Duval County Public Schools, School Board and Union sign Memorandum of Understanding
for Florida’s Race to the Top Application
Jacksonville, FL - Today, Duval County Public Schools, the Duval County School Board and Duval Teachers United signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and Addendum for Florida’s Race to the Top application. This allows the parties to begin discussions in the development of a plan to meet the federal guidelines.
Race to the Top is a competitive grant program to encourage and reward States that are implementing significant reforms in the four education areas: enhancing standards and assessments, improving the collection and use of data, increasing teacher effectiveness and achieving equity in teacher distribution, and turnaround schools.
“The actions required in the Race to the Top effort are crucial to our mission, and we have already implemented many of the ideas within this grant longer than any other district in the state of Florida,” said Duval County Public Schools Superintendent Ed Pratt-Dannals. “I commend the Commissioner of Education for demonstrating a willingness to work with the district on a locally appropriate plan to implement the Race to the Top requirements.”
The District included an addendum that outlined the understanding from a meeting with Florida Commissioner of Education, Eric Smith earlier this month. The addendum will be included with the MOU sent to the state, and includes a preliminary scope of work.
“I think the most important part of this is that we respect everyone’s support and role, especially the teachers,” said Board Chair Brenda Priestly Jackson. “The addendum is imperative, as it captures all of our concerns, most importantly the academic programs and the ability to sustain those programs in order to continue to move students.
Duval County Public Schools is signing a separate MOU with the Union which outlines that the agreements made in the grant will only last for the lifetime of the grant. The Board also agreed to not impose any requirements of Race to the Top on the bargaining unit.
“We are excited with caution,” said Duval Teachers United President Terrie Brady. “This will open the door for additional opportunities for our county, and we will continue to work collaboratively to craft a plan that has the highest impact on student achievement and the teaching profession.”
Duval County Public Schools operates 166 schools and serves approximately 123,000 students. The school district is committed to providing high quality educational opportunities that will inspire all students to acquire and use the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in a global economy, and culturally diverse world.
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