WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — We’re happy to announce Garner Elementary in Polk County as our 10News School of the Week powered by Duke Energy Florida.
Raising your school letter grade is no easy task for any school community, but the teachers, parents, staff and students at Garner should be extra proud of their work. Garner was an ‘F’ school for several years. It was even deemed a double ‘F’ meaning it was about to be taken over, but with new programs, hard work and commitment from everyone they raised their letter grade to a ‘C’ last year.
There was only one other school in the district to show that many educational gains. To celebrate the achievement, the school even held a funeral service for the school’s ‘F’ burying it in the ground outside of the media center. Students see the headstone, a reminder of the achievement as the walk to and from the media center on campus.
Several initiatives are credited with this success. Accelerated reading is a big one. At the beginning of the year, students are tested to see what reading level they are at and are encouraged to read as many books as they can at that level. They are re-tested in the middle of the year as well and if the reading level increases, the student will know to read more advanced books.
Last year, the administration challenged students to read 10,000 books. If they achieved this, the principal would kiss a pig. A goal of 10,000 was a big target considering students only read 500 books the year before. By the end of the year, students read and were tested on the knowledge of 17,000 books. The principal puckered up for the pig.
This year, the goal was upped to 25,000 and they’ve already reached 31,000 and the year isn’t over yet.
Another focus was on increasing attendance. Partnered with a community sponsor and Sheriff Grady Judd, the school followed the goal of ‘Strive For Less Than 5’. It encourages students to miss less than five days of school. As a reward, every nine weeks, students with perfect attendance are entered in a drawing for a free bike. A winner is drawn from every grade level. At the end of the year, if there is a student with perfect attendance for the entire school year and they did not get a bike, they are given one. Last year, they handed out 48 bikes.
The school also started a “Pawsitive” Behavior Program. Students have the ability to earn ‘paws’ for good behavior and if they earn ten in a week they participate in a fun event Friday. Every student who earns 40 “paws” in a month, participates in a larger celebration.
Since its implementation, the school saw a 75 percent decrease in disciplinary actions. With all the success this school is having, it’s easy to see why they are the 10News School of the Week powered by Duke Energy Florida.
If you have a recommendation for 10News School of the Week powered by Duke Energy Florida, email us the name of the school and tell us why they should be featured to 10schools@wtsp.com. We’re looking for elementary, middle and high schools.
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