In May 2009, Navy Point Elementary led the district in gains for fourth-grade writing and third-grade math and reading. It was an ‘A’ school.
Superintendent Malcolm Thomas told the daily newspaper, “They are hitting it on all grade levels. They’re exactly where they need to be. I guarantee you they are not an F school.”
Nine years later, Navy Point is a ‘D’ school and listed among the 300 Lowest Performing Elementary Schools in Florida.
Thomas, who had taken over the school district in November 2008, was confident grades would improve. He said, “We want to show steady, sustainable gains. We don’t want to be a flash in the pan.”
Steady, sustainable gains have not happened.
Nine elementary schools that earned ‘A’s in 2009 now are either ‘D’ or ‘C’ schools. Warrington and Brentwood also made the 300 Lowest Performing list.
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |
| NAVY POINT | A | C | B | C | D | F | C | C | D | D |
| WARRINGTON | A | C | C | D | D | F | C | F | F | D |
| BRENTWOOD | A | B | B | B | C | D | C | C | C | D |
| BELLVIEW | A | C | A | B | C | B | C | C | C | C |
| BEULAH | A | B | A | B | C | C | A | C | C | C |
| BYRNEVILLE | A | C | A | A | B | A | B | C | B | C |
| PLEASANT GROVE | A | A | C | C | A | B | C | C | C | C |
Three elementary schools have dropped from ‘B’s to ‘D’s. Sherwood is on the 300 Lowest Performing list.
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |
| SHERWOOD | B | C | B | C | C | D | D | D | C | D |
| L. D. MCARTHUR | B | C | A | B | C | B | C | C | C | C |
| FERRY PASS | B | C | C | C | B | C | B | C | C | C |
Five elementary schools have dropped from ‘C’s to ‘D’s. West Pensacola, Holm, Longleaf and Ensley are on the 300 Lowest Performing list.
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |
| WEST PENSACOLA | C | D | C | D | F | F | C | C | C | D |
| REINHARDT HOLM | C | C | C | D | C | D | D | D | D | D |
| LONGLEAF | C | C | B | C | A | B | C | D | C | D |
| ENSLEY | C | C | B | C | C | D | D | D | D | D |
| BELLVIEW | C | C | C | D | F | C | D | D | C | D |
Thomas will blame everyone and everything else but his failure of leadership. These schools performed better under Superintendent Jim Paul. Yes, the grading system changed in 2015, but Thomas had sufficient time to make adjustments in his schools and classrooms. He doesn’t have the skill set or the leadership team in place that can deal successfully with the challenges of Escambia County.
When he campaigned in 2008, Thomas said he was running to straighten out a struggling school district with a shrinking budget and failing schools. Student Achievement was one of his top priorities. He would not only cater to the 60 percent of students who will attend college after graduation, but also the 40 percent who won’t.
He was the Escambia County School District director of evaluation services. He supervised school accountability and state/district assessments for Jim Paul. He understood the school grading system better than anyone in the district.
On the campaign trail, Thomas criticized the district administration for trying to turn performance around by putting pressure on the teachers first. He said,  “Let’s put the pressure at the top.”
It’s time we do what Thomas preached a decade ago. Let’s put the pressure at the top.
Achieve Escambia, are you listening?