Superintendent's Message: Back to School 2011/2012

Welcome Back!

During the summer break, principals, teachers, school and district staff members have spent many hours planning and preparing for this upcoming year to make it the best experience for our new and returning students.

This school year begins with a much anticipated event – the opening of a new elementary school, Waterleaf Elementary. Waterleaf is located off of Kernan Boulevard and will serve 500 students.

There are some changes this school year as a result of the $91 million budget shortfall, including cuts to magnet transportation and the potential loss of some sports. However, even with these limitations, we are 100 percent committed to offering our students a superior education. Our goal is that every student will graduate prepared to enter post-secondary education or the workforce, and we are going to fulfill our promise.

This past fall we updated our strategic plan, and we worked relentlessly to ensure that we are meeting and exceeding the goals outlined in the plan. In its third year, we are seeing progress in reaching our long-term objectives and supplying our students with tools to perform exceptionally in the classroom and in other areas of assessment.

Recently I presented the School Board with my self-appraisal, which can be found here. In my appraisal, I outlined five major goals that I believe will help move our district forward. Below is some information on each goal, with more extensive information in the attached document.

1. Reading Performance – Our reading performance is not where it needs to be, and I am committed to ensuring that our students are reading on grade level.  I have assured the Board that within four years, we will have 90% of our 3^rd grade students at reading proficiency.
2. Accelerate the progress in our Turnaround schools. A bolder more dynamic plan is being utilized to ensure the continued progress in our schools.
3. With a projected $61 million shortfall for the 2012/2013 school year, the district must focus on running an efficient organization, ensuring that we are being fiscally responsible.
4. With a new teacher assessment system in place, we will make sure that professional development remains a priority and work to create a more effective pipeline for leadership at the school and district level.
5. Engaging the larger community to support our efforts is essential. There will be a special focus on the involvement of large corporations in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce.

Over the years, our community and local business partners have graciously provided our schools with numerous essentials both in and out of the classroom, and I ask you to continue supporting our students by devoting time and resources to our future leaders. There is no contribution too small.

I would like to encourage everyone to become a volunteer or mentor, as there is no better reward than witnessing a student understanding something for the first time.

We are excited to see the progress of our newly launched Read It Forward Jax campaign in enhancing the literacy skills of our students and increasing their love of reading. Through this campaign, we anticipate notable gains in our students’ reading comprehension. Remember, if you would like to contribute to the campaign by purchasing TVtextbooks or a classroom library for students, click here for more information.