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Lakeland board: split schools treated as two 'new schools' under federal rules; students honored for state competition success
Summary
Board members said Lakeland Middle Preparatory and Lakeland Preparatory will be treated as two new schools under federal accountability rules, exempting them from first-year federal determinations; the board also recognized more than 65 students who qualified for the state Technical Students Association conference and announced facility and summer program updates.
The Lakeland School System board said at its June business meeting that Lakeland Middle Preparatory School and Lakeland Preparatory School will be considered two separate "new schools" under federal accountability guidance after changes in grade-level structure.
A board member reported that because the district changed more than three grade levels within a school, federal rules treat each campus as a new school for federal accountability purposes, which means both campuses are exempt from first-year federal accountability determinations, including reward-status calculations. The board member added that both schools remain fully subject to state accountability measures such as state letter grades and growth reporting.
"If you change more than three grade levels within one school, it's a new school," the board member said, describing the federal reporting outcome. "Both of the schools ... are exempt from federal accountability determinations." The board noted that state reporting, graduation-rate tracking and other state measures continue to apply.
The board used the superintendent's report to recognize students who advanced from Lakeland Preparatory School to the state Technical Students Association leadership conference. "We had more than I think 65 students that qualified and went to the state competition representing Lakeland School System," the speaker said, reading names of students present for recognition, including Alexa Daniels, Nathan Harrison, Ursula Mombasi, Cara Carter, Beer Patel and Caleb Barton. One student, Jesus Triomalaver, was absent and his mother picked up his certificate.
The meeting also included updates on district facilities and summer programs. Board members reported new lighting in the meeting room, ongoing grading and resodding at Lakeland Elementary School (including drainage and topsoil work), carpet replacement in band and fine arts rooms at Lakeland Preparatory, and asphalt repairs on the elementary bus lane. The district said summer learning camps are under way with 216 total participants (155 at Lakeland Elementary School and 61 at Lakeland Preparatory School), and transportation is provided Monday through Thursday through June 25.
Board members directed the public to an expanded "Contact Us" section on Lakeland K-12.org after community feedback indicated uncertainty about who to contact for school-level issues; the site now outlines an escalation path from teacher to administrator and explains next steps if concerns are not resolved.
The board did not take formal action on the accountability status at the meeting; members framed the update as information that will inform planning and state reporting procedures going forward.
