Race isn’t the problem with public education either

Some in the Escambia County School District administration offices will privately say that problems with Escambia schools are tied to race – too many minority students.

It’s time we bust that myth.

Inweekly analyzed Florida districts that had over 10,000 students and a minority of white students. Only two of 16 districts performed worse than Escambia County.

Escambia County School District’s student population was 46.8% white for the 2018-19 school year. Collier (32.9% white), Miami-Dade (6.7%), Palm Beach (30.3%), Alachua (42.6%) and Orange (25.3%) had smaller percentages of white students and earned A’s.

	District	Points	%	Grade	# Students	White	W %
1	COLLIER	716	65	A	47,436	15,630	32.9%
2	MIAMI-DADE	698	63	A	350,456	23,360	6.7%
3	PALM BEACH	697	63	A	194,186	58,779	30.3%
4	ALACHUA	677	62	A	29,845	12,718	42.6%
4	ORANGE	677	62	A	209,114	52,829	25.3%
6	ST. LUCIE	669	61	B	41,418	13,305	32.1%
7	LEON	672	61	B	33,978	14,054	41.4%
8	DUVAL	673	61	B	130,245	43,768	33.6%
9	MANATEE	671	61	B	49,310	22,532	45.7%
9	BROWARD	671	61	B	270,978	53,185	19.6%
11	HILLSBOROUGH	656	60	B	220,257	72,399	32.9%
12	LEE	646	59	B	94,417	36,335	38.5%
13	OSCEOLA	639	58	B	68,561	15,524	22.6%
14	ESCAMBIA	606	55	B	39,974	18,724	46.8%
15	POLK	598	54	B	105,673	40,950	38.8%
16	HIGHLANDS	569	52	C	12,333	5,197	42.1%

For these 16 districts, only Highlands, Leon and Escambia have elected superintendents.

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“But wait, Rick”–some of at the Hall Center and the District Palace on Pace might say–“it’s the black students.”

For the 2018-19 school year, Florida had six school districts with over 10,000 students, of which more than 30 percent were African American.

Alachua County had 34.2% black student population and is a A district.

Duval (43.4%), Leon (43.7%), Broward (38.8%) and St. Lucie (31.1%) missed being A districts by one percentage point.

Escambia County (35.1%) had the lowest score of the six districts.

The issue isn’t race. It’s racism at the district level.

The district administration and Superintendent Malcolm Thomas don’t know how to set up schools that teach minority students well.

Rank	District	Points	%	Grade	# Students	Black	B %
1	ALACHUA	677	62	A	29,845	10,204	34.2%
2	DUVAL	673	61	B	130,245	56,513	43.4%
3	LEON	672	61	B	33,978	14,851	43.7%
4	BROWARD	671	61	B	270,978	105,259	38.8%
5	ST. LUCIE	669	61	B	41,418	12,891	31.1%
6	ESCAMBIA	606	55	B	39,974	14,023	35.1%

Of these six districts, only Leon and Escambia have elected superintendents.