Volusia County Schools is celebrating its wins: its graduation rates and school letter grades are better than ever. That’s led some community members to question those numbers and its actual success.
The district superintendent sent a letter Friday to parents and stakeholders addressing those concerns.
Volusia County Schools achieved an “A” rating from the Florida Department of Education last school year, its first in over a decade. “A” letter schools in the district increased from 17 to 29. And the district celebrated a graduation rate of 94%, second only to Seminole County’s graduation rate.
In the letter, Superintendent Carmen Balgobin said this progress was achieved through credit recovery programs to help struggling students get back on track, alternative learning environments that provide flexible pathways to graduation, and targeted interventions like tutoring and mentorships.
“Our 94% graduation rate represents real students who earned real diplomas by meeting Florida's graduation requirements,” she wrote. “When students struggle to stay on track for graduation, we don't adjust numbers—we adjust our support.”
Balgobin said she felt compelled to write the letter to push back against a small group of naysayers who questioned the district’s achievements.
“It's a very small handful of individuals but they're constantly sharing myths, or they're sharing unsupported information and opinions. And that really distorts the true work that's taking place in our buildings, in our schools,” Balgobin said in an interview Tuesday with Central Florida Public Media.
The letter comes almost a year after then-School Board Chair Jessie Thompson resigned from the chairmanship following backlash to her comments at a Moms for Liberty conference.
In a video from that conference, Thompson said diplomas were handed out like, “participation trophies,” at Deltona High, a Title I school in the district.
But district officials said Tuesday that the letter is not connected to Thompson’s comments and that she is “incredibly supportive of the district.”
In the letter, Superintendent Balgobin said that, despite the gains, the district has a ways to go when it comes to special education, literacy rates and retaining teachers.
She said the district is working with the U.S. Department of Justice to improve its ESE department as part of a settlement agreement that found some students with disabilities were not given access to a free appropriate public education as defined by federal law.
“We're working closely with the Florida Department of Education and the DOJ to ensure every student, regardless of ability, receives appropriate instruction and support in the least restrictive environment,” Balgobin wrote. “This work is complex, it takes time, and we're committed to getting it right.”
To address literacy concerns, she said they’re adding more reading tutors and specialists, using assessment data to identify struggling readers more quickly and working with families to foster a love of reading.
To attract and retain teachers, the district is proposing a more than 3% increase in pay for 90.7% of instructional staff, plus retention and longevity supplements recognizing years of service.
“If you want to understand our programs, policies, or data more deeply,” Balgobin wrote, “we'll provide that information. … If you disagree with our decisions or direction, we'll listen respectfully and explain our reasoning.”
Read Balgobin’s full letter below:
