SJCSD

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has received the subgrant application for St. Johns County Schools building repairs due to damages in Hurricane Matthew (DR‐4283‐FL‐PW‐00862). Pursuant to Executive Order 11988 and 44 CFR Part 9.12, final notice is hereby given of FEMA’s intent to provide funding for this project under the Public Assistance (PA) Program.

For more details, view the complete Final Public Notice which is also posted at the Main School Board Office located at 40 Orange Street and the Fullerwood Center at 10 Hildreth Drive in St. Augustine, FL, as shown below.

Main School Board Office

Fullerwood Center

According to a Florida Department of Education report, our state’s graduation rate has reached a 15-year high. The St. Johns County School District rate is 93.3%. We are proud of our students, teachers and administrators for achieving this outstanding educational milestone. Congratulations!

Dear Parents and Families:

I am pleased to let you know that the FortifyFL app is now LIVE. Any student, educator, parent or member of the public can report school safety concerns directly to law enforcement and school administrators anonymously and easily through the FortifyFL app or getfortifyfl.com. The Florida Legislature directed the development of this tool through the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act.

The app, which is available for download on Apple and Android mobile devices, is critical to ensuring all Florida schools are safe environments where students and educators can experience and share the joy of learning without fear.

I encourage you to become familiar with this tool and learn more about its use and purpose.

Sincerely,

Tim Forson
Superintendent of Schools
St. Johns County School District

On September 5^th, secondary students and their parents had the opportunity to meet with more than 80 representatives from colleges, universities, technical schools and other organizations during our school district’s annual College and Career Night.

School grades released by the Florida Department of Education show that the St. Johns County School District continues to be a top performing district in the state and is one of only two that remains an “A” rated district. St. Johns County had 27 “A” schools, seven “B” schools, five “C” schools and one “D” school.

Fourteen elementary schools, four middle schools, all three of the district’s K-8 academies, four high schools, St. Johns Virtual Franchise and St. Johns Virtual Instructional Program all received a grade of “A” this year.

“I am extremely proud of the hard work and dedication of our teachers, administrators, support staff and parents in their efforts to ensure the success of our students,” said Superintendent Tim Forson. “Our school grades provide us the opportunity to celebrate areas where we are excelling and pinpoint those where we may need to apply additional resources and support.”

The elementary schools receiving an “A” are Cunningham Creek Elementary, Durbin Creek Elementary, W.D. Hartley Elementary, Hickory Creek Elementary, R.B. Hunt Elementary, Julington Creek Elementary, Ketterlinus Elementary, Mill Creek Elementary, Ocean Palms Elementary, Palencia Elementary, Picolata Crossing Elementary, PVPV/Rawlings Elementary, Timberlin Creek Elementary and Wards Creek Elementary.

The middle schools with an “A” are Fruit Cove Middle, Alice B. Landrum Middle, Pacetti Bay Middle and Switzerland Point Middle. Liberty Pines, Patriot Oaks and Valley Ridge academies received an “A” as did Bartram Trail, Creekside, Allen D. Nease and Ponte Vedra high schools. St. Johns Virtual School also received an “A”.

Otis A. Mason Elementary, R.J. Murray Middle, St. Augustine Public Montessori, Gamble Rogers Middle, Sebastian Middle, Pedro Menendez High and St. Augustine High schools received a “B” this year. John A. Crookshank Elementary, South Woods Elementary, and St. Johns Technical High schools received a “C” this year as did The Webster School and First Coast Technical College. Osceola Elementary School received a “D”.

Additional details and information can be found at http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org.

Congratulations to the PVPV/Rawlings Sea Turtles and Palencia Pirates on their hard earned wins at the 12th Annual Elementary School Battle of the Books which were held on May 8th and May 10th. The Northern Battle was held at Landrum Middle School and the Southern Battle at Gamble Rogers Middle School. We are extremely proud of the students for their participation in this literacy event. The students were well prepared, well behaved, and “well read”. We also appreciate all of the parents, peers, teachers, staff members, and administrators who supported our readers.

A special thank you to principals Ryan Player and Greg Bergamasco for hosting the events. Please acknowledge the media specialists, teachers and support staff for the time they took to create the questions, and to recruit, prepare and mentor the students from their schools. St. Johns County School District librarians are amazing and we are better because of them. Thank you to all of the school administrators for supporting your library media programs and specialists. Additionally, many school technology specialists, maintenance managers, and other employees pitched in to make this possible. Thank you!

Lorrie Cosgrove, Brock O’Shell, Amanda Bergamasco, specialists in the Instructional Resources and Media Services department, are the epitome of hard work and coordination. This event would have been impossible without their support. Thank you also to the amazing Media Services staff for their hard, behind-the-scenes work to support these efforts.

Next year promises to be as exciting as this year. View the lists of the new SSYRA books. Be sure to share the lists and encourage your students to read, read, read over the summer.

May 7th through 11th is National Teacher Appreciation Week, a time for honoring teachers and recognizing the lasting contributions they make to our lives. Please join us in thanking our district’s educators who work tirelessly to serve the students and families in our schools.