A.A. Dixon outperforms school district

While Superintendent Malcolm Thomas and his school board spent so much time chastising Rev. Lutimothy May and A.A. Dixon Charter School, the district saw two of its elementary schools, West Pensacola and Weis, do worse than the inner-city elementary. In fact, the learning gains in Math and Reading match the percentage gains at the much-heralded $17-million Global Learning Academy that has had the benefit of hundreds of volunteer hours, including district administration employees. Somehow the little A.A. Dixon that School Board Member Jeff Bergosh did his best to close showed phenomenal improvement.

A.A. Dixon did it with a black principal and teachers and without the latest equipment and technology. They did it with community and parental support. Dixon is not the failure that Bergosh, Thomas and the daily newspaper have portrayed it to be.

Rev. May, who chairs the board of trustees of A.A. Dixon, issued this statement:

This morning the Florida Department of Education released school grades. Although our school grade isn’t what we had hoped for, we are very excited at the overwhelming success of the learning gains of our students. We are also thankful to the Escambia County School District for recognizing the awesome progress of our students and the year end fiscal strength of the school.

The resounding sentiments were voiced through the School Board voting unanimously to allow the school to continue operating and present a case for future existence. Our focus now must, necessarily, be on moving forward with renewed dedication. We have been aggressively preparing the school for the upcoming year by bringing a new and proven leadership team to implement our school improvement plan.

We are so appreciative for all of the parents, community, and business supporters who aid in the successes at A.A. Dixon and we are pleased to be open for another, even more exciting year of learning. The collective dedication to improving the lives of all children does, indeed, take a whole village.

Here are the scores if the bottom 10 school scores. Dixon is still working some of the most academically challenged children in the county but notice the gains over last year—-even though the FCAT was much more difficult.