PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — One of the most dramatic turnarounds in the entire state is in Pasco County, as the district earned its first “A” grade since 2009.
Good Morning Tampa Bay anchor Deiah Riley sat down with Pasco County Schools Superintendent Dr. John Legg. The two talked about what’s driving Pasco’s success, the challenges still ahead, and the vision for this new school year.
"A" rating
Deiah: Gulf Middle is basically a model for the state. One of the success stories for the entire state. The most dramatic turnaround from a D to an A. What has changed here?
Dr. John Legg: Well, we have great leadership in our school here. It starts with great leadership in our school. Our principal did an amazing job prioritizing student achievement, prioritizing learning, and prioritizing removing distractions, and he really rallied the teachers to focus on what matters most, and that was learning, and it paid off this year. And Gulf Middle School has really had a dramatic turnaround, a culture that is now focused on learning, and we're just excited about the turnaround that has happened here and can't wait to see the results this next school year.
Deiah: What does an “A” rating mean in terms of the day-to-day education for kids?
Dr. John Legg: Well, one it means a little bit of pride-a pride in learning. That learning matters. School isn't a place where you just come and just check out. It's a place where you come, where you learn that it provides you with the skills and the opportunities to unlock the potential for the future. It means a lot to a school. It means that learning is prioritized in this place. Now, it may take a while for a school to get to an “A” because there's a lot of factors that go involved, but it means a lot to the individual school that they've achieved that level.
Deiah: Gulf was one of the biggest challenges for this district. Will this now be the blueprint for how other schools are handled throughout the district?
Dr. John Legg: It is. So, we came in with a plan, and we and the first thing that we did is we call them opportunity schools. And why we call them opportunity schools is because there's an opportunity to improve. There's an opportunity to achieve. There's an opportunity for our students to demonstrate what they're capable of, and last year we had eight opportunity schools where they were ranked a “D” or an “F” ranking. I'm very proud to say that in Pasco County this year we do not have a single “D” or “F” school. All of our schools are rated “C” or better, and really that blueprint is a blueprint of focusing on students, focusing on learning, removing distraction, supporting our principals to make those academic decisions they need to make for that unique community.
Deiah: Let's talk about the success of the district “A” rating, the first one in many years.
Dr. John Legg: Yes. So, for the first time since 2009, Pasco County is being rated in an “A” district, and really, it was a team effort of prioritizing student learning. We're very proud of that “A” designation because what it says is what we thought would work is working, and what is working is focusing on the basics, focusing on mastery of phonics, focusing on math, mastery of math, those fundamental skills. While at the same time allowing students to accelerate in middle school, focusing on acceleration in middle school, letting those students that want to move ahead, allowing them and supporting them, providing the resources so they can excel, and then focusing on career and technical education in high school, allowing those opportunities for students to get real college and career opportunities while they're in high school, it seemed to work this year. We are excited about it, and the results showed our highest grade really in the history of Pasco County, first “A” rating since 2009, and we have more to do. We want to be one of the top 10 school districts in the state of Florida. We moved up 15.15 rankings this year. If we do another 15, we are going to be in the top 10, and that's our goal.
Attendance
Deiah spoke with Dr. Legg last year ahead of his first year with the district as Superintendent. She asked him about the district's attendance issues and whether there have been any improvements over the last year.
Deiah: When you and I talked last year before the start of the school year, you told me that attendance was one of the biggest challenges. Is that still the case? What are the numbers telling you?
Dr. John Legg: It is a big challenge, but we're making improvements. Last year, mid-year, we started truancy court. And to give you an idea of what truancy court looked like here in Pasco, we haven't had truancy court for a couple of decades. In Pasco County, we had over 500 students who missed over 50 days in a 90-day period; you can’t achieve if you're not coming to school. So, we started truancy court with our local judges, and what truancy court does is we go out to the parents, and we bring the parents in before the judge, and the judge will issue community support and service requirements for them to come in, and we're seeing dramatic improvements. We're not talking about a student that misses one week, two weeks, or even three weeks of school. We're talking students that miss over a month, almost two months of school in a five-month period. So, it's had a dramatic effect. We have more to do, but we're I think we've cut the corner and realizing that attendance is important.
Deiah: So, it's a shared responsibility between the schools and parents?
Dr. John Legg: It is a shared responsibility, and I'm going to put it even more. It's more on the parents to get their children, especially young children, to school. They can't learn if they're not in school. They miss so much, and it's hard for our teachers, because they have to bring that student up, because they've missed so much of the core curriculum. So, it is a partnership, but that burden is the burden is on the parents to get them to school.
Teacher shortage
Deiah also asked Dr. Legg about an issue that impacts school districts across the state, teacher shortages.
Deiah: Teacher shortages, of course, that's still a big concern across the state. How is Pasco doing with that?
Dr. John Legg: Well, thanks to our voters in Pasco County three years ago that passed a local referendum. Three years ago, when school started, we had almost 350 vacancies. On the first day of school, last year it was almost zero. So, we are looking for this year to mimic that. This year, we still have vacancies. We're still about 30 to 40, teachers short as we rush to the finish line for the start of school. But we're optimistic that we will have a teacher in every classroom on the first day of school, and we want to say thank you to the voters of Pasco County, and we hope that they'll renew it again this year because that has made a dramatic improvement in terms of filling the teacher gap, the teacher shortage in our schools.
Safety
Dr. Legg and Deiah next turned the conversation to school safety.
Deiah: Safety is still a concern for parents and students. What measures are in place in Pasco County this year?
Dr. John Legg: Pasco schools are a safe place. We have a security guard and SSG at every campus here in Pasco County, they are armed and they're vigilant and they're looking to protect the school. We have safety measures that the state has provided funding for us, along with local funding to beef up security in terms of fencing, cameras, in terms of monitoring our campuses to ensure they're safe. But our schools are safe. They are secure in terms of having armed guards protecting our schools every day. And if someone is not supposed to be on campus, even by accident, we swarm in and we find out who they are, and we detain them to ensure that our students are safe.
Deiah: What's been the response from parents?
Dr. John Legg: Overwhelmingly positive. Yes, there are inconveniences because those campuses aren't as open as they were 10 years ago. So, you can't just walk into campus. There's a single point of entry. You have to check in with the front office. You're escorted back. So, there is some inconvenience because of that tight security, but it's a small sacrifice to pay for the security that our that our students get.
AI
Deiah then asked about AI and its ever-changing role in education.
Deiah: All right, let's talk about artificial intelligence now. It is changing education across the country. Is there a plan to prepare students for AI here and to use it responsibly?
Dr. John Legg: Yes, Pasco County last year, mid last year, we passed the AI guidelines. We recognize that AI is becoming part of our culture, but it should not replace learning. It should not replace critical thinking. So, we have an AI guideline where we help our teachers and our students understand what is the appropriate use of AI, when you can use it, when it's not appropriate. But what we emphasize to our teachers, AI should never replace critical thinking skills that are fundamental for students in the classroom. It is evolving. We know that we're taking sometimes two steps forwards and one step backwards as it relates to AI. But what we do know is that it's here. We need to help our students understand how to use it, but also how not to use it and when to deploy it in their schoolwork.
Deiah: If you're speaking directly to parents now, what is the one thing that they can do at home that has the biggest impact on their child's success? What's your message?
Dr. John Legg: Two things. One, limit your screen time. We're seeing that as having an adverse effect on student learning everywhere. Limit your students' screen time, and have that eye contact, those direct conversations with your students daily. Our young people need 10,000 words spoken to them in a given day, direct words spoken to them, where they can develop those verbal skills when they're young children. But when they're adults, I have older children, they need you to sit and listen to them and talk to them, give them guidance. Sometimes just to be there for them, have that one-on-one time with students, parents. I ask that you join me, and I'm doing it myself. Put down the phone. Let your students put down the screen time and have that direct contact with students. That research is showing that will have a huge benefit to your students.
Looking ahead
Deiah then asked him about the accomplishments in the district over the last year and what areas still need improvements.
Deiah: Last year was your first year as the superintendent of Pasco County Schools. What accomplishments are you most proud of?
Dr. John Legg: I think the accomplishments that we're proud of are that we've prioritized student achievement. We prioritize learning by not having “D” or “F” schools. What that says is, no matter where you go in Pasco County, no matter which school you go to, you're going to get a quality education. Having no “D” and “F” schools is something that we're really proud of. But what we're more proud of than that is that we're seeing a sense of embracing student achievement, of student learning in every school, and that students are owning their own education.
Deiah: What areas still need work?
Dr. John Legg: We have a lot of work to do, especially in science and math. You know, we still have work to do in our math area, so we're going to be working on our math skills and improving those. We have work on our upper-level science. We need to help our students achieve higher levels in science. So those are two areas that we're going to be looking at this year.
Share Your Story with Deiah
Good Morning Tampa Bay Anchor Deiah Riley has called Tampa Bay for more than 15 years. As a mother of two, she knows the importance of a good education and strong role models. Reach out to Deiah with any education related stories or community leaders who deserve to be in the spotlight.
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