Amanda Ciavarri

TEMPLE TERRACE, Fla. (WFLA) – When students return to Greco Middle School after the holiday break they may notice some new teachers.

Greco is considered a turnaround school. It had a “D” rating two years in a row and now the Florida Board of Education requires a plan for better performance.

Hillsborough County Superintendent Jeff Eakins explains that state test results (VAM) came back at the beginning of the school year, and the results labeled six teachers at Greco as “unsatisfactory.”

However – Eakins says the district does label those teachers as effective when considering a number of other factors, like student growth.

Eakins’ hands are tied because the school is considered turnaround, so the VAM score is the only factor that goes toward a teacher’s state evaluation.

“We all would like to be judged by a total body of work – not one measure,” said Eakins.

The Florida Board of Education has set a deadline of Jan. 7 for the six teachers to be replaced.

“Hillsborough County had the opportunity to do this, as disruptive as I believe it is for students, they could have and should have done this prior to now,” said Commissioner Pam Stewart with the Florida Board of Education.

“We didn’t get the results from state VAM ’til after the school year started. It is really about what the timing is. We don’t have a lot of candidates, that’s a statewide issue with the teacher pool,” said Eakins.

Eakins says most of the teachers that need to be replaced teach reading at Greco.

The district has already hired three new teachers and plans to hire the other three by the deadline.

Eakins says the six “unsatisfactory” teachers will stay on and co-teach with the new teachers to help make a smooth transition for the students.

JOIN THE MOVEMENT #iBELIEVE