Carver/Century Celebrates Huge FCAT Gains

May 22, 2008

The school day at Carver/Century K-8 School was interrupted Wednesday by “Mission Impossible” playing over the speaker system and an announcement by the principal that had cheers and screams of excitement resounding across the school.

The cause for the excitement? The third grade reading and math FCAT scores were released Wednesday, and Carver/Century Principal Jeff Garthwaite was pleased. Beyond pleased.

The Escambia County school that had the largest percent of students improving on the reading FCAT? Carver/Century K-8. The Escambia County school with almost the largest number of students improving on the math FCAT? Carver/Century K-8.

“We celebrated,” a happy Garthwaite told NorthEscambia.com Wednesday afternoon. “When we announced to the school that we had the highest percent increases in the county, you could hear the cheers throughout the school. We are very happy today.”

The school was hit with a double blow earlier in the month with poor results on the writing FCAT and an announcement that School Superintendent Jim Paul had targeted the school for closure before the next school year. Just last week at a school board workshop, Paul said one reason he targeted the school was due to its continued poor performance.

“It certainly is cause to revisit and rethink closing Carver/Century,” Garthwaite said of the FCAT scores released Wednesday. “This is certainly a reason not to give up on this school.”

“This is an indicator that the school is doing what we need to be doing,” he said.

As for the song “Mission Impossible”, it has become a theme song of sorts for the school with a twist on the words to “Mission Possible”.

Pictured above: Students at Carver/Century about to take the FCAT.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News