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June 22, 2006

Volusia, Flagler closing gap in success

Minority pupils catching up

Staff Report

Volusia and Flagler schools both made the top 10 list this year of Florida school districts doing the best job of closing the achievement gap between white and minority students.

Florida Education Commissioner John Winn released the list Wednesday based on how many black and Hispanic students were reading and doing math at or above grade level on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, compared to their white counterparts.

Flagler made the top 10 list for both black and Hispanic students in reading. It ranked second-best in the state for closing the gap between black and white students by 4.69 percent and fifth for narrowing the gap between Hispanic and white students by 4.57 percent.

Volusia was recognized for closing the FCAT reading gap between black and white students by 3.05 percent. That was ninth-best in the state.

"I´m thrilled about it because of the hard work of our teachers, principals and instructional staff. We can see we´re going in the right direction," Volusia Superintendent Margaret Smith said.

"The only true way to close the achievement gap is for all students to improve and for students who traditionally struggle the most to achieve at even higher rates," Winn said in a statement. "Our schools are accomplishing this goal with the belief that ´good´ schools are good for all students."

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