New database sorts Florida public and charter schools by grad rates, student absenteeism

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New database aims to make data more uniform and easier to compare so leaders can see what's working.

An overhauled school safety database has made it easier than ever for parents, educators, and other stakeholders to understand the characteristics of public and charter schools that could affect school safety.

A collaboration between the University of Florida and the nonprofit Safe Schools for Alex — funded with a nearly $2 million grant from the U.S. Justice Department — recently went live on SchoolSafetyDashboard.org. The way it puts reams of data at stakeholders’ fingertips is being called the most comprehensive school safety dashboard in the country.

It allows users to enter up to three schools’ names or school districts at once and see how they compare regarding each school or district’s student population according to racial and ethnic makeup, level of economic disadvantage, and suspension rate for both in-school and out-of-school. Eventually, incident data for Florida schools will also be part of the dashboard.

The database lists 4,120 schools, and they can be sorted according to graduation rates, student/teacher ratio, absentee rates, and other indicators. Seventy-five schools listed have 100% graduation rates, for example. The database shows that five of them have 100% of their students absent for 10% of the year or more.

“By providing this access to data in a way that a broad spectrum of stakeholders can view, there will be opportunities for schools to adjust practices in real time, and for the state to respond to the needs of districts and schools as they emerge,” said F. Chris Curran. He’s an associate professor of educational leadership and policy at UF and the director of the Education Policy Research Center in the UF College of Education.

Before the database went live in 2020, this information was not publicly available in many states, let alone in easy-to-access form, said Max Schachter, who founded Safe Schools for Alex. He started the internationally recognized nonprofit after his 14-year-old son was killed with 16 others in Florida’s worst school shooting in 2018 at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

“Since the tragedy, Safe Schools For Alex has been working to enhance school safety by encouraging accuracy and uniformity of school safety data reporting nationwide,” Schacter said. “Parents want and deserve to know what’s happening after they drop their child off.” 

According to a news release, UF will train school staff and leaders to use the database.

Anne Geggis

Anne Geggis is a South Florida journalist who began her career in Vermont and has worked at the Sun-Sentinel, the Daytona Beach News-Journal and the Gainesville Sun covering government issues, health and education. She was a member of the Sun-Sentinel team that won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the Parkland high school shooting. You can reach her on Twitter @AnneBoca or by emailing [email protected].


25 comments

  • Earl Pitts "RON'S OFFICIAL "UNOFFICIAL VPOTUS CAMPAIGN MANAGER" American

    April 21, 2024 at 1:49 pm

    Good Afternoon America,
    This Data-Base is a stroke of Genius by Ron DeSantis our next VPOTUS.
    What the data-base will show is the total and epic fail of our “Leftist Ran (into the ground) Public School System” in Florida and Nation-Wide.
    The Dook 4 Brains Leftys are Afraid ….. Very Afraid.
    Sit back and watch the ensueing Leftist $hit-Show unfold and chuckle to yourselves secure in the knowledge “That Earl Told You So”.
    Thank you America,
    Earl Pitts “Public Schooling Expert” American

    • rick whitaker

      April 21, 2024 at 2:12 pm

      EARL, WRONG AGAIN

      • Earl Pitts "RON'S OFFICIAL "UNOFFICIAL VPOTUS CAMPAIGN MANAGER" American

        April 21, 2024 at 4:20 pm

        Right on time, Sage Rick, you truley elevate my status as America’s Go-To-Political-Guru.
        Private First Class Rick Whitaker “The Wind Beneith Earl’s Wings” ….. SALUTE PFC WHITAKER”!!!!
        *soon after Don & Ron take The White House I, Earl Pitts American, will petition President Trump & Vice President DeSantis to present you, Private First Class Rick Whitaker, with The Long Over-Due Presidental Medal Of Honor …. thats right Rick, the same Honorable Medal Classification which President Trump Bestowed on Rush Limbaugh. You, PFC WHITAKER, along with your family will have your Hearts Swell With American Pride.
        And I, Earl Pitts American, will be there to bestow the Sage Honor upon you, PFC Rick Whitaker, an American Hero.
        EPA

        • rick whitaker

          April 21, 2024 at 8:41 pm

          EARL, WRONG AGAIN

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            April 22, 2024 at 4:36 pm

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        • FLPatriot

          April 22, 2024 at 10:32 am

          Literally anyone with any brains sees you as a low IQ troll.

          • Dont Say FLA

            April 22, 2024 at 10:42 am

            I have brains, though their location may not be the typical location, and I feel like Earl is trolling MAGAs, not others. “Earl” is clearly a parody. You can tell when he (or she) uses other account names but writes intelligently. While I do think the creator of “Earl” probably has conservative leanings, they also continuously mock the Rhonda and Don-duh voter mindset.

    • Michael K

      April 22, 2024 at 8:12 am

      Did you even read the article?

      It all happened because of a partnership between the University of Florida, and the nonprofit Safe Schools for Alex, and funded solely by the federal government – the Department of Justice.

      Deathsentence had nothing to do with this initiative. Wake up.

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    April 21, 2024 at 4:40 pm

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  • Speedy Gonzalez

    April 21, 2024 at 7:05 pm

    Earl SloPoke wants his kids in this charted skool too our kids should not take school with the kids of Dooks.
    Thanks Earl SG&SP

    • rick whitaker

      April 21, 2024 at 8:42 pm

      FAKE EARL, WRONG AGAIN

      • Dont Say FLA

        April 22, 2024 at 10:50 am

        Rick, c’mon, man. It’s really easy to skip over reading comments that are long monolithic rants, but the more comments the rants get, the more likely folks are to revisit the big rants and read them to see why you’re riled. Just skip ’em unless there’s really a point to responding, and in those cases, if you would respond on point, that would be better than continual ad hominem upon “Earl.” Nobody needs to hear that Earl can express some “special” positions. Everybody knows that. Every response that doesn’t specifically de-specialize a position staked out by “Earl” (or IBS and all his other names) just elevates it.

        • rick whitaker

          April 22, 2024 at 9:10 pm

          DSF, damn it, you are right.

          • Dont Say FLA

            April 23, 2024 at 7:30 am

            Once in a blue moon, Rick. Once in a blue moon. Good day sir!

        • Earl Pitts "RON'S OFFICIAL "UNOFFICIAL VPOTUS CAMPAIGN MANAGER" American

          April 23, 2024 at 4:20 pm

          Darn,
          Its not gonna be any fun any more without Rick to agitate. I’m gonna need a “New Rick”.
          Earl Pitts American

          • rick whitaker

            April 23, 2024 at 4:28 pm

            EARL, I’M JUST GOING TO SWITCH TO DIFFERENT METHODS OF TAKING OUT THE TRASH.

          • Dont Say FLA

            April 23, 2024 at 4:33 pm

            Sorry Pops! It looked like Rick was headed toward burn out but I like him and figured if slow down he could stick around and keep us company longer

          • Rick Whitaker

            April 23, 2024 at 6:32 pm

            ???????????????????

  • CW

    April 22, 2024 at 10:10 am

    These school grade statistics are misleading. Many politicians, and non educators, fail to consider the role of parents in the success rate of students or the schools they attend. Parent involvement is key to getting results in school. Teachers can only do so much without support from home. Parents must monitor the progress of their own children and communicate with teachers when they notice a problem. If kids do not come to school or complete their assignments it really doesn’t matter what a teachers does in class. Putting a kid on a bus and sending them to school is only part of the equation. Parents must be actively involved. Without parent support, it won’t matter if a child attends a public school, charter school , or private school.

    • Dont Say FLA

      April 22, 2024 at 10:55 am

      You are correct! The reason for a school system to pair and partner with this sort of consultant is so they can frame questions to elicit positive answers and then release positive summary results describing all the positives answers they could manufacture.

      I mean seriously. Grad rates? Absenteeism? How are those even related to school safety which is what the consultant database purports to rank? The safest schools have the fewest students ending up shot dead or maimed (from bullets and/or cars), sexually assaulted, otherwise assaulted, and/or infected with preventable disease.

      What is even the statistical theory here? That dead and/or infected / assaulted kids take skip days and don’t graduate? LOL

      • Earl Pitts "RON'S OFFICIAL "UNOFFICIAL VPOTUS CAMPAIGN MANAGER" American

        April 23, 2024 at 5:08 pm

        Thank you my Beartiful Son/Daughter
        So if Rick burns-Out we actually lose him forever? Well we cant have that. Thankyou my Genius and Beloved Son/Daughter we are keeping our buddy Rick!!!!!!
        Welcome Home Rick!!!!!
        Happy Days!!!!!
        Earl Pitts “Dad” American

  • Dont Say FLA

    April 22, 2024 at 10:45 am

    The clearest strategy for high rankings by this evaluation method is

    #1 – You show up, you graduate.
    #2 – You did show up unless you self-reported yourself absent and nobody “lost” your absence paperwork

    There. Now all of Florida’ schools are wonderful.

  • Thomas D James

    April 22, 2024 at 1:10 pm

    Max has done great work but the data to be gleaned from this dashboard is only as good as who puts it in. As a 35 year Florida public school teacher who worked at FLDOE in School Safety, I can say with great accuracy, MOST districts LIE on school safety. There are no penalties for those who cover up school crime, fail to report school crime or doctor school crime data to make themselves look better. That’s the crux of the problem until there are CRIMINAL PENALTIES for school superintendents, board members and school administrators, this means little to nothing. As it stands now, both the state and federal government just keep shoveling public schools more money and hoping they won’t lie or won’t lie as much. The FDLE MSD Commission reported that out of 4 districts investigated (Broward, Miami Dade, Orange and Duval), all 4 had done all the things I just identified. In fact, I spoke to the Commission 4x telling them what I just told you folks. Without criminal penalties for those reporting, these stats are doctored and mean little to nothing.

  • High Rankings

    April 23, 2024 at 7:35 am

    It’s nice that these rankings are for positions within Florida schools.

    That way some Florida schools can be given high rankings.

    #1? Florida! #2? Florida!! #3? Florida!!!

    Looky there. The top three safest schools are in Florida!!! Wheeeeeeeeee

  • Sundance

    April 23, 2024 at 8:01 am

    I stopped at stakeholder the name stake means what values and prices to put on communities.

Comments are closed.


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