The Florida Department of Education released grades yesterday afternoon, and many districts across the state are celebrating. Two of those districts, Madison County School District and Hamilton County School District, were among those who showed remarkable improvement after many years on the failing list. In November of last year, both districts contracted with MGT of America Consulting, LLC for instructional support services including but not limited to implementing a method that “focuses on principals as instructional leaders, high expectations for student achievement and educator behavior that conveys those expectations, a pervasive instructional focus, a safe orderly climate conducive to teaching and learning, and student achievement data as the basis of program evaluation.”
MGT held two-day training sessions with follow-up on-site and virtual assistance, resulting in the targeted schools being pulled up into passing “C” status and an overall improvement of one positive letter grade for both districts in their entirety.
Close, Successful Partnership in Hamilton
Hamilton County High School and Hamilton County Elementary School had received failing grades for six and three years, respectively. Yesterday, they each received a “C” after receiving services from MGT since mid-November.
Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Rex Mitchell said, “MGT came in and gave structure and process to our school improvement efforts. They worked with faculty and staff to build on existing talent and aptitudes. They worked with the Northeast Florida Education Consortium (NEFEC) to help us develop a response plan to interim data and reporting. Their team has been available to us whenever we needed them. We are so proud of our success and will continue working with MGT to build on this momentum. Their flexibility and responsiveness are second to none.”
Long-Desired Turning Point for Madison
Madison County Central School had received a failing grade for morethan eight years. Yesterday the PreK-8th grade school received a “C”, bringing the overall Madison County School District grade to a “B”.
About MGT Consulting
MGT Consulting also is currently serving as Emergency Manager of the Gary Community School Corporation in Gary, Indiana. MGT has been providing education services since its inception in Florida in 1974. Its education staff is comprised of former educators and administrators who are knowledgeable about and dedicated to the field. The firm operates from regional offices across the country and has conducted business in all 50 states, through nearly 10,000 client engagements. Focusing on Government Consulting, PK-12 and Higher Education, Financial Services, Disparity, Human Capital and Cyber-Security, MGT has grown into a national consulting leader that truly understands how to impact the environments in which public sector organizations plan, organize, execute and operate.
“Our partnership with MGT was truly a turning point for our district” said Madison County Schools Superintendent Dr. Karen Pickles. “The company’s system helped us develop an accountability metric with teachers and staff. Our seven-month engagement yielded such great results, we look forward to continuing our work with MGT over the entirety of the next school year and fully expect to show increasing improvement in student achievement and teacher effectiveness.”
MGT had three External Operator agreements in place with Madison, Hamilton, and Desoto counties. As cited above, two of those three districts secured school improvement services from MGT and will not have schools moving into External Operator status. MGT expects to move forward working with leadership in DeSoto County to achieve substantial improvement in student achievement at Nocatee Elementary and assist the school to achieve a passing grade in the coming school year.
For more information, contact Michelle Silva, Director of Educational Solutions, at MSilva@mgtconsulting.com or 941-730-5202
