CivicCon is the third leg of the Studer Community Institute stool.

We are so pleased that the CivicCon speaker series is hosting Dr. Ronald Ferguson at the Rex Theatre on Aug. 12. 

The Pensacola News Journal's Kevin Robinson spoke with Ferguson and shared some of what you can expect at his talk. Read that story here.

Ferguson is the faculty director of the Achievement Gap Initiative at Harvard, and the co-author of "The Formula: Unlocking the Secrets to Raising Highly Successful Children." He will talk about the performance of our schools and what we can do as a community to improve them for our children.

Recently released school grades for the 2019 school year showed that at 17 Escambia elementary schools, fewer than 50 percent of students met the grade level standard for third grade language arts skills; but at 10 of them, 50 percent or more of the students who scored in the bottom fourth improved their scores — called in the testing world learning gains. 

That may be an indicator of important progress in those schools — Bellview, Navy Point, Brentwood, West Pensacola, Montclair, Sherwood, O.J. Semmes, Global, C.A. Weis, and Oakcrest. Two more of those 17 schools — Myrtle Grove and Ensley — were just 1 or 2 points below that 50 percent learning gains increase level.

At 15 schools, fewer than half of the students made achievement level in math.

At 6 of those schools — Brentwood, Montclair, West Pensacola, Lincoln Park, Weis and Navy Point — of the students scoring in bottom fourth 50 percent or more made learning gains in math.

Changes to the way the state of Florida has changed the assessment process over time can make it a challenge to look at trends. But since the “new” baseline was set in 2015:

— 17 schools were graded C or below in 2015. Two — Pleasant Grove and Montclair — have risen to a B in the years since (2019).

— 18 schools were graded A or B in 2015. Three — Lincoln Park, Ferry Pass and Beulah Academy of Science have dropped to a C in the years since (2019).

Data alone is never the whole picture of the work that goes on every day in a school. And it is important to look at trends, not just a single year in isolation. 

Looking at tends is important and something that Ferguson has stressed in his work. Join us to hear what he sees in the trends in our school data.

Tickets are free, but please sign up here so that we can be sure to accommodate everyone.