Learning Curve

High school freshman Stephanie Heath-Jolly dreams of finding a cure for AIDS or cancer, so this ambitious 14-year-old is breeding mice over three generations to learn about genetics in her school's agricultural biotechnology academy.

Her artistic sister Olivia, a 16-year-old sophomore who aspires to be a cartoonist or an animator, is honing her 3-D computer drafting skills in the same high school's information systems department.

If it sounds like the Heath-Jolly sisters are beneficiaries of an elite private school, where parents pay top dollar for a tailor-made education, think again. Stephanie and Olivia are public school students in Central Florida.

"It's pretty cool all around," Olivia says of Robert F. Hungerford Preparatory High School, a magnet school located near downtown Orlando. Adds her mother, Melanie Heath-Jolly of Winter Park, "They get a private school education for a public school cost. And I think a lot of parents feel that way."

While conventional wisdom holds that school systems are failing, the fact is that Central Florida's 319,000 public school students are benefiting from a renewed interest in bolstering public education.

Even in tax-phobic Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County, where attempts to raise revenue for school improvements had been consistently rejected, voters in September overwhelmingly approved a half-cent sales tax increase, with funds earmarked for refurbishing or replacing aging facilities.

Central Florida public scholars may participate in Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs and attend magnet schools specializing in medicine, law, languages, engineering and the performing arts, among other disciplines.

Mission-specific charter schools, supported by tax dollars but operated independently, are also filling a need by providing alternatives to traditional academic programs and offering such private-school perks as smaller class sizes and individualized instruction.

Of the four public school systems in Central Florida, Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County's is by far the largest - almost as big as the other three county school systems combined.

With 155,000 students and 151 schools, the Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County Public School System is the fifth- largest school system in Florida and 14th-largest in the nation. As such, it faces the twin challenges of keeping pace with rapid growth and meeting the needs of a racially and economically diverse student body.

Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County students come from 162 nations and speak 105 languages and dialects. The racial/ethnic distribution is 44 percent white, 29 percent African-American, 23 percent Hispanic and 4 percent Asian. Some live in homeless shelters and some live in mansions; some live in rural areas and some live in inner cities.

Still, for Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County School Board Member Joie Caudal, high on the list of plusses for public education is the diversity of the student population.

"I really think that one of the benefits that our children graduate with is an understanding of other cultures," Caudal says. "With Central Florida changing as much as it is into an international community, our graduates need to know how to work with people who don't look like them."

While these differences between students provide built-in lessons in tolerance and understanding, they tend to wreak havoc when it comes to the high-stakes standardized testing. Test scores grab headlines-and are often used to make snap judgments about the public school system.

The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT), developed by the Florida Department of Education and administered to all public school students in grades 3 through 10, measures student performance versus statewide standards in reading and math.

In addition, a writing test is administered in grades 4, 8 and 10 and a science test is administered in grades 5, 8 and 10.

FCAT results determine whether elementary school children are promoted and whether high schoolers graduate.

In perhaps the easiest measure for parents to understand, the state also assigns each school a letter grade. The grade is based upon an analysis of FCAT scores, and takes into account not only raw scores but also how much improvement is demonstrated by students who performed poorly the previous year.

The letter grade has emerged as the most contentious aspect of the state's effort to measure school performance and increase accountability. If a school scores an F grade twice in four years, then students at that school are eligible to receive vouchers for private schools.

In Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County, the only school to register two failing grades was Jones High, a predominantly black school founded in the Jim Crow era. The stigma has caused an exodus of students and considerable consternation among Orlando's black leaders, many of whom graduated from Jones and hold the school to be symbolically and historically important.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the county's only A high school was Winter Park High, located in one of the region's most affluent communities.

So in Central Florida, as is the case virtually everywhere else, youngsters from well-to-do neighborhoods tend to perform well on standardized tests while those from poor neighborhoods often struggle.

Still, while test scores and school grades do provide some information for parents to use in evaluating public schools, critics say the tests present a misleading picture of school performance and drain precious resources that could be used more productively.

The danger in judging public schools by these test scores alone can be seen at Hillcrest Elementary School's Foreign Language Academy in downtown Orlando, a magnet school where English is taught to foreign students and foreign languages are taught to those who speak English.

Even while Hillcrest was posting Ds and Cs in the state ratings in 1999-2002, parents were clamoring to get their children enrolled in what is the only school in Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County-public or private-which graduates fifth-graders fluent in two languages.

Parents who looked beyond raw test scores realized that the low grades reflected the very same language and cultural challenges that make Hillcrest the perfect school for preparing students to live and work in the Global Village. Hillcrest, by the way, earned an A rating in 2003.

Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County offers a number of other magnet programs as well, including science at Princeton Elementary, which works in partnership with the Orlando Science Center and Sea World; engineering, science, technology and medical careers at Apopka High; and hotel management at Oak Ridge High.

Finally, Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County students are looking ahead to college. According to the 2002 Senior Exit Survey, more than 80 percent of respondents say they plan to continue their educations.

Seminole County, with 60,000-plus students and 55 schools, is generally considered to be among the top school districts in the state. Test scores are above average, facilities have generally kept pace with growth and programs are innovative.

Five magnets are offered, including the Crooms Academy of Information Technology, a wireless school in which all students are issued a laptop and can graduate with skills qualifying them for $35,000-a-year jobs.

Seminole is a suburban county that is considerably more homogenous than its neighbor to the south. The racial/ethnic distribution of the student population is 68 percent white, 14 percent African-American, 13 percent Hispanic and 6 percent Asian.

At least in part because of the county's relative affluence, the majority of schools at every level are rated as A schools.

Osceola County, with 35,000 students and 44 schools, has the second fastest growing school system in the state-and one of the most multicultural student populations.

The racial/ethnic distribution is 52 percent white, 34 percent Hispanic, 9 percent African-American and 3 percent Asian.

This diversity-especially the large number of students for whom English is a second language-has undoubtedly impacted test scores. But the district points to steady improvement and innovative programs that combine academic instruction and workforce training.

Like Orange and Seminole, Osceola's school system offers a number of magnet programs, including specializations in finance, travel, tourism, sports medicine, the arts and teaching, among others.

Also, the not-for-profit Foundation for Osceola Education Inc. is raising money for a general scholarship fund that would guarantee all graduating seniors tuition for their first year in a state university or vocational school.

Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County, a once-rural outpost, is evolving into a thriving bedroom community dotted with sprawling new subdivisions and a number of quaint small towns.

There are now 41 schools serving 33,000 students. The racial/ethnic distribution is 71 percent white, 16 percent African-American, 10 percent Hispanic and 1 percent Asian.

Tech-prep programs begin in the eighth grade in subjects such as electronics, computer technology, welding and mechanical trades while high schools offer advanced placement programs and honors courses.

One high school, South Lake, features a Health Career Academy in conjunction with South Lake Hospital. Basic grounding is offered in such subjects as pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy.

Which public school is best for your child?

Unlike a generation ago, when the neighborhood school was the only option and accountability was minimal, today's parents have choices.

You just have to do your homework.