Manatee keeps its 'B' rating

The School District of Manatee County maintained its "B" rating when the Florida Department of Education announced district and school grades June 27.

Among individual school ratings, the biggest improvements in East County came at Freedom Elementary and William H. Bashaw Elementary, as both moved up to "B" grades from last year's "C" rating.

Braden River Elementary, B.D. Gullett Elementary, Gilbert W. McNeal Elementary, Robert Willis Elementary, Gene Witt Elementary, Lakewood Ranch High School, Braden River High School and R. Dan Nolan Middle School all earned "A" ratings.

Carlos E. Haile Middle School, Braden River Middle School, Bashaw Elementary, Freedom Elementary and Tara Elementary earned "B" ratings.

“I’m very proud of our students, teachers, faculty and administrators for their accomplishments,” said Deputy Superintendent of Instructional Services Cynthia Saunders. “This is a win for the entire community. It takes all of us working together to improve the lives and education of our children. Although we’re excited that we no longer have any “D” secondary schools and we’ve improved our ranking from 39th in the state to 33rd, we know that we still have work to do. We are working hard toward earning an “A” for our District.”