TAMPA, Fla. — DeSoto Elementary School in Tampa will be starting off the academic year with an A grade for the first time in more than a decade after participating in the Transformation Network, according to Assistant Principal Lindsay Allen.

What You Need To Know

  • DeSoto Elementary went from a D rated school to an A for the first time in more than a decade 

  • DeSoto Elementary School has been enrolled in the Transformation Network for the past few years 

  • Transformation Network launched in 2020 to boost low-performing schools

  • In 2020, there were 50 low-performing schools in Hillsborough County, and currently, there are eight

“It was a team effort to allow us to stay laser focused on students’ needs,” she said. “Not just academic needs but also social and emotional learning.”

The Hillsborough Public School District launched the Transformation Network in 2020 as part of a comprehensive turnaround initiative to boost low-performing schools. At the time, there were 50 schools with D or F grades, according to Deputy Superintendent Shaylia McRae.

“Over the last four years, we’ve been working with our D and F schools and some of our fragile schools,” she said. “We’ve been able to see some dramatic improvements in our schools.”

Last December, Hillsborough County had the lowest performing schools in the state, according to data released by the Florida Department of Education. McRae said the district has since shed that dubious distinction due in large part to the program.

“We are no longer the district that has the most D and F schools,” she said. “We are focused on getting our schools to a C or better but really to that A and B mark.”

McRae said the district currently only has eight low-performing schools with six enrolled in the program. Allen said the key to the program has been the one-on-one mentors along with the wrap around services.

“That extra attention, that extra spending time with them, really allowed students to show their potential,” she said. “They knew that they were cared about.”

McRae said the wrap around services focus on the whole student.

“We provided food services, clothing services … extra wrap around support is what they needed to kind of bump them from what was a D school to now an A school four years later,” she said. “I think the key to this is really identifying individualized support for kids.”

Part of the mission statement for the Transformation Network is to focus on innovative approaches that create equitable access to high quality instructional practices, empower family involvement and community partnerships for the most vulnerable schools in Hillsborough County, according the HCPS.

Allen said DeSoto Elementary students are no longer eligible for the program and she’s confident they’ll still maintain their A status.

“We are out of transformation and we are proud, but it is bittersweet because we do love our transformation family,” she said. We’re excited that we’re in our new region. We have different supports and we have amazing resources moving forward to maintain our A.”