy Venice, ties the state average score. Eight middle schools are below the state average, they are Woodland Middle, Sarasota School of Arts/Sciences, Imagine School at North Port, Sarasota Military Academy, Booker Middle School, Heron Creek, McIntosh and Triad.

Looking at 8th Grade math by percentage of students On-Grade-Level or above, just under half of Sarasota County middle schools are below the state average. These nine middle schools are Brookside, Sky Academy Venice, Woodland Middle, Imagine School at North Port, Sarasota Military Academy, Booker Middle, Heron Creek, McIntosh and Triad. Six of these schools have more students who are Below Satisfactory or Inadequate in 8^th Grade Math than those that are On-Grade-Level or above. These schools are Imagine School at North Port, Sarasota Military Academy, Booker Middle, Heron Creek, McIntosh and Triad.

There is a pattern of schools at the far north and south portions of the county, as well as several charter schools, who are struggling with math. This is a serious situation, especially for our 8th graders who will be facing SAT and ACT testing in a few years.

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. 

Graphic courtesy The Argus Foundation.

New College is welcoming not only a record-breaking number of incoming students this fall but also an incredible number of scholars to our faculty.  Since a change in trustees and administration at the first of 2023, which in turn led to a vibrant recommitment to the institution’s dynamic mission, New College has been inundated with curricula vitae from highly qualified and credentialed academics from around the country. 

New College is poised to be a model for schools that seek to return to a classical liberal arts approach to higher education. New College’s liberal arts focus and student-driven learning model are attractive assets for the recruitment of top-tier faculty. Consider the credentials of just a few of the excellent visiting professors that have joined New College this summer.

Richard Izquierdo rubbed elbows with some of the nation’s top law professors and spoke alongside prominent federal judges during his time as a Constitution Fellow at Georgetown Law. He holds a doctorate from Stanford, a Juris Doctor for the University of Pennsylvania and most recently taught political science at SUNY Albany.

Andrew Humphries, a brilliant economics professor with a specialization in Austrian economics, is trading Arizona sunshine to come to the real Sunshine State. He was most recently a post-doctoral research scholar at the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State. Before that, he taught graduate-level coursework at his alma mater, George Mason University. 

William Hustwit held tenure at Birmingham-Southern College and was an anchor of the history department at that venerable liberal arts college. He has eagerly embraced the new opportunity ahead of him here in Sarasota. His teaching acumen, research and writing on 20^th Century U.S. history make him a marvelous addition to the New College faculty.

Eric Nemarich comes to New College in the early stages of what promises to be a distinguished academic career. A soon-to-be minted Ph.D. from Harvard brings his expertise in medieval Europe, the Middle Ages, and the ancient Mediterranean. 

These are a sampling of the more than 20 new faculty members who have already joined New College. More are coming, and they are among the best and brightest in their fields. 

We are also assembling our first group of Presidential Scholars in Residence. These highly distinguished individuals will impact our entire college community, teaching, offering engaging panel discussions and public lectures, advising on the development of new programs and elevating the profile of New College. These opportunities have allowed us to make connections with some incredible scholars.

The stature of the candidates with whom we have met and others to whom we have already committed is evident in the Presidential Scholar in Residence program. Faculty spotlighting this incredible new program includes, but not limited to: Stanley Fish, Joseph Loconte, and Andrew Doyle.

Stanley Fish brings more than 60 years of scholarship with him to New College. His incredible career has included teaching stops at Duke, John’s Hopkins and Cal Berkeley, where there is a dedicated library archive of his work. He has held the title of Davidson-Kahn Distinguished University Professor and Professor of Law, Florida International University since 2005, and Dean Emeritus of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Joseph Loconte is a New York Times best-selling author, contributed on-air to NPR for more than a decade, and is among the most accomplished scholars on John Locke working today. 

Andrew Doyle is an internationally renowned comedian who hosts the weekly Free Speech Nation program and holds a doctorate in English Renaissance Literature from Oxford. 

Finally, I would be remiss in not acknowledging the dedicated and demonstrably exceptional faculty who are returning to New College and helping us create a new core-curriculum that will be a model for the country while always extolling the virtues of New College’s unique, student-centered academic structure.

We will continue to identify and hire elite faculty befitting our goal to solidify New College’s stature as the best liberal arts university in the world.

Richard Corcoran is interim president of New College of Florida. 

It’s no secret our community’s world-class arts and cultural organizations, performances and collections have earned Sarasota County the reputation as Florida’s “Cultural Coast.” Around the country, this community is known as a haven of arts and culture, an eclectic blend of exceptional organizations that inspire and educate audiences year-round. 

As you may have guessed, I am excited to experience my first arts season in Sarasota. I learned many of our local arts organizations offer experiences accessible to all, including the My Gardens Program at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens which provides free memberships to both the downtown and Historic Spanish Point campuses for low-income families to enjoy beautiful green spaces and innovative art exhibitions. This certainly aligns with our vision at Gulf Coast Community Foundation of thriving communities with opportunities for all. 

The arts are an important economic driver in our community. They generate local and state taxes, provide jobs, drive tourism and have a multimillion-dollar direct economic impact, in addition to world-class educational programming for students of all ages. The arts meaningfully enhance the quality of life in our region.

We established our Arts Appreciation Grant program in 2014 to support the cultural and economic contributions of eight of our region’s cornerstone arts groups. The program has been expanded over the years to now include 13 arts and cultural institutions:  Asolo Repertory Theatre, Circus Arts Conservatory, Embracing Our Differences, Florida Studio Theatre, Hermitage Artist Retreat, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Ringling Museum, Sarasota Ballet, Sarasota Opera, Sarasota Orchestra, Venice Symphony, Venice Theatre and Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe. 

The Arts Appreciation Grants provide annual unrestricted funding which allows each organization to focus their time and talent on what matters most, their artistic missions. In June, we shared our Board of Directors approved nearly $40 million in grants to our nonprofit partners which included $710,000 in Gulf Coast’s Arts Appreciation Grants. 

The upcoming arts season is filled to the brim with exciting opportunities to be entertained, educated, and even challenged. The new season includes the return of the Hermitage Artist Retreat’s Sunsets at Selby Gardens that features performances and explorations of works-in-progress by Hermitage artists-in-residence and alumni. Other season highlights include Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe’s much anticipated world-premiere musical Ruby written and directed by Nate Jacobs, the Venice Symphony is celebrating their 50th anniversary with a stellar lineup of concerts beginning in November, and the Venice Theatre’s season includes its beloved production of A Christmas Carol. The Sarasota Orchestra is also celebrating a milestone this season. Its 75th-anniversary lineup includes five unique series that are sure to move and inspire us all.

Our Strategic Engagement Manager Kelly Borgia, who manages our Arts Appreciation Grants, shares, “The coming season delivered by our dynamic Arts Appreciation Grant recipients is not to be missed! There is something for everyone this season,” said Borgia. “In the spring of 2024, we’ll see both the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art and the Sarasota Art Museum present Skyway 2024: A Contemporary Collaboration which is a celebration of artistic practices in the Tampa Bay region. The Sarasota Ballet will travel to Venice to present The Nutcracker in mid-December and Embracing Our Differences’ 2024 exhibition at the Bayfront Park is not to be missed.”

I hope to see you in the audience at an upcoming performance soon. 

Phillip P. Lanham is President and CEO of Gulf Coast Community Foundation. 

Photo courtesy The Venice Symphony.