Martin County Public Schools has earned its second consecutive A rating from the state, marking a significant turnaround from seven years of B-level performance through innovative teaching methods that prioritize individual student needs over traditional classroom instruction.
Superintendent Michael Maine announced the district’s back-to-back A grades for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years, crediting teachers and administrators who shifted away from whole-group instruction to personalized learning approaches that close achievement gaps
Personalized Learning Drives Success
The transformation centers on what Maine calls a “game changer” — moving beyond traditional classroom lectures to small-group instruction tailored to each student’s skill level.
“Instead of focusing on all whole group instruction, when the teacher is standing up in front of the classroom and just teaching the entire class, that’s happening to introduce lessons,” Maine explained. “But teachers are spending a lot more time individualizing the instruction for individual kids, pulling small groups, having smaller groups of students around the kidney table with them.”…