Manatee School of Arts and Sciences lays out plan to recover after two consecutive 'D' grades

Clinton Jones, principal of Manatee School of Arts and Sciences, told the Manatee County School Board on Sept. 16 that the K–5 charter has a multi‑pronged plan to boost student outcomes after receiving two consecutive 'D' ratings that triggered a statutorily required presentation to the district.

Jones presented three years of academic data showing a 12‑point gain in overall ELA achievement (from about 30% to 42%) but flagged weaker performance on learning gains and among the lowest 25% of students. He identified chronic absenteeism, small cohort effects and testing‑confidence issues as central challenges: “Chronic absence is 10 percent,” Jones said, and later added, “We are right on the cusp,” describing the school as near a performance threshold where targeted supports could change its letter grade.

The principal outlined concrete goals and interventions by grade: an overall ELA target of 50% at or above grade level (up from 42%); grade‑level targets (for example, kindergarten from 50% to 58%); and math scale‑score goals for grades where gaps were largest. Jones said the school will use weekly and biweekly data cycles (FAST, I‑Ready, Imagine Learning and in‑class assessments), small‑group instruction, a dedicated resource/reading teacher who provides daily pull‑outs, and protected instructional blocks (90 minutes ELA plus additional ELA/mathematics time) to accelerate gains.

To bolster home‑school partnerships, Jones described a planned relationship with the Children’s Literacy Initiative (CLI), a nonprofit that will deploy a coach to work weekly with teachers, students and parents for most of the school year. He also said the school will continue partnering with Centerstone for behavioral and mental‑health supports and run parent nights to train caregivers on comprehension strategies. Jones noted enrollment dynamics and small cohort sizes: the school currently has about 108 students (it started the year with around 115 and ended last year near 104–105), and some grade bands were below state minimums for reporting certain subgroup data.

Board members asked clarifying questions about the reading coach, parent engagement and how the school is monitoring progress. Jones described frequent formative checks, monthly or biweekly PLCs, classroom walk‑throughs and quarterly goal reviews; he said he expects CLI to begin on campus within one to two weeks after final scheduling. The principal asked the board for continued oversight and a future update; the board asked to see results at a future workshop.

The school’s presentation emphasized a combination of instruction, targeted interventions for the lowest‑performing students, parent engagement and on‑campus social‑emotional supports as the path back to a higher letter grade. Jones repeated that the plan centers on measurable targets, closing gaps for the bottom 25% and reducing chronic absence as critical prerequisites to raising overall proficiency.

Ending: Jones concluded by asking for an opportunity to return with progress updates next year; board members acknowledged the presentation and thanked him for the detail and the planned partnerships.