State Names Sarasota Charter School as ‘High-Performing’

Sarasota School of Arts and Sciences has been named a high-performing charter schools by the Florida Department of Education, according to a Sarasota County School District news release.

, founded in 1997, has a current enrollment of 738 students in grades six through eight.

Charter schools are tuition-free public schools created outside the traditional public school system through an agreement between the school and the local school board or a state university, the release said.

According to the district, state legislation enacted earlier this year created the designation of high-performing charter school, which must have received at least two school grades of A and no school grade below B for the last three years, an unqualified opinion on each annual audit in the most recent three years for which such audits are available, and audits that reveal no financial emergency conditions in the three most recent fiscal years for which audits are available.

Being named a high-performing charter school gives such schools special privileges under certain conditions. Unlike other Florida charter schools, high-performing charter schools may increase their student enrollment once per school year by up to 15 percent more than the capacity identified in the school’s charter; expand K-12 grade levels within the 15-percent annual limit to add grade levels not already served; submit quarterly financial statements, rather than monthly statements, to the school district; and renew their charters for a period of 15 years, rather than the standard five-year renewal period.

The . There are about 460 charter schools in Florida.

The Student Leadership Academy in Venice also received the 'high-performing' grade.