In a tribute to the school’s SAT prep classes, Matanzas’ reading average of 502 on the SAT test exceeded state and national averages, and the school exceeded state averages on math and writing, but district-wide 2013 SAT and ACT scores remain below state and national averages, dragged down especially by math scores.
chris pryor
When an F Is an Automatic 50: In Defense Of Matanzas High School’s Grading Policy
Matanzas High School Principal Chris Pryor’s new policy of bottoming out all F’s at 50%–not zero–drew some grumbles, but teacher Jo Ann Nahirny explains why it’s a far more just policy than awarding zeros–and how the same policy may have changed her own life.
James Wolfe, Popular English Teacher and Coach at Matanzas, Accused of Sex With a Student
James Wolfe, a successful cross country coach at Matanzas, was arrested and charged with seven counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor, whom he allegedly drugged, based on allegations dating back to between August 2010 and May 2011, when the alleged victim was 16.
Education Commission Reprimands Steve Knob, Ex-Band Director at Matanzas, Over Porn
The formal reprimand of Steve Knob accompanies a settlement agreement that enables him to seek teaching jobs and maintain his teaching certificate but also requires him to remain on probation for two years and pay $800 in fines and monitoring costs while on probation.
Flagler Middle & High School Principals Plead With Voters: Give Us Back Those 45 Minutes
Flagler County’s four secondary-school principals say restoring 45 minutes to the school day, or the equivalent of a month’s worth education, is indispensable if the district’s students are to excel consistently.
Between Fleeting Time and Family Feel at Matanzas High’s 2013 Commencement
Some 340 students graduated from Matanzas High School Friday evening in a ceremony that emphasized the school’s successes and the connections of the student body with its extended families.
Steve Knob, 5-Year Band Leader at Matanzas, Resigns After Downloading Porn at School
Steve Knob had brought a long and distinguished career to Flagler. Matanzas High School Principal Chris Pryor and others caught him in the act of downloading porn on Oct. 7, but Pryor attributed his resignation to “family medical issues.”
Do Flagler School Administrators Making $97,000 a Year Need A Raise? They Say Yes.
Some 25 Flagler school administrators make between $80,000 and $105,000 a year. They’re saying they were disrespected when denied a 2 percent raise. The school board is reconsidering.
A Pig’s Tale With Hitchhiking Advice from Thoreau as 327 Graduate Matanzas High
The fourth graduating class in six years at Matanzas included 43 seniors graduating magna cum laude and 23 graduating suma cum laude, with 28 percent of the class receiving high honors.
Unresolved: Who’s To Arbitrate Daring Artistic Expression–Principals or the School Board?
The triumph of “Mockingbird” is past. The Flagler County School Board’s confusion over how to prevent another controversy without chilling artistic expression isn’t, as a pair of proposed policy changes indicate.
More Power to Principals, Less Transparency as Board Kills Policy Inspired by Mockingbird
The rejected policy had called for supporting plays “that challenge, nurture and extend student skills” while respecting community sensibilities. Instead, the board retreated to more general “tweaks” of two existing policies.
Between Authority and Authoritarianism: Conklin and Pryor Clash Over Principal Power
The school board is debating a new policy and procedure controlling the staging of controversial plays. Matanzas Principal Chris Pryor doesn’t want to be “second-guessed.” Board member Conklin doesn’t want unilateral decision-making.
Tale of Two Recommendations: Valentine “Completely” Supports Staging of Mockingbird
The appeals committee’s original recommendation was re-written to more clearly reflect Mockingbird as an “appropriate” play to be staged by Flagler County school students.
Mockingbird‘s Fate Still Hanging as Appeals Panel, Endorsing the Work, Punts on the Play
A majority of the committee clearly wanted the play staged. But it’s recommendation goes no further than declaring Mockingbird “appropriate” for instruction–a matter never in doubt.
Pryor to Class of 2010: “Take Your Chance, Make Your Choice, Make Your Move”
Citing William Jennings Bryan, Robert Frost and David Wilcox, Matanzas High School Principal Chris Pryor mixed anecdotes and metaphor in his last words of advice to the Class of 2010.
Photo Gallery: Matanzas High School Class of 2010
A 38-image gallery of Matanzas’s third graduating class, with the full David Sequence.