I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to our first edition of DCPS eNews. We are continuing to strive to keep the community informed about the great things that are going on in our schools, and this is just one more avenue in which to share our news.

This month, we will be asking for your input on an Academic and Community Excellence (ACE) plan for our schools, which includes facility assessment, utilization and school boundaries to ensure that all students receive a quality education within safe and secure learning environments.

The development of a long-range plan is intended to provide an overview of the educational facilities that provide Duval County Public School District students with equitable, appropriate, flexible, safe and secure environments.

ACE is intended to provide the School Board of Duval County a "road map" for future facility needs. The goal is to provide a detailed demographic and building condition analysis that will prepare the School Board for future facility needs decisions.

School facility planning is an ongoing process. In a district the size of Duval County Public Schools, there are numerous projects that are currently being completed. As these projects are completed and new needs are identified the databases associated with this study and the plan itself will need to be updated.

Beginning this month, and continuing through the fall, we will be hosting a series of Community meetings to receive feedback in four areas throughout Jacksonville. Meetings will be held at high schools in each of the quadrants from 6 – 8 p.m. March Meetings are as follows:

• Fletcher High School – Tuesday, March 11
• Englewood High School – Thursday, March 13
• Raines High School – Monday, March 24
• Forrest High School – Tuesday, March 25

Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) has closed on property for its newest high school, which will be located close to Baymeadows Road and 9A.

This will be Duval County's 20th high school, and the first since 1990, when both Mandarin and First Coast opened. Construction will begin this spring, and the school will open in the fall of 2010.

School boundaries have not been drawn, but the high school will alleviate overcrowding at Wolfson, Sandalwood, Englewood, Mandarin and Fletcher High Schools.

For more information about the new high school, read "Construction on New High School Set to Begin."

A complete schedule of FCAT testing is available here.

*Please note: This year, the Florida Department of Education will be releasing FCAT scores about two weeks later than usual. The late results could delay the following: distribution of final report cards to students in grades 3-5; planning for summer activities; identification of students who may be eligible for transfer to higher performing schools; determination of contractual agreements with some charter schools; finalizing schedules for the next school year; identification of Schools In Need of Improvement status under No Child Left Behind; distribution of FCAT reports to parents; and determination of which schools met their performance targets.

Six teachers have been selected as finalists for Duval County Teacher of the Year. These six were chosen from all of the 160 school representatives:

The finalists are:

• Christine Andrews, Fletcher High School mathematics teacher
• David Burrell, Central Riverside Elementary fifth-grade teacher
• Lucretia D. Miller, Chaffee Trail Elementary library media specialist
• Ronrica S. Pinkney, Henry F. Kite Elementary fifth-grade teacher
• Susan Tidwell, Sandalwood High School instructional coach
• Alison Watson, Beauclerc Elementary kindergarten teacher

The Duval County Teacher of the Year will be announced at the EDDY Awards on April 10, and will represent Duval County at the state level for Florida Teacher of the Year. The EDDY Awards program is a formal event hosted by the Alliance for World Class Education that recognizes outstanding teachers and celebrates their accomplishments.

Duval County Public Schools is in the process of formalizing a Strategic Plan for the District that will guide our actions and drive improvement at our schools. Our Core Beliefs and Commitments are the basis for this plan, and they remain unchanged. Currently, we are about halfway through the process of generating the plan and we are nearing the release of a draft version.

In mid-March, we will release the draft and look forward to receiving comments and input from the public. In order to facilitate feedback, we will conduct a web-based survey to collect input from School Advisory Committees (SACs), teachers, principals, students, parents and the general public. Additionally, we will conduct a public meeting on March 27, 2008 at 6 p.m. at the District Office located at 1701 Prudential Drive, as well as hold a public hearing at our monthly Duval County School Board meeting on April 7, 2008.

As an integral part of developing this plan we have been incorporating valuable input from the Alliance for World Class Education, which has created a dedicated Task Force to assist the District in this effort.

We are excited about the prospect of developing and implementing an official Strategic Plan for Duval County Public Schools and we believe that this document will provide a means of managing the diverse needs of our students and staff, as well as increase public awareness of our goals, strategies and objectives for the District.

Check the Duval County Public Schools Web site after March 13 for more information.

Now more than ever students need mentors to help them succeed in their academic and personal lives. Superintendent Ed Pratt-Dannals has called upon our community to be a part of the solution by mentoring our students.

The mentor-student relationship is a special one. A caring adult volunteer offers support, friendship, reinforcement and positive role modeling on a regular basis to a child who needs compassion, guidance, a good listener, positive words and hope for the future. Magic occurs because of the consistent, caring relationship. Long-term changes and positive results happen often in the lives of both mentees and mentors.

Mentoring: A personal account by Karen Hanson
"I met my mentee when she was in ninth grade. A good student and positive role model for her peers already, she didn't seem like the "type" of student who needed a mentor. In the times we talked together, it became apparent that she was painfully shy and had a difficult time talking with adults, who often scared or confused her. Through encouragement, little challenges and some assistance, she was able to overcome her shyness.

My mentee is now in her third year of college and is doing well. She was able to confidently seek funding for her school's art program from a major benefactor and her request was granted. With confidence, she successfully interviewed for a scholarship to the college of her dreams.

Did I do anything magical? No. I listened and encouraged her, and we took baby steps together. I didn't teach her public speaking. Rather, we learned skills and enhanced them together along with writing...and drawing...and laughing...and talking."

To learn more about becoming a mentor, please contact the Community Involvement Office at 904-390-2960.

Visit our Web site, and see what's going on at DCPS!

The next school board meeting is Monday, April 7th.

"School Matters," a panel discussion, is broadcast the fourth Sunday of each month on WJCT-TV and each Wednesday at 5 p.m. on Comcast Channel 29.

"REALSchool" airs the first Sunday of the month at 10 a.m. on WJCT-TV and every Monday at 9 p.m. on Comcast Channel 29.