The hard facts about public education in Jacksonville, plans in place to meet the challenges, and the effects of present and future education funding shortages were detailed Feb. 7, 2008, when The Community Foundation in Jacksonville's Forum On Quality Education and the Learning To Finish Leadership Council met.
About 50 community, government and education leaders, philanthropists and others heard reports by three top officials. The joint meeting of public education activists is the latest step in the Community Foundation's 10-year commitment to public education. Two years into this effort, the initiative aims to eliminate the achievement gap, reduce the high school dropout rate and increase the high school graduation rate in Duval County.
Cindy Edelman, who along with James Van Vleck has chaired the Forum since its inception, set the tone, "We're here to learn about progress being made in issues that have brought us together." She also announced that the Community Foundation trustees approved $300,000 to funding the forum's work -- $100,000 more than originally committed.
"This allows us to go deeper in our research and sharpen our ability to make recommendations for change," Edelman said. She noted that the group expects to work this year with Robert Balfanz, a Johns Hopkins University public education research expert, to review Duval County data and identify the early in-school indicators of student disengagement. The research should provide school officials, parents and others information about likely points of early intervention to prevent students from dropping out. The forum also hopes to begin work with Jobs For The Future and may invest in a ninth-grade dropout prevention pilot.
Judge Brian Davis, a forum participant since its beginning, offered details of a study led by the Learning To Finish Leadership Council. It is an analysis of student enrollment and disengagement between 2003-06 at Englewood, Forrest and Terry Parker high schools. He reviewed a briefing document that found:
- Class sizes shrink dramatically between 9th and 12th grade with the greatest loss of students between 9th and 10th grade;
- Male students tend to drop out more frequently than female students and in lower grades;
- African American students do not drop out at a higher rate than white or Hispanic students; and
- More drop-outs actually "slip away" from schools through chronic absenteeism than making a conscious decision to end enrollment.
Duval County Public Schools Superintendent Ed Pratt-Dannals, who became the school district's leader in October, acknowledged that more improvement is necessary than modest improvements in graduation and drop-out rates this year. He said changes in tests and the lack of national tracking may not accurately reflect achievement made by Duval students. For example, former DCPS students who enroll in G.E.D. programs may not be tracked and included in graduation rate calculations.
Pratt-Dannals reported that a strategic plan under development now will guide work in the next year and will be focused on six goals:
- Increase academic achievement for all students;
- Significantly increase the graduation rate;
- Employ the best teachers and principals;
- Establish safe and respectful schools;
- Provide family and community support; and
- Deliver high-quality district support for schools.
"We want to make our plans systemic and comprehensible, show you where we are going, how we are going to get there, how we will measure progress and how you can help," Pratt-Dannals said.
The Superintendent said he hopes the Duval County system will be a model for the state by raising the mandatory school age to 18. "If we can keep our ninth-graders until the 11th grade, we believe we'll see a rise in our graduation rate," he said. Currently students can disenroll at age 16.
But funding - reductions and lack of - remains a serious concern for Duval County school officials. The statewide economic slowdown forced a reduction in expected state funding this fall and an additional $6 million in further funding losses is expected this year. The impact of the passage of Amendment 1 will be $6 million in the 2008-09 year and $74 million over five years. "Our revenues are decreasing but our costs are increasing," Pratt-Dannals said. "What I am losing sleep over is finding the necessary funding to do what we know we have to do."
Duval County School Board member Nancy Broner assured attendees that the relationship between the elected officials and the new superintendent is "very healthy. We have found our common ground as a board-superintendent team." She and Edelman urged those present to lobby legislators to fully fund public education in Jacksonville.
Learning To Finish is an initiative led by the Community Foundation, a national model designed to engage entire communities in the fight to reduce high school dropout rates. Learning to Finish focuses on the transition from middle to high school, a critical time period in which students begin to show declines in academic performance.
The Community Foundation is the sponsoring organization to lead this five-year initiative at Terry Parker, Nathan B. Forrest and Englewood high schools and their feeder middle schools Jefferson Davis, J.E.B. Stuart, Landon, Southside, Arlington and Ft. Caroline. The program is one of only two in the nation funded by the Pew Partnership For Civic Change. It also is supported by the United Way of Northeast Florida.
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