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 Safety
Reinforcement is Critical
As you are well aware, the safety of our students is one of our highest priorities. In light of recent tragic events in Clay County, Duval County Public Schools and parents are legitimately concerned about the safety of the children in our community.
It is important that parents and the district work together to reinforce with students the following safety tips and procedures:
- Be aware of your surroundings when walking to/from school or your bus stop. Do not talk to strangers, and if a stranger approaches you, get away from him/her as quickly as possible. Notify a parent/guardian/teacher or other trusted adult immediately if a stranger attempts to approach you or behaves in an inappropriate manner.
- Never walk alone. Walk in groups with other students and, if possible, with an adult. If possible, organize a group of neighborhood children and their parents to walk with to school or the bus stop. During the course of your walk, do not stray from this group.
- Make sure to obey traffic and pedestrian signals, and choose a route that has the most support for walkers and bicycle riders (with appropriate traffic signals, marked crosswalks, school crossing signs, school crossing zone speed limits or signs, group crossing areas, school crossing guard, and/or law enforcement officer support).
Please continue to emphasize these safety tips with your students. The responsibility for the transportation of students to and from our schools has to be shared between the students, parent/guardians and the school district. To truly keep our children safe, we must all work together as partners.
Thank you.
Ed Pratt-Dannals
Superintendent
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Through the use of Internet and telephone technology, schools now have the ability to communicate with parents/guardians on a regular basis like never before.
Recent studies have shown that as many as 60% of the homes in the United States have access to the Internet, and many school districts have taken advantage of that number through the use of web pages, newsgroups and other Internet technologies.
For most school districts, however, this isn’t enough. Through the use of telephone tools, our district is hoping to meet the needs of the remaining 40% who do not have access to the Internet.
What are some ways Duval County Public Schools is communicating with parents/guardians?
- ParentLink is a web and telephone based notification service that is capable of delivering messages via telephone to our students, parents and staff in a participating district. Types of messages that can be sent include absence notifications, event reminders, weather emergencies and closures, Superintendent messages and other important information.
In order to ensure you receive these messages, please make sure your child's school has your most updated contact information, including phone numbers and e-mail addresses.
- Oncourse is a new Web site tool and portal for parents to see individual student information, including grades, attendance, a school calendar and more. The online Gradebook section allows parents and students instant access to their grades, and will save teachers, faculty and staff time that is currently utilized manually processing grades. This also enables teachers and administrators to collaborate and effectively communicate with parents on their student's performance.
To access this tool, parents will need to register for a login and password at their child's school.
Parents can access the portal from any computer, and some schools are considering adding kiosks for parents who don’t have easy access to computers.
- DCPS eNews is the district's monthly electronic newsletter containing important school and district news. Sign up for free at
www.duvalschools.org, and get connected to the latest school news and information.
- Facebook & Twitter are social mediums that are becoming increasingly popular with school districts to communicate to their parents and community. Join us on
Facebook, and follow DCPS on Twitter. Both pages are updated regularly with news, emergency messages and information about current events.
As always, the district's Web site remains a wonderful source for district and school-wide news, events and other important information.
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 Laughter and smiles, along with sobs and tears filled the gymnasium of Fletcher High School as more than 200 students, teachers, administrators and community members participated in Challenge Day, and took steps to break down the social and cultural barriers they face every day.
"Imagine a school where every child and faculty member feels safe, loved and celebrated," is one of the mottos proclaimed by the Challenge Day program. During the two-day event at Fletcher, facilitators Ray Ray Chavira and Jennifer Wilson challenged the students and adults to come together and create the lives and worlds of their dreams.
"Challenge Day is a day that allows people to be who they really are – they don't have to put up this fake persona of who they think they should be to be liked. Everyone gets to come together and be the amazing human beings they were born to be," said Wilson.
Challenge Day has been featured in The Washington Post, The Oprah Winfrey Show and in other media outlets, but it was from watching Oprah years ago that Fletcher American Sign Language teacher Julie Durden learned about the program.
After receiving the support of her principal, Dane Gilbert, Durden and the school got to work planning and raising the funds to bring Challenge Day to Fletcher.
 "For any high school, hosting a Challenge Day is very important because it helps to address the various issues students deal with every single day," said Principal Gilbert. "If we can help students deal with these issues, we can create a school environment that is more productive where students can learn better."
Gilbert and his staff selected students from all walks of life, representing a good cross section of Fletcher High School, including positive leaders, negative leaders, bullies and victims, to participate in the program. The students and adults took part in a day's worth of activities and discussions meant to make them more aware of their feelings and what they are going through, as well as open their eyes to what those around them are experiencing.
After completion of the two-day program, Fletcher will create a 'Be the Change Team' and will receive tools and curricula to sustain the momentum and transformational spirit of Challenge Day.
"Challenge Day is not ending today," said Principal Gilbert. "It is my hope that the program will help correct students' misconceptions about people and their classmates, and they will stop judging people based on how they dress or who they hang around with. We are here to help them to become open minded and build trust with each other, as well as with the adults they shared this experience with."
There's more to this story...visit our
Web site to learn more about Challenge Day at Fletcher High.
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 Five Duval County Public Schools' students – three from Henry F. Kite, one from Bartram Springs and one from Joseph Finegan elementary schools – have been selected for the Florida Elementary Music Educators Association (FEMEA) All-State Elementary Chorus, representing district five.
Each year, thousands of students audition via recorded tape to be a part of the All-State Elementary Chorus, a highly select group of choral students from Florida's elementary schools who are brought together for the purposes of rehearsing and performing selected music with guest conductors. This year, Henry Leck, the director of the Indianapolis Children's Choir, will be conducting the FEMEA All-State Elementary Chorus in Tampa on January 8.
The students selected, as well as their music teachers, are: Brejuana Barreras,
Ashley Edwards and Jewell Lee from Henry F. Kite, directed by Dr. Alec Patrick
Vaughan; Kaya Francis from Bartram Springs, directed by Anne Dix; and Rhys Weller from Joseph Finegan, directed by Mary Mickle.
Henry F. Kite Principal Deidra Johnson was overjoyed when she received the news that three of her students had been selected for this prestigious choral group.
"It is an honor to have not one, but three of our students named to the FEMEA All-State Elementary Chorus," said Johnson. "I applaud our students and our music teacher, Dr. Vaughan, for this outstanding achievement."
Principal Johnson also thanked one of her school's business partners, New Life Church (Providence School), for their support of paying the hotel and registration fees for the Kite students to attend the concert.
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 Members of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) stopped by Highlands Middle School to launch the fourth WWE WrestleMania Reading Challenge. The Challenge is a reading incentive program that provides prizes from WWE as a reward.
WWE Superstars The Miz, Kofi Kingston and the Bella Twins appeared at the school and spoke to students about the importance of reading, and how it is important for their future.
To be eligible for prizes through the WWE, students must read 10 books that are not part of a required reading list for class, and should do so in their free time. The grand prize is a trip to WrestleMania 26 in Phoenix in March 2010.
"The WWE stars were an inspiration to our students by encouraging each of them to read," said Dr. Catherine Barnes, principal of Highlands Middle. "Reading is the most essential component to a good education, and is the foundation on which other academic skills are built."
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 Author and wildlife photographer Patsy Smith Roberts recently stopped by Ortega Elementary to share her stories and photos from Africa.
Smith Roberts has visited Africa more than 20 times since 1991. She has traveled to Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Zambia and her favorite, Botswana. While in Africa, she photographs real animals that she uses as characters in her books.
Students asked Smith Roberts many questions, including what it felt like to be in Africa.
"When I was your age, I never thought I would visit Africa and write stories. I grew up on a tobacco farm in south Georgia," said Smith Roberts. "I still don't understand exactly how I got off the farm and to Africa, but it shows you that anything is possible."
 Since 2001, Smith Roberts has published four books: Rory, The Adventures of a Lion Cub; Kabelo, The Adventures of a Giraffe; Willis the Warthog; and Nigel.
"It is important for children to read because stories will take them anywhere in the world. When they read and enjoy it, they are learning and may not even realize it," she said. "I visit schools because children need the opportunity to meet real authors and know that they can write stories, too."
For more information about Patsy Smith Roberts' trip to Ortega Elementary, read the
entire story and check out pictures on the
DCPS' flickr Photostream.
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Nathan Wray, an eighth-grade student at Mayport Middle, was selected from more than 300 entries as a 2009 winner for the Florida Council of Teachers of English (FCTE) Writing Award. Wray was one of 15 in the state, and the only student from Northeast Florida, selected.
For the award, Wray submitted Apartheid in South Africa, a research paper on apartheid and a first-person letter in which he placed himself in 1991 South Africa and wrote a letter to President de Klerk. In the letter, Wray takes on the persona of a Jacksonville business man who owns "a small summer apartment in Johannesburg." He encourages President de Klerk to collaborate with such prominent men as Mr. Oliver Tambo and Mr. Nelson Mandela to solve the problem of apartheid.
Wray was recommended by his Language Arts teacher, Linda Bishop, who applauded Nathan's ability, at 12 years old, to imagine South Africa in 1991 and write about what the country needed at the time. Bishop has recommended her students for the FCTE award in the past; this is the fifth time in 10 years that she has had a state winner.
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This month, Duval County Public Schools, along with Clay County District Schools and the St. Johns County School District, will join forces to formally launch Be There, a national campaign designed to inspire parents/guardians to become involved in their children's lives — and by extension their education.
Parent Thought for the Month
Learning begins at home. Read to your child and become your child's favorite teacher.
Be There.
Stay tuned for more information about the Be There campaign.
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DCPS and Governor Crist recently signed proclamations designating November 2009 as Florida Parent/Guardian Involvement in Education Month.
This public statement recognizes that family involvement in a child's learning is critical to his/her success from preschool through college.
It also declares that learning should take place not just in the classroom, but at home where family plays an active role.
For more information about how DCPS is supporting Parent/Guardian Involvement Month, visit our Web site.
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November
4 |
Student Early Release Day |
11 |
Veteran's Day (schools and district offices closed) |
17 |
Duval County Council of PTAs/PTSAs Meeting - DCPS Administration Building, Cline Auditorium, 10 a.m. |
18 |
Student Early Release Day |
23 |
District Advisory Council
(DAC) Meeting - DCPS Administration Building, 6th Floor Conference Room, 6 p.m. |
25 |
Weather Day (schools closed) |
26-27 |
Thanksgiving Holiday
(schools and district offices closed)
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December
7 |
School Board Meeting - DCPS Administration Building, Cline Auditorium, 6 p.m. |
9 |
Student Early Release Day |
17-22 |
Weather Days (schools closed) |
23 |
Winter Break (schools closed) |
24-25 |
Winter Holiday (schools and district offices closed) |
28-Jan. 1 |
Winter Break (schools and district offices closed) |
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At its monthly meeting on Nov. 3, the Duval County School Board and Superintendent Pratt-Dannals recognized a student, staff and community/business partners for their outstanding accomplishments and contributions to Duval County Public Schools.
For a list of everyone recognized, please review the news release.
The next School Board meeting is Monday, Dec. 7, at 6 p.m. All are welcome.
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DCPS has access to many newsletters containing important information for parents/guardians and students.
Please download any of the following newsletters that interest you.
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Duval County Public Schools
1701 Prudential Drive
Jacksonville, FL 32207
www.duvalschools.org
Superintendent
Ed Pratt-Dannals
School Board Members
Frequently Called Numbers
Main Line
904-390-2000
Transportation
904-858-6200
Human Resources
904-390-2840
School Board Office
904-390-2293
Community & Family
Engagement
904-390-2960
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News Update
Looking for the latest school and district news? Read our most recent news releases, visit our
Spotlight on Education section or tune in to dcpsTV for a detailed look into what's going on at DCPS.
Speakers Bureau Available
DCPS would love to speak to your group to discuss our financial resources, teacher effectiveness, and the academic programs and learning opportunities we provide.
Contact Myra Simmons at 904-390-2993 to request a knowledgeable speaker to address your organization or association. You may also download a Speaker's Request Form.
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