Superintendent's Message: 2010 Summary

2010 is coming to a close and as we begin a new year, I want to take a moment to highlight some of the great things occurring in Duval County Public Schools, as well as discuss some of our challenges.

There are numerous achievements to be proud of as we move toward our goal of becoming the best large urban school district in America. Over the past few years, many of our schools have increased their school grades by at least one letter grade over the previous year. The progress over the last 10 years is even more encouraging, as the number of "A" and "B" schools has increased more than 500 percent. High school grades were recently released, and I would like to congratulate the hard work of our students, teachers, principals and staff. Our high schools are embracing strategies to ensure that every student is college ready, and it is paying off.

Additionally, the number of students completing a rigorous academic curriculum has increased, and all of our high schools now offer acceleration programs that provide students the opportunity to earn college credits while in high school.

Significant progress is being made in decreasing the number of school suspensions. Out of School suspensions are down by nearly 50% from the previous year, with an increase in students who are suspended attending our Alternative to Out of School Suspension Centers.

These gains in achievement and increase in attendance can be attributed to the hard work of our students, teachers, principals, district support staff, parents and community partners.

While we have had many success stories, like many school districts across the state, some of our schools experienced declines in FCAT performance. These mixed results confirm that we must continue at an aggressive and accelerated pace to ensure that our students and schools are successful.

We will not be satisfied until every student graduates ready for work and/or post-secondary education. Our goal is to build sustainable growth over time in order to ensure all students receive a high quality education as we continue our commitment to eliminate the achievement gap.

We have been working under an approved Strategic Plan since 2008, which provides targets that are specific and measurable to keep us moving in the right direction. We reviewed and updated our goals this year in order to ensure we meet our vision of providing students with the knowledge and skills needed to be successful. We are committed to success, and it is our intent to make clear and measurable progress every year toward our long-term objectives.

We are continuing to work with the community to match business partners, volunteers and mentors with our schools and students. By joining this effort and helping a school, businesses and community members make a real difference in the quality of education provided to our students.

We continue to face many challenges with our budget, and the shortfalls we have seen over the past several years may grow with the loss of Federal stimulus money in 2011/2012. We have to balance our budget and remain fiscally responsible while continuing to provide our students with a high quality education. It is difficult, and each year we have to make cuts that we don't want to make. This makes your support in our schools and your commitment to public education in Duval County even more important.

Through the commitment of our students, the dedication of our teachers and staff, and the support of the community, we strongly believe that together we will be successful.