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Saint Lucie Public Schools earns second straight A as district reports widespread proficiency gains
Summary
Chief of Schools Craig Sommer presented 2025–26 state-accountability results showing districtwide gains across reading, math, science and social studies; the district outpaced state increases in multiple grade bands and highlighted first-time A ratings at several schools.
Saint Lucie Public Schools earned its second consecutive district A rating for the 2025–26 school year, district officials told the school board on July 14, citing across-the-board gains in student proficiency.
"We outpaced the state in six of the eight [reading] categories," Chief of Schools Dr. Craig Sommer told the board, summarizing slide-by-slide comparisons between the district and Florida. He said 3rd-grade reading rose from 53% to 57% year over year and that overall proficiency in reading (grades 3–10) increased from 56% to 60%.
The district also reported gains in mathematics (up three points overall, 55% to 58%), science (up four points, 60% to 64%) and social studies (up six points, 71% to 77%). Sommer presented a cumulative view showing the district’s total point increase across tested subjects (+93) exceeded the state’s aggregate increase (+75).
Sommer singled out notable grade- and school-level milestones: 7th graders hit 63% at level 3 or above in reading (a first for the district), algebra and geometry each showed multi-point gains, and several schools achieved historic firsts. Board member Jennifer Richardson noted Port Saint Lucie High School earned its first A in the school's history; Forest Grove Middle School and CAST also earned A ratings for the first time in years, and Weatherby improved from a C to an A in a single year.
Superintendent Dr. Prince framed the results as the product of district staff and community effort and credited bargaining-unit members. A representative of the Education Association of Saint Lucie presented a banner representing 4,132 bargaining-unit members in recognition of the district achievement.
The presentation also connected the results to the district’s four strategic goals: sustaining and accelerating core-instruction improvement; expanding career-connected learning; reinvesting in schools (including a Fort Pierce K–8 groundbreaking scheduled for July 28, 2026); and enhancing mental-health supports. Sommer reported specific participation metrics for the classrooms-to-careers initiative — roughly 750 8th graders and 31 businesses in an 8th-grade experience, 762 students and 83 businesses at a high-school career fair, and 61 students in a summer internship program with 51 business partners.
Sommer and Superintendent Prince also previewed proposed 2026–27 priorities, including a voter renewal of the school-safety and teacher-pay referendum (70% of referendum funds, they said, go directly to teacher pay and school safety programs) and exploration of a shift to a pooled, self-insured model through the Florida Educator Health Trust (FLATE) to contain benefits costs.
Board members emphasized the connection between the referendum and teacher pay, and urged community outreach ahead of the Nov. 3 vote. The board did not take a referendum vote at the meeting; the presentation served as an informational briefing and contextual background for upcoming board decisions.
The board adjourned after routine business; next procedural steps announced in the presentation include the Fort Pierce K–8 groundbreaking on July 28 and the teacher kickoff on Aug. 3 at Fort Pierce Westwood.
