Pasco presents district-led "Top 1" turnaround plans for Opportunity Schools as state deadlines loom

Pasco County School Board leaders reviewed district-led turnaround plans for multiple low-performing campuses during a workshop discussion focused on the district's Opportunity Schools work and state-required submissions.

Superintendent Dr. Legg, introducing the presentation, said the materials before the board were not a compliance exercise but "our blueprint for these schools," and emphasized, "this isn't about the schools. This is about the students that are in the schools." Dr. Sean Rafalski, who the district identified as leading the Opportunity Schools team, provided the detailed overview of federal- and state-level requirements the district must meet.

Why it matters: schools that continue to earn low grades face escalating state oversight under federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) implementation through the Florida Bureau of School Improvement (BSI). District officials said failing to meet state timelines can trigger more prescriptive state action, and several campuses must submit multi-year district-managed turnaround (Top 1) plans to the State Board of Education for approval.

Key facts and timetable - The district said any school with less than 41% of total points or a letter grade of D qualifies for BSI designation and that schools can exit oversight if they meet C-level thresholds in a subsequent year. - Draft Top 1 plans have been submitted to the Bureau of School Improvement for feedback; final plans for the initial Top 1 schools were scheduled for State Board consideration on 09/24/2025, according to the presentation. - A Top 1 plan is a two-year, district-managed turnaround plan; Gulf Middle School is in its second year of a Top 1 plan and the district said it will request an extension and simultaneously identify a next-step option if the selected turnaround approach is not successful.

Schools named - Entering the Top 1 (first year): Enclave Elementary School, Chester Taylor Elementary School, Ritchie Elementary School. - Gulf Middle School: second year of a Top 1 plan; district said it intends to request a one-year extension while proposing to partner again with MGT, the external operator used previously at Cox Elementary. - Schools that exited oversight with support listed in the presentation included Pasco Elementary School, Pasco Middle School, Centennial Middle School, and Cox Elementary School.

Required verifications and personnel changes District staff said they submitted principal-change verification forms to the state and reviewed teacher VAM (value-added model) data as part of plan assurances. Dr. Legg explained the district acted early on certain leadership and staffing changes to avoid making principal or teacher moves at the start of school: "we did not wanna get to a point of ... rejecting our principals and then us getting to the week of school starting ... and making principal changes." The presentation also noted that teacher VAMs at a school can trigger required personnel moves under state rules.

Support, monitoring and instructional strategies Dr. Rafalski described the Opportunity Schools team as an additional layer of district support for BSI campuses. The presentation said the team monitors plans through classroom walkthroughs, coaching, professional learning, documented evidence of work, and alignment of schedules and interventions. The plans include: - Leadership as the anchor for transformation; the district said leadership changes were made where needed and that external partners (MGT) will provide additional leadership and instructional coaching. - Targeted master schedules, dedicated ELA and math intervention blocks, and common planning time. - Elevated school-based curriculum specialists to support benchmark-aligned instruction and data analysis. - A districtwide focus on positive behavioral interventions (PBIS) and a "first 10 days" approach to reteaching routines and expectations so students and staff establish consistent conditions for learning.

Funding and outside partners The presentation noted the work carries funding and that the district is prioritizing return on investment through evidence-based staffing (instructional assistants, tutors) and external partners. MGT was named as a repeated external partner; the district said it used MGT at Cox Elementary and intends to engage the same partner for Gulf Middle School as part of the extension request.

Board questions and operational concerns Board members asked for clarification on tiers of support (CSI/TSI/ATSI) and whether Tier 1 schools still receive Tier 2-like interventions; Dr. Rafalski said Tier 1 supports remain but Tier 1 schools would not have a Top 1 plan. A member asked about construction at Gulf Middle School and whether renovation disruptions are documented in planning; staff said the state will do site visits and walkthroughs, and district personnel are working to shield the school's leadership from project management tasks.

What was not decided No formal vote or board action was recorded in the transcript excerpt of the workshop; the presentation and discussion were described as workshop items and draft plans were reported as submitted to the Bureau of School Improvement for feedback.

Ending District leaders framed the Top 1 plans as urgent, student-centered blueprints tied to state timelines and external approvals, and asked the board to review the materials that will be on the board agenda for formal consideration.