A renewed emphasis on teaching reading comprehension at Lee County’s public high schools paid dividends for the district Wednesday.

Thirteen of Lee County’s 15 public high schools earned an A or a B grade from the state, according to results released by the Florida Department of Education. Only South Fort Myers and East Lee County received grades below a B in the state’s grading formula, which awards points for student performance on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, high graduation rates and for participation in advanced courses. South dropped from a B to a C while East Lee fell from a C to a D.

Six Lee County high schools earned an A, up from four the previous year. Schools that earn A’s or improve a grade level receive a $70-per-student bonus, which can be used for school supplies, hiring and staff bonuses.

“We put more of an emphasis on working with our lowest quartile of readers,” said Mariner High Principal Brian Mangan, whose school received its first A in its 25-year history. “We made sure everybody on our staff identified those readers because if you can read in an intensive reading class doesn’t mean you can read across the board.”

In Collier County, five of the district’s eight high schools earned an A or a B, though Barron Collier High was the lone Collier school to earn an A.

“We purposely worked on the non-FCAT components of the grades,” Collier Superintendent Kamela Patton said. “Those are the kids in the advanced placement classes and industry certifications. So overall, we have more kids in those rigorous courses. When you make that the goal, it’s not going to happen overnight.”

Patton said Barron High and Collier’s two improving schools — Lorenzo Walker Technical School went from a D to a C and Lely went from a C to a B — are eager to use its recognition funds.

The state leaves it up to each school to decide how to use the bonus cash. Cypress Lake, which improved from a B to an A this year, has used the money in the past for staff bonuses. With about 1,600 students, Cypress will receive $112,000 from the state. If the school gives a bonus to each of its 150 staff members, each staffer would receive $746.

“Everybody contributes to the grade,” Cypress English teacher Mary Lynn McDavid said. “Whether it’s by giving a student an extra Tater Tot or a smile when they get on the bus, everybody participates. It’s not just the teachers.”

13 ‘worthy’ of A

Thirteen of Lee’s schools earned enough points to receive an A grade but they didn’t receive the grade because a state rule about the performance of the school’s lowest 25 percent of readers. If those readers don’t show an improvement on the FCAT from last year, the school can’t receive an A — even if it has enough overall points.

“It’s very encouraging to see 13 schools worthy of an A grade,” Lee Superintendent Joseph Burke said. “We realize there is work to be done for the seven schools that were dropped from their A grade, and we started addressing those areas well before the grades were released.”

Two of Lee’s A high schools — Mariner and North Fort Myers — credited their success to expanded high school reading programs. Mariner’s PE and Army JROTC classes teach reading.

“In the first part of their classes on Fridays, the PE department does some reading strategies and math strategies, and they do it with a sports and fitness tweak,” Mangan said. “Instead of sitting in the gym for the first part, they’ll go into the auditorium and read.”

Mangan said his teachers don’t teach reading as an FCAT skill.

“In ROTC, we tell them you need to use math because you can’t read a map without it,” he said.

At North Fort Myers, the school created a literacy plan. Regardless of what subject they teach, North’s instructors pass on reading techniques.

“This was more about training our staff to become experts on reading and writing,” Principal Kim Lunger said.

The state handed out elementary and middle school grades in July. Out of Lee’s 74 elementary and middle schools, 53 earned an A, 14 landed a B, six earned a C and one had an F. Sixteen Collier schools earned an A, 12 picked up a B, eight had a C and four received a D.

At the high school level, 78 percent of the state’s schools earned an A or B grade, a jump from 71 percent last year.

“It’s great to see more of Florida’s high schools trending upward,” Gov. Rick Scott said. “Education is critical to improving lives, preparing students for a job and attracting employers.”