Carver Middle School in Leesburg climbed from a C to a B in Florida’s school grading system this year, its highest rating in 15 years. School leaders attribute this milestone to focused instruction, staff training and a shared belief in student success under Principal Kinetrai Kelley-Truitt.
“I felt it was time for Carver,” Kelley-Truitt says. “We needed this as a school and with how hard teachers and students work. I can’t even explain the feeling to show Leesburg schools are good schools and we have awesome teachers and it means a lot. It puts us in a great light and I’m proud of everyone.”
Kelley-Truitt, who became principal at the start of the 2017-2018 school year after serving as assistant principal, has more than 25 years of experience in Lake County Public Schools. She emphasized consistent Tier 1 instruction for every student and a strong intervention block as key drivers of the improvement.
“We really focused on Tier 1 instruction and supporting kids,”she says. “The intervention block is a huge part of the success, so we were consistent. We also gave teachers a high level of instruction. Our students bought in and many even earned high school credits which we were thrilled about.”
Assistant Principal Christopher Garcia highlighted the effort required to reach the goal…