Alachua County Schools

Recreation column: Naples' Hellstrom places at Sunshine State Games Alachua ...

She tied for second in the Women’s Age Singles category and placed third in the Women’s Singles WA/Elite/Open and in the Mixed Doubles A/B.

In Ultimate Pool B soccer play, the Naples team of Stalin 10 finished second in the elimination bracket, which was 10th overall.

Run for Fun ongoing: The Summer Run for Fun is under way on Mondays for seven weeks, excluding June 27 and July 4, at the Barron Collier athletic field.

Sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Naples and Collier County Parks and Recreation, the event is free for families of Collier County. Registration and field activities begin at 5:30 p.m., and races start at 6:15 p.m.

All age groups are included, and competition is for each child’s progress. Children who participate five out of the seven weeks receive a T-shirt and trophy. Call Mimi Watson at (239) 564-2411.

Fast Cat 5K in August: The sixth annual Fast Cat 5K Cross Country Race is at 7:30 a.m. Aug. 20 at Estero High School, 21900 River Ranch Road. The event is sponsored by Estero High School, 3D Runners and the Run Shoppe.

Pre-registration costs adults $20 and children under 18 $15, Race-day registration costs $25. Family maximum cost is $50. The first 300 registered participants receive Puma bags. Packet pickup is from Aug. 15-19 at the Run Shoppe, 3512 Del Prado Blvd. in Cape Coral. Call 540-9529.

RedSnook event in October: The Conservancy of Southwest Florida’s RedSnook Catch and Release Charity Tournament is Oct. 21-23.

The tournament netted more than $75,000 last year for the conservancy to protect area waters. It is open to all amateur anglers. Awards will be presented to the top teams in each division, largest fish, grand slam, corporate team, top female angler and top junior angler.

Roland Martin, legendary angler and television host of “Fishing with Roland Martin,” will be host the three-day event for the fifth year.

The tournament’s kick-off party and auction are at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 21 at the Naples Yacht Club. Anglers will launch from locations in Naples, Goodland and Chokoloskee, with competition scheduled from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 22 and 23. The tournament concludes with an awards ceremony at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 23 at Northern Trust, 4001 Tamiami Trail N. in Naples.

Teams can register at www.conservancy.org/redsnook. Divisions include unguided bait, guided bait, unguided spin/plug, guided spin/plug and fly fishing. Registration is limited to the first 60 teams. Call (239) 403-4219.

Alachua County schools in top 10 percent of Florida school ...

The district has an average score of 53 on a scale of 80 points, one of the highest in the state. This score is four points higher than the average score obtained by the state for the first year of implementation of the test.

Deputy Superintendent Sandy Hollinger said that the initial data show promising results.

"I think it means that we are on track," she said. "We are pleased with the results."

individual school data for Alachua County Public Schools are currently unavailable, said spokeswoman Jackie Johnson. The district must determine itself as data, unlike the FCAT, which calculates the state.

PK Yonge, the University of Florida laboratory school, had 64 percent of its students in the top third of students statewide.

More than half the 2,162 Alachua County students who took the exam scored in the top third of students in the state. Twenty-three percent of students scored in the lowest third.

Hollinger said the district needs to analyze the data to determine how to reach those students in the lowest bracket.

"The concern is always the students that didn't pass," she said. "We want 100 percent passing rate. That's our goal."

The district will analyze how students at specific schools fared on specific test items and possibly create six-week skills courses to be administered over the summer before the October retake, Hollinger said.

"If you need to get that boost, you're going to need to get that right before the next assessment," she said.

To prepare for the test, Hollinger said, extra training was provided to algebra teachers and a district-wide teaching calendar was created.

Students took the computer-based algebra end-of-course exams for the first time in May.The test will count for 30 percent of student's grade algebra final. Local officials of the school district said it will take at least a week to calculate the final score for each student.

Next year, students will have to sit the assessment in order to earn credits in mathematics graduation.

Contact Jackie Alexander, jackie.alexander @ gvillesun.com or 338-3166.

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Alachua County School District, final report, on-site monitoring exceptional student education programs, May 3-5, 2010