Palm Beach County school officials are taking a closer look at the academic track record of Mavericks in Education Florida, the local for-profit charter school chain headed by Frank Biden. They have not been thrilled with their findings.
"Based on the information staff has
received to date, there are reasons to be concerned about the strength of
Mavericks' academic program," school district spokesman Nat Harrington wrote in an emailed response to New Times' questions.
Last month, the Palm Beach County School Board abruptly canceled a vote on three new
Mavericks charter school applications, after New Times began
reporting on the company. District staffers had
recommended approval of the charters. But now, Harrington says board
members delayed the vote because they wanted more information about the
grades and graduation rates at the eight existing Mavericks high schools
in Florida.
On Florida's state report cards, Mavericks schools
in Miami-Dade, Osceola, and Pinellas counties have scored "incomplete"
because not enough students have taken the FCAT while enrolled there.
State
records also show dismal graduation rates at Mavericks schools. Last
year in Miami-Dade, the Homestead campus of Mavericks graduated just 4.5
percent of its seniors.Mavericks High in North Miami Beach had a 12.7
percent graduation rate last year. In Fort Lauderdale the rate was 13.1
percent, in Largo it was 7.2 percent. The Mavericks High in Kissimmee
had the highest rate, at 43.3 percent.
A new Mavericks school opened in Palm Springs this August, and another in Pompano Beach. They have not been open long enough to receive grades from the state.
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