Duval County Public Schools

Duval County Public Schools

Every school. Every classroom. Every student. Every day.
Location
1701 Prudential Drive, Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida, 32207
United States
District information
Established 1864 (1864)
Superintendent Dr. Nikolai Vitti
Schools 197[1]
Students and staff
Students 128,702 (November 20, 2015)[1]
Teachers 8,284[1]
Staff 11,876[1]
Other information
Language English or bilingual with Spanish
Website www.duvalschools.org

Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) is the public school district for Jacksonville and Duval County, Florida. As of 2015, the district had an enrollment of over 128,000 students, making it the 20th largest school district in the United States,[2] and the 6th largest school district in Florida. In 2015, it was home to three of the top 25 most challenging high schools in the United States:Darnell-Cookman middle high Stanton College Preparatory School and Paxon School for Advanced Studies.[3]

History

1860s to 1940s

The First Century

In the spring of 1864, J.M. Hanks opened the first free public school in the state, located in Jacksonville.[4] The school was later branded as the Stanton Normal Institute in 1868, with a student body of 400. Duval County paved the way for public education in Florida by establishing the first stand-alone high school in 1877, and the first large-scale public school transportation system in 1898.[4]

Leadership

Duval County School Board

The district's administrative offices are primarily located on the south bank of the St. Johns River in a six-story building at 1701 Prudential Drive. Duval County Public Schools is governed by the Duval County School Board, a body of seven elected officers, each board member representing a particular geographic area. School Board districts are somewhat analogous to City Council districts in that there are two council districts in each school board district. The current School Board members, in order of district number, are Cheryl Grymes, Scott Shine, Ashley Smith Juarez, Paula D. Wright, Dr. Constance S. Hall, Becki Couch and Jason Fischer. Board members are elected every four years with two-term limits, with Districts 4 through 7 elected during midterm election cycles (next in 2018) and Districts 1 through 3 elected during presidential cycles (next in 2016).[5]

Name District
Cheryl Grymes 1
Scott Shine 2
Ashley Smith Juarez

(Chairman)

 3
Paula D. Wright

(Vice-Chairman)

 4
Dr. Constance S. Hall 5
Becki Couch 6
Jason Fischer 7

Superintendent

The superintendent is an appointed position by the Duval County School Board. On September 25, 2012 the school board voted to hire Dr. Nikolai Vitti, the current Chief Academic Officer of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, to replace Ed Pratt-Dannals as superintendent.[6] Vitti's contract became effective on November 12, 2012, and he continues to serve as the Superintendent of Duval County Public Schools.[7]

Name Years
2012–present Nikolai Vitti
2007 - 2012 Ed Pratt-Dannals
2005 - 2007 Joseph Wise
1998 - 2005 John Fryer
1989 - 1997 Larry Zenke
1976 - 1989 Herb Sang
1974 - 1976 John Gunning
1969 - 1974 Cecil Hardesty
1957 - 1969 Ishmael "Ish" Brant
1953 - 1957 Iva T. Sprinkle
1941 - 1953 Daniel Boyd
1933 - 1941 R. C. Marshall
1928 - 1933 R. B. Rutherford
1924 - 1928 G. Elmer Wilbur

Strategic Plan - Adopted April 2013[8]

Vision

Every student is inspired and prepared for success in college or a career, and life.

Mission

To provide educational excellence in every school, in every classroom, for every student, every day.

Core Values

Excellence.

We expect the highest standards throughout our organization from the School Board and Superintendent to the student.

Integrity.

We foster positive relationships based on mutual respect, transparency, honesty, and the consistent demonstration of actions.

Innovation.

We create dynamic systems and processes that solve problems and overcome challenges.

Equity.

We promote an environment that ensures equal opportunity, honors differences, and values diversity.

Collaboration.

We are a community of individuals who share a collective responsibility to achieve our common mission.

Goals

Develop Great Educators and Leaders

Strategies

Provide teachers and students with the tools and resources necessary to meet the demands of the Common Core Standards and students’ individual needs.

Recruit, employ, and retain high quality, diverse teachers, instructional leaders, and staff.

Provide ongoing professional learning and support to develop all teachers, instructional leaders, and staff.

Engage Parents, Caregivers, & Community

Strategies

Establish and sustain a culture that is collaborative, transparent, and child-centric.

Create a welcoming, respectful, and responsive environment for all stakeholders that leads to open lines of communication.

Expand partnerships and ensure alignment between district strategic plan and community, government, non-profit, and business initiatives.

Ensure Effective, Equitable, & Efficient Use of Resources

Strategies

Ensure the use of district funds is transparent, strategic, and aligned.

Distribute district-wide programs and resources in an equitable manner.

Deploy information technology that supports the academic needs of all students, teachers, and staff.

Develop the Whole Child

Strategies

Facilitate and align effective academic, health, and social-emotional services for students based on needs.

Address the needs of all students with multiple opportunities for enrichment.

Encourage positive behavior, respect towards others, and ensure safe environments throughout the school district.

Schools

DCPS has 160 regular-attendance schools as of the 2007-08 school year: 103 elementary schools, 25 middle schools. 3 K-8 schools, 2 6-12 schools and 21 high schools. The district also has an adult education system with night classes at most high schools, three dedicated ESE schools, as well as a hospital/homebound program, 13 charter schools and three alternative education centers.

DCPS has used an attendance model of Kindergarten through Grade 5 for elementary schools, Grades 6-8 for middle school and Grades 9-12 for high school since 1991. Before then, Grade 6 was part of elementary school and Grade 9 was part of middle school (called Junior High in DCPS prior to 1988). As now required by Florida law, virtually all elementary schools have Pre-K programs.

The schools of DCPS are divided into four educational clusters plus “special schools,” which are managed by chief officers who report directly to the Deputy Superintendent. The four clusters include an elementary cluster, elementary turnaround cluster, secondary cluster and secondary turnaround cluster.

Charter Schools

Duval County also contains 34 charter schools.[9] These schools are located within the boundaries of Duval County, and operate under a state sanctioned contract with Duval County Public Schools. While publically funded, DCPS does not oversee the daily operations and governances of charter schools. Most are oriented to help students "at risk". These include students who have been unsuccessful in a traditional setting; have below average grades; have difficulty on tests; have been retained in one or more grade levels; or have problems with behavior.[10]

Magnet & School Choice

A total of 62 schools offer magnet programs. In addition to the required courses, these schools allow students to explore individual interests and develop talents in the arts, aviation, culinary skills, language, law & legal occupations, mathematics, public service, science and technology. Nearly 20,000 students participated during the 2009-2010 school year.[11]

School standings

Since 1998, Newsweek has published a list of high schools that challenge their students to excel by enrolling in advanced placement courses, participating in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program or Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE).[12] Duval County is home to four of the nation's 100 best high schools based on the Newsweek list. For 2010, Stanton College Preparatory School was 3rd, Paxon School for Advanced Studies was 8th, Douglas Anderson School of the Arts was 33rd and Mandarin High School was 97th.[13] The entire list included 1,623 schools, just 6% of public high schools in the United States. Three other Jacksonville schools were included on the current list: Duncan U. Fletcher High School was 79th in 2008,[14] but dropped to 291st; Sandalwood High School was 205th; and Englewood High School was 1080th.

Newsweek also publishes a "Catching Up" list of 33 disadvantaged schools nationwide that challenge their students to participate in Advanced Placement programs which offer better instruction and a stimulating curriculum designed to improve academic skills and prepare for college. Because fewer than 10% of those sitting for the exams actually pass, the schools are excluded from the Best High Schools list. For 2010, six of the top 11 schools and twelve of the top 22 were located in Jacksonville: [15]

1. Robert E. Lee
2. Baldwin (in Baldwin, Florida)
8. Wolfson
9. Terry Parker
10. A. Philip Randolph
11. Ribault
12. First Coast
15. Ed White
18. Peterson Academy of Technology
19. Raines
20. Forrest
22. Jackson

Florida Public K-12 School Rankings are based on data from the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) provided by Florida Department of Education. Based on FCAT Data, among the state's 72 school districts, Duval County rates as follows: High schools—51, Middle Schools—52, Elementary Schools—42.

In 2007, the district instituted the Educators of Change program to identify future teachers among professionals and other individuals who have achieved success outside of the education field.

On August 23, 2010, Atlantic Coast High School opened for the 2010-2011 school year. It was the first new public high school built in the county since 1990 and cost $78 million. The school was constructed primarily to relieve overcrowding at the two largest high schools in Duval County, Sandalwood and Mandarin.[16]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "About US" DCPS website
  2. ↑ US Department of Education, Digest of Education Statistics
  3. ↑ Mathews, Jay (2015-04-19). "America’s Most Challenging High Schools national top 25 list for 2015". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
  4. 1 2 https://www.jaxcf.org/file/2013-files/learn/publications/DCPS_TimelineOfMajorEvents.pdf
  5. ↑ "School Board / Contact Board Office". dcps.duvalschools.org. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
  6. ↑ Sanders, Topher: "Duval School Board votes for Nikolai Vitti to be next superintendent" Florida Times-Union, September 25, 2012
  7. ↑ Duval County Public Schools, November 12, 2012
  8. ↑ "Superintendent / Strategic Plan". dcps.duvalschools.org. Retrieved 2016-02-09.
  9. ↑ "Untitled Page". www.floridaschoolchoice.org. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
  10. ↑ "Frequently Asked Questions". www.fldoe.org. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
  11. ↑ "Magnet programs" Duval County Public Schools, School listings
  12. ↑ "America's Best High Schools: The FAQ" Newsweek Magazine, June 13, 2010
  13. ↑ Mathews, Jay: America's Best High Schools: The List Newsweek magazine, June 13, 2010. Retrieved April 28, 2011.
  14. ↑ Newsweek Magazine: The Top of the Class 2007 Newsweek, 2008
  15. ↑ Mathews, Jay: "America’s Best High Schools: The Catching-Up List" Newsweek, July 14, 2010
  16. ↑ Burmeister, Caren: “New boundaries, new school changes enrollment” Florida Times-Union, July 30, 2010

External links

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