Summary:
The Deaf/Blind school district in Florida is a specialized district of five schools on a single campus in St. Augustine, serving students who are Deaf, hard of hearing, Blind, or visually impaired from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.
The standout school in this district is the Blind Pk-8 School (Fsdb), which dramatically outperforms its peers. For example, its 6th Grade ELA proficiency is 60%, compared to the district average of 29%, and its 8th Grade Math proficiency is 55% versus the district's 39%. This school also has a much lower free/reduced lunch rate (47.69%) than other schools in the district, such as the Deaf Middle School (Fsdb) at 87.18%. In contrast, the Deaf Elementary School (Fsdb) struggles significantly, scoring 0% in 5th Grade Science. At the high school level, a clear split emerges: the Deaf High School (Fsdb) boasts a stellar 97.3% graduation rate but scores low on tests (e.g., 8% in Geometry), while the Blind High School (Fsdb) has a lower graduation rate (88%) but performs better on assessments like US History (56% vs. 33%).
Despite spending a very high $47,918 per student and maintaining extremely low student-teacher ratios (as low as 3.8:1), the district ranks 70th out of 70 in Florida, indicating significant academic challenges. Chronic absenteeism is a major barrier, especially at the elementary level, with the Deaf Elementary School at 37.8% and the Blind Pk-8 School at 37.1%. The Deaf Middle School also shows a concerning "dip" in literacy, with ELA proficiency consistently between 6% and 18%. These insights suggest that while the district invests heavily in resources, the effectiveness of instructional models varies widely between its Deaf and Blind programs.
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