Seminole County schools earn A rating, rank first in Central Florida

Seminole County Public Schools said it earned another A rating for the 2025-2026 school year, placing first among Central Florida districts, first among the state’s 14 largest districts and 11th among Florida’s 67 districts. The district made the announcement July 1, the same day Florida Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas released school and district grades statewide.

The ranking gives Seminole County families more than a letter grade. Florida’s 2025-26 system can include up to 12 components, with five achievement measures, four learning-gains measures, middle-school acceleration, graduation rate and college-and-career acceleration all folded into the calculation. The state says the grades are meant to help the public understand how well schools and districts are serving students.

For Seminole County, the comparison is stronger than it was a year earlier. In 2024-2025, SCPS also earned an A, but it ranked second among the 14 largest Florida districts and 10th statewide. This year’s result nudged the district up one spot among large districts and one spot statewide, keeping it at the top of the Central Florida pack.

The district’s own recent numbers add another layer. SCPS reported a 94.4% graduation rate for the 2024-2025 school year, above the state average of 92.2%. The district also says no public school in Seminole County received a D or F in 2024-2025. A 2025 WFTV report said that stretch of no D or F grades has held since 2019.

Superintendent Serita D. Beamon has led the district since March 1, 2021. She is Seminole County’s first woman superintendent and first African American superintendent, and her tenure has coincided with the district’s sustained top-tier showing under the state accountability system.

The latest grade also lands in a county where school reputation carries weight beyond the classroom. Families often weigh district performance when choosing where to live in Sanford, Lake Mary, Longwood or Winter Springs, and employers and homebuyers watch school standings closely. For Seminole County, the A rating reinforces a long-running reputation for strong public schools, while the year-over-year ranking gains show the district did more than simply hold its ground.