Florida schools hit one historic milestone that left Democrats red with rage

The Left can’t stand when conservative policies actually work.

They’ve spent years attacking Florida’s education reforms as “dangerous” and “backwards.”

But Florida schools just hit one historic milestone that left Democrats red with rage.

Florida achieves record-breaking school performance under DeSantis’ leadership

Governor Ron DeSantis dropped a bombshell announcement in Jacksonville that sent shockwaves through the education establishment.

Florida’s K-12 schools just achieved their highest performance grades in state history.

A stunning 71% of all graded schools (2,461 schools) earned either an “A” or “B” grade for the 2024-25 academic year.¹

That’s a massive jump from just 64% (2,215 schools) the previous year.

But the news gets even better for parents and students across the Sunshine State.

The percentage of schools earning an “A” grade skyrocketed from 38% to 44% in just one year.¹

Meanwhile, the number of failing schools plummeted from 117 schools earning a “D” or “F” in 2024 to only 71 schools in 2025 — a reduction of 46 schools.¹

“Florida’s use of statewide progress monitoring is yet another example of how Florida leads on education,” DeSantis said. “Providing more opportunities for parents and teachers to intervene in a child’s performance in school leads to better outcomes and a higher quality education.”¹

The Left hates these results because they prove everything they’ve been saying about Florida’s education reforms is dead wrong.

https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1942326243090932168

Duval County makes history with first-ever “A” grade

The crown jewel of Florida’s education success story happened right in Jacksonville.

Duval County Public Schools earned an “A” grade for the first time in the district’s history.¹

“Duval’s gone from B to A! Congratulations!” DeSantis announced to a crowd of cheering teachers and students at Oceanway Elementary School.¹

This wasn’t just a small improvement — it was a complete transformation.

Ten individual schools in Duval County jumped two full letter grades, including Andrew Jackson High School and Jean Ribault High School, which both shot from a “C” to an “A.”¹

Annie R. Morgan Elementary made an even more dramatic leap from an “F” to a “C,” while Long Branch Elementary and Northwestern Legends Elementary both surged from a “D” to a “B.”¹

Both Andrew Jackson High and John E. Ford earned their first “A” rating ever.¹

Ed White High School earned its first “B” rating.¹

This is what happens when you focus on results instead of woke ideology.

https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1942401022543999089

Charter schools crush traditional expectations

Florida’s charter schools continued their winning streak with 77% earning “A” or “B” grades.¹

That’s higher than the overall state average and proves that school choice works.

Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz, Jr. couldn’t hide his excitement about the results.

“This year’s school grades demonstrate that Florida’s focus on the future of education has paid off,” Diaz said. “Under Governor DeSantis’ leadership, Florida has implemented innovative strategies like progress monitoring and provided students with the choices they need to succeed.”¹

The secret weapon behind Florida’s success is something called progress monitoring testing.

Instead of waiting until the end of the year to find out if students are struggling, Florida tests students at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year.¹

This gives teachers and parents real-time data to intervene before it’s too late.

The results speak for themselves.

Grades 3 through 10 grew 21 percentage points in language arts, and grades 3 through 8 grew by 44 percentage points in math.¹

Democrats can’t explain away these results

At the district level, the news gets even more embarrassing for critics of DeSantis’s policies.

Twenty-eight school districts received an “A” grade, 31 districts received a “B,” and only eight districts received a “C.”¹

Not a single district in the entire state received a “D” or “F” grade.¹

Incoming Commissioner of Education Anastasios Kamoutsas summed up what everyone in education should be thinking.

“Florida has laid the blueprint for educational success in America,” Kamoutsas said. “These school grades are another example of how our approach is working.”¹

The Left has been predicting doom and gloom for Florida’s education system ever since DeSantis started his reforms.

They said getting rid of Common Core would hurt students.

They said school choice would destroy public education.

They said focusing on phonics instead of the whole language would set kids back.

They were wrong about everything.

DeSantis rewards teachers for excellence

While Democrats complain about teacher pay, DeSantis is actually doing something about it.

The governor announced a new Civic Seal of Excellence Program that gives teachers a $3,000 bonus for completing civics certification curriculum.¹

This year’s budget for teacher pay is $1.36 billion — an increase of $102 million over last year.¹

“That goes to folks that are in the classroom, and we’ve made a lot of strides,” DeSantis said.¹

Unlike blue states that throw money at failed systems, Florida is rewarding success and getting results.

The state has also made it easier for teachers to focus on teaching instead of dealing with bureaucratic nonsense.

https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1942268676620837262

The blueprint for America’s education future

Florida’s historic achievement isn’t just good news for the Sunshine State.

It’s a roadmap for how the rest of America can fix its broken education system.

The formula is simple: give parents choices, hold schools accountable, test regularly to catch problems early, and focus on results instead of ideology.

Other states are already taking notice.

While Democrat-run states like California and New York continue to see declining test scores and teacher shortages, Florida is proving that conservative education policies work.

The 1,908 schools that either improved their grade or maintained an “A” in 2025 represent real families whose children are getting a better education.¹

That’s 56% of all schools in the state showing improvement or maintaining excellence.¹

This is what happens when you put students first instead of special interests.

Duval County Public Schools is already planning to build on this success with a year-long communications effort called “Duval Delivers” to spotlight school success stories and maintain momentum.¹

The Left can rage all they want about Florida’s education reforms.

But they can’t argue with results like these.

¹ Governor Ron DeSantis, “Governor Ron DeSantis Announces Positive Achievements in 2025 School Grades,” July 7, 2025, Florida Governor’s Office Press Release.