With state test scores out, Duval County students are hovering around the state average in many areas. The Florida Department of Education has released Florida Standards Assessment and End of Course Exam data for the 2017-18 school year.
With the state requiring the Duval County School district to reassign nearly 400 students before the fall, district officials provided an update on their efforts this week.
Next school year the Duval County School District could employ double the current number of therapists. That’s part of its plan to strengthen mental health services for students under the state’s school safety bill passed after February’s Parkland shooting.
The Duval County School Board heard from school police Chief Micheal Edwards Tuesday, who is heading up the hiring of 105 school safety assistants to patrol the district’s elementary schools.
Contracts for two of Duval’s so-called alternative charter schools, Lone Star and Biscayne high schools, are up for renewal this week. The district is recommending their renewal despite having graduation rates far below the district average.
The Duval County School Board approved a contract Thursday morning with incoming superintendent Diana Greene, who’s coming to the district from Manatee County south of Tampa.
A half-dozen visitors from Central and South American countries are in Jacksonville this week to learn about how the city handles human rights issues. It’s the group’s final stop across five U.S. cities.
In 2016, then-Duval Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said the district needed to expand student mental health services and advocate for more mental health funding. Students had anonymously self-reported more depression and suicide-related behaviors compared to their peers across the state.
The Duval County School Board unanimously voted for Florida’s Manatee County Superintendent Diana Greene as its choice for superintendent late Friday afternoon.
Duval superintendent finalist Erick Pruitt says although he’s the only finalist who isn’t a sitting superintendent, he has the right experience in large, urban districts to lead Duval.
The Florida State Board of Education approved tougher requirements for students who use alternative tests to meet graduation requirements at its meeting Wednesday.
Duval Superintendent finalist Diana Greene said already being a Florida superintendent, she’d have a minimal learning curve coming to Duval where she would work to make the district financially solvent and eliminate D and F school grades.
Duval Superintendent finalist Michael Dunsmore says he’d be a coach to the Duval County school district, surrounding himself with smart people to help fix what’s broken and stabilize what’s working.
During a short meeting Monday evening, board members eliminated two superintendent contenders bringing the list of five semi-finalists down to three finalists.
