2007 Public Education Reform

8/2/2019 2007 Public Education Reform

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I I I IJCCIitizens bU ilding .: a b ette r c ommun ity/tIfIIII'-_ ......

PUBLIC EDUCATION REFORM ,PHASE TWO :ELIM INATING THE ACH IEVEMENT GAP

Submitted to the lCCI Board of DirectorsApril/ 2007

.. s t F I .r ld.

JACKSONVILLE COMMUNITY COUNCIL INC2434 Atlantic Boulevard Jacksonville, FlorIda 32207 904-396-3052 Fax: 904-398-1469

www.jcci,org


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The Public Education Reform Phase ITstudy, chaired by Bill Mason, was released to thecommunity inthe summer of 2004. The question that was posed for the study was howcan the community and Duval County Public Schools eliminate the gap in individualstudent achievement by ensuring all students achieve at the highest levels possible?"The study's focus was determining why individual students fall behind in terms ofachievement, be they rich, poor, white, black, or any ethnicity or national origin.Highlighted as major findings at that time were the following:

The lack of an ongoing dialogue inJacksonville on important public educationIssues. Childcare facilities do not adequately prepare all children for kindergarten. Teachers are not compensated adequately for accepting challenging situations andfor bringing low performing students up to grade level. Too many middle and high school students fail the FeAT test and do not receive

extra help.The Public Education II Task Force, chaired by Dr. Christine Arab, began meeting inFebruary 2005 to develop and execute a strategy for implementation of the 14recommendations produced by the study committee. The 31-member Task Force metnumerous times over a two-year period, and individual meetings were conducted withstakeholders, including nearly all of those identified in the recommendations and manywho were not.This final implementation report presents an overall positive picture of success, witheight of the 14 recommendations being implemented, four partially implemented, andonly two not implemented at all. While some of the outcomes reported were not aa direct result of this Task Force's advocacy efforts, successes such as the developmentof a community-wide dialogue involving major stakeholders occurred, at least in part,because of the public attention the Public Education II study brought to bear.The recommendations were designed to initiate and expand programs and policies with .the ultimate intent of eliminating the achievement gap. While most of the policies andprograms envisioned in the recommendations have been implemented, the anticipatedoutcomes have not yet occurred.The Task Force emphasizes that, while its work has arguably helped pave the way forfuture progress in eliminating the achievement gap, ultimate success will be measured by


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statistical progress that has been slow to appear thus far. The sobering graduation rateslippage recently announced in Duval County Public Schools from 2005 to 2006 is astern reminder that our work is only beginning. Clearly, bringing about fundamentalchange in individual student achievement is a long-term proposition, and continueddiligence in ensuring a quality education for all will be the ultimate legacy of this study.

1. The Alliance for World Class Education should convene an action groupincluding but not limited to leadership, staff and volunteers from theJacksonville Regional Chamber oj Commerce, the Duval County HealtltDepartment, DCPS, Duval Teachers United, the First Coast Media Council,The Community Foundation, the Jacksonville Children's Commission, theJaguars Foundation, the Jesse Ball duPont Fund, United Way oj NortheastFlorida, local colleges and universities, and faith-based agencies. The group'spurpose will be to initiate and maintain a city-wide dialogue on educationissues. The group should:

secure a locally-recognized facilitator to assist the group inimplementing a meaningful two-way dialogue among communityleaders and school system leaders,'

engage parents and concerned citizens within a cluster of schools witltall eye Oil strengthening existing processes for community involvementin schools;

lise the El Paso Collaborative for Academic Excellence as a model forcreating a long-term, data-driven, solution-oriented dialogue withoutblame and defensiveness,' and

develop partnerships with print and electronic media to promote andsustain community efforts to improve students' academic performance.

Results: A significant community-wide dialogue has emerged through theleadership of The Community Foundation with the SUPP()rtand full engagementof the Alliance for World Class Education. The dialogue has been reinforced bysuch organizations as the School Board, Superintendent's Office, Chamber ofCommerce, United Way ofNE Florida, and Blueprint for Prosperity, all of whichare deeply committed to the goal of eliminating the achievement gap. Clearly,community awareness of the issue has been heightened as a result of these efforts,to the extent that the term "achievement gap," virtually unknown to the generalpublic when this study began, has become a commonly recognized phrase.The Community Foundation has launched an expansive, ten-year initiative calledQuality Education for All to support continued improvement of studentperformance throughout Duval County Public Schools, with particular attentionto narrowing the achievement gap between majority and minority students, andpoor and non-poor students.


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The goal is to achieve marked improvement in test scores, graduation rates, drop-out rates and college readiness over a lO-year period. A companion goal is togrow citizen demand for quality public education, and make more parentsinclined to expect higher education for their children.The Foundation's initiative builds on previous community efforts focused onpublic education, but it differs in several key ways. The initiative uses data andcommunity input to develop strategies for change. Itworks with the schoolsystem and the public, promoting more public involvement in education; and itserves as an engine for change, implementing plans, monitoring progress,reporting back to the community and serving as a resource for information andideas.The Community Foundation is also serving as the sponsoring organization for thenew five-year Pew Partnership for Civic Change's Learning to Finish campaign.One of only two pilot communities in the country selected for this program,Jacksonville will work with the Pew Partnership for Civic Change in identifyingways of engaging the community in the challenge to improve graduation ratesthroughout the area. This initiative, with an estimated cost of$100,000 per year,will focus on the critical transition time from middle to high school. Nine DCPSschools will participate in the campaign.Other efforts that have helped raise awareness and dialogue include: a)consistent efforts by the School Board and Superintendent Wise to include TaskForce members in community action planning; b) the tangible commitment topublic education by Mayor Peyton through his Early Literacy Partnershipprogram; c) the comprehensive review of Duval County Public Schools conductedin 2006 by the Community Assistance and Training Center (CTAC) and its reportto stakeholders; d) the priority placed on education issues by 2007 Chamber ofCommerce Chairman Steve Wallace; and e) the inclusion of an educationplatform in the Blueprint for Prosperity.The Superintendent and School Board established the DCPS Office ofCommunity Engagement which is working with The Community Foundation,United Way and Jacksonville Children's Commission to complete an inventory ofall agencies, public and private, that affect students. The goal is to map whatresources are available to what students and eventually, the quality of thoseresources.The EI Paso Collaborative, an educational reform model created in 1991, hasshown significant progress in reducing the achievement gap and increasinggraduation rates among the students of the 11 independent school districts in thegreater E1Paso area. The EI Paso Collaborative was proposed by the PublicEducation II Study Committee as one model for building a long-term solution-oriented dialogue. While elements of the EI Paso model could help to align thework of the many community partners who are devoted to eliminating the


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achievement gap, it specifically exists to provide grant dollars and other externalfunding to the school districts' educational efforts.As described above, most of the elements of this recommendation are now inplace in Jacksonville. What is lacking at this point is a formal structure forproviding on-going community dialogue. The Task Force therefore notes theimportance of the primary stakeholders continuing to emphasize the achievementgap in their long-range strategies and action plans.

2. The Mayor, ill coordination with the Jacksonville City Council and the DuvalDelegation, sitould leveragestate and local resources to illcreasefunding forearly learning and tofully fund qualitypre-K education. Locally, the Mayor'sefforts should identify additionalfunding sources to support the long-term liseof research-based early literacy curricula ill childcare centers.Results: Mayor Peyton has made early literacy one of the cornerstone prioritiesof his administration. His program, Jacksonville Early Literacy Partnership,which began in 2004, involves a city-wide collaboration of practitioners,researchers, and stakeholders who hold a common vision for high-quality schoolreadiness, education, and literacy for Jacksonville. He continues to place a highpriority on funding for early literacy efforts.The Jacksonville Early Literacy Partnership (JELP) includes 13 organizationsdedicated to improving pre-K learning. In addition to the Early LearningCoalition, other members include City of Jacksonville; Duval County PublicSchools; Episcopal Children's Services; FCCJ; Jacksonville Children'sCommission; Nemours Children's Clinic; The Community Foundation;Jacksonville Public Library; Jacksonville Urban League Head Start Program;United Way of Northeast Florida; UNF; and the Florida Institute of Education.The program has four primary goals, as follows:

make literacy and reading core Jacksonville values. enhance the quality of school readiness programs. create neighborhood early literacy/demonstration zones. measure and share results.

The Mayor's Book Club programs, Rally Jacksonville and Baby RallyJacksonville, are tangible and highly visible parts of the early literacy program,which have involved thousands of youngsters in their first three years.Another component of the program is the Don Brewer Early Learning Center and


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Professional Development Center that has developed a comprehensive, innovativepre-K curriculum being applied at area facilities. In2005, a single pilot programwas initiated through the Don Brewer Center, designed to expand outreach toparents and family members by showing them how to read to their children.Since that time, six other facilities have been opened with the additional goals ofimproving movement of children from day care centers to kindergarten,addressing health issues by coordinating neighborhood health centers with childcare centers, etc.

3. The Early Learning Coalition. should: develop workshops and activities that enhance parents' understanding

of early learning practices, based Oil strategies used by the Jacksonville.Urban League's Head Start Program, and offer the workshops atchlldcare facilities, schools, and other locations;

provide professional development ill early learning curricula so that allchildren attending licensed chlldcare facilities are exposed to earlyliteracy curricula, sucli as ELLM or Links to Literacy; and

develop a system for rating and monitoring childcare services similar tothe STARS for KIDS NOW program ill Kentucky.

Results: A "Five Star Quality Rating System" to measure the effectiveness ofearly learning centers in Duval County is now in its third "pilot" year, havinggrown from 10 facilities in2005, to 89 in 2006, to nearly 100 this year. The long-term goal of the QRS system is to improve overall performance of child carefacilities and to provide parents with detailed information on the quality of thechild care system. While earning accreditation is not a specified goal of the QRSprogram, facilities that have already earned accreditation do earn two extra pointstoward their QRS point total, and those in the process of requesting accreditationearn one extra point. Of the 89 facilities participating in 2006, 29 are in theprocess or have already achieved accreditation.Itwas envisioned that the pilot program would end last year, but with the State ofFlorida now considering creation of its own QRS, the Early Learning Coalitiondecided not to end the pilot program until the status of the proposed state programis determined.In the most recent evaluations in September, 2006, a total of 59 of the 89 pilotfacilities improved their quality ratings in at least five of tile eight categoriesmeasured over a one-year period. Training and procedural manuals have alsobeen developed to help facilities improve their overall performance. EpiscopalChildren's Services and the Jacksonville Children's Commission are partners in


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The Jacksonville Early Literacy Partnership, and they each serve half of the pilotQRS sites in providing a coaching model.With regard to activities to enhance parents' awareness of early learning practices,the Early Learning Coalition holds workshops and parent information sessions ateach of the QRS pilot facilities, and the Coalition maintains a child care resourceand referral service for parents. Inaddition, a significant public awarenesscampaign is planned once the QRS program's pilot period ends and the programis made available to all facilities.A constitutional amendment passed by Florida's voters in2002 required that avoluntary pre-kindergarten program for all four-year-olds be in place by fall 2005.The free program is designed to prepare four-year-olds for kindergarten and tobuild the foundations for education success. The program is voluntary forchildren and providers.The Early Learning Coalition of Duval, Inc. is administering Florida's voluntarypre-K program inDuval County. Episcopal Children's Services oversees theprogram inNassau, Clay, Baker and St. Johns Counties. Enrollment in the DuvalCounty Voluntary Pre-K program increased from 5,921 inOctober, 2005, to6,547 a year later, a 10.6% increase.As of October, 2005, 42% of Florida's four-year-olds participated in the programcompared to 17% in similar programs nationwide. InDuval County, nearly 50%were participating. While this figure is encouraging inDuval County, it should berecognized that it does not address how many (or few) of the 50% are childrenfrom poor families who are often the hardest to reach. The Task Forceencourages the Early Learning Coalition to aggressively seek ways to move wellbeyond the 50% figure.While the voluntary pre-K program is operational, it is generally agreed thatadditional funding would permit quality improvements, including requiring higherteacher credentials.A "curricula committee" monitors VPK sites for the Early Learning Coalition toassure that they meet or exceed VPK standards. Participation inthe voluntarypre-K program requires that facilities have approved early literacy curricula inplace.


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4. Duval County Public Schools, in collaboration with the Duval County Councilof PTA's, should convene appropriate agencies to increase the number ofschools participating in the 5Star Award program and recommendenhancements of criteria to the Florida Department of Education.Results: The Five Star School Award is presented annually by the FloridaDepartment of Education to those schools that have shown evidence of exemplarycommunity involvement. Inorder to earn Five Star school recognition, a schoolmust show extensive documentation that it has achieved 100% of the establishedcriteria in the categories of business partnerships, family involvement,volunteerism, student community service, and school advisory councils.InDuval County Public Schools, 13 schools were presented the Five Star Awardin 2005-06, but that number was down from 20 schools in 2004-05, and 19schools in 2003-04.In seeking to understand the drop-off, the Task Force learned that working towardFive Star status requires more of a time commitment than many schools arewilling to make. A significant amount of paperwork must be maintained on amonthly basis, and a threshold level of PTA membership is required meaning thatmany challenged schools are eliminated. In addition, with annual turnover inprincipals (40 last year inthe DCPS system), learning Five Star Award criteriaand actively working toward attainment may not be at the top of their priority listswhen they have many other things requiring their attention.So, while earning Five Star Award status may represent positive recognition forthose schools willing to do the considerable work to apply for consideration, thereality is that many schools have other priorities and simply are not willing toinvest the time and energy.

5. The Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce should encouragebusinesses to allow parents release time for school-related activities.Results: The Task Force conducted a survey of25 companies that wereidentified in a May 5,2006, Times-Union article as Jacksonville's "Top FamilyFriendly Companies" to identify best practices in company policies. The resultsof the survey have been provided to Chamber President Dr. Steven R. Wa1lace.Dr. Wallace has reviewed the results and will support action within the Chamberto showcase businesses that encourage and support their employees' engagementin school-related activities.


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6. Duval County School Board and Duval Teachers United should adopt contractprovisions in the 2005-06 collective bargaining agreement so that all schoolscompensate teachers and principals who take Oil the most challenging jobs andsucceed ill them.Results: In2006, under the terms of its incentive pay plan, DCPS provided 740teachers with performance pay bonuses equal to 5% of their salaries. Thetotalamount awarded was approximately $2 million, and while more than 100 otherteachers qualified, lack of additional funding prevented them from receiving thebonus. This incentive program, approved by the School Board and DuvalTeachers United, was the result of several years of collaborative discussionsbetween the two groups regarding the best way to reward high-performingteachers.While not regarded as a perfect plan, particularly because of its limited funding,the DCPS compensation program was viewed as one of the model programs in thestate, and achieved the goal of rewarding teachers based on a variety of factors. Itwas a program with which both school officials and teachers were generallycomfortable.In recent months, the School Board and teachers were asked to consider a newstate incentive pay program called STAR (Special Teachers Are Rewarded),which would provide $7 million to DCPS teachers ifimplemented beginning in2007-08. The STAR plan was not viewed positively by local school officials orteachers primarily because it relies too much on FCAT scores to determine ateacher's performance, unfairly limits the number of teachers who can receivebonuses, and fosters competition among teachers which can threaten teamwork inschools. Once STAR was introduced, the state deemed the DCPS program"noncompliant" because its evaluation procedure was not primarily based onstudent learning gains.InFebruary 2007. Duval Teachers United failed to ratify the STAR program by athree to one margin, and the School Board subsequently rejected STAR as well.An eventual confrontation with the state loomed since it requires local schooldistricts to offer performance pay plans but deemed the old DCPS plannoncompliant.It is encouraging that the School Board and teachers union have workedcooperatively on a program that both can willingly accept, but, until very recently,it appeared that an impasse with the state could jeopardize DCPS teachers'participation in any incentive pay plan.


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Fortunately, as this report was being finalized, Governor Crist bad just signed intolaw a program passed by the State Legislature on March 23,2007, to replace thecontroversial STAR program. The new Merit Award Program provides localschool boards more flexibility to establish their own incentive pay programs,which may rely less on FCAT scores to determine teacher eligibility. The SchoolBoard and Duval County Teachers United are expected to negotiate a merit payplan similar to the one agreed upon previously. The Task Force will continue tomonitor the teacher performance pay issue as it develops further.Results have been more favorable for DCPS principals, who are now participatingin an incentive-pay program introduced last year. It rewards top-performingprincipals based on several criteria, including student performance gains.Development of the principals' incentive program is a result of extensive workconducted over a one-year period by a committee of the Alliance for World ClassEducation, formed at the request offormer Superintendent John Fryer.

7. The Alliance for World Class Education should leverage incentives from thecommunity to significantly reward teachers who narrow the achievement gap.Results: Since the release of the Public Education II study in the summer of2004, the Alliance for World Class Education has evolved away from a fund-raising organization to more of a technical assistance role. As a result, theAlliance, as presently structured, is no longer a logical organization to serve thepurpose noted inRecommendation 7.In exploring whether other entities might be more appropriate, the Task Forceconcluded that it would be nearly impossible for any fund-raising group todevelop enough resources to provide meaningful incentives for the universe ofteachers in the DCPS system. Itwould take millions of dollars in commitments tomake any measurable headway. The Task Force therefore concluded that theissue of teacher incentive pay be left to the scbool system.

8. DCPS should ensure safe and secure schools. The school system should:e identify students who require a discipline contract, signed by students

and parents or guardians; and adopt a tough policy OIL classroom behavior that supports teachers.


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Results: Goal 2 of Superintendent Wise's Strategic Plan for Duval CountyPublic Schools largely addresses this recommendation. It reads as follows:Safe Schools - Provide a safe and supportive learning environment wherestudents and staff are free to learn and teach.Priority strategies include:

Ensure a physical facility that fosters a positive learning environment.Create a learning environment that nurtures and protects students andstaff.Communicate the expectations of student behavior and theconsequences for non-compliance.Provide prevention programs and activities that support students inmeeting high academic and behavioral standards.Provide intervention programs to ensure a safe, secure schoolenvironment free of violence, weapons, substance abuse, vandalism,harassment and discrimination.Increase parental and community involvement.

A number of initiatives pertaining to these strategies are underway, includingemphasis on character-building, substance abuse prevention, crisis event support,civility in schools, reduction in risk factors associated with aberrant behavior, etc.In addition, the DCPS Code of Student Conduct was rewritten during 2006 in theinterest of strengthening compliance procedures to improve safety and security inschools.The Superintendent's performance target with respect to a safe and orderlyenvironment in public schools calls for 95% of students to indicate they feel safeat school by the year 2010. In2005-06, only 58% of students said they do.The Task Force acknowledges that there are parts of the school safety issue thatcan probably never be fully controlled (e.g., bullying), and that issues involvingproviding safe schools are often very complex and not subject to easy remedies.On balance, however, the commitment to this issue by the Superintendent,exemplified by the strategic vision and the programs now inplace, suggest thatDCPS is moving in the right direction in ensuring safe schools.

9. DCPS should continue and expand its COiltract with The Schultz Center/orTeaching and Leadership/or ill-service workshops Oil successfully engagingparents ill their children fS education, effectively managing classroom discipline,and providing reading assistance to struggling students. Such trainings should


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particularly target teachers working witl: low-income students so theyunderstand the effects ofpoverty Oil student behavior and learning.Results: In a meeting with members of the Task Force in February, 2006,Superintendent Wise indicated that making full utilization of the Schultz Centerfor Teaching and Leadership is a matter of priority for him.Schultz Center provides support for the growth and development of teachers,principals, and administrators by equipping them with increased knowledge andskills that hopefully result in enhanced professional practices and improvedstudent achievement.Following through on his commitment to amplify use of the Schultz Center,Superintendent Wise and the School Board have, over the past year, placed evengreater responsibility for teacher and principal development with the Center. In asignificant expansion of the Schultz Center's role, it now provides all professionaldevelopment activities for DCPS, including teachers and principals throughout thesystem.Among the many offerings of the Schultz Center are the following specificallyrelated to this recommendation:

Behavior Management - this program is designed to address themanagement issues and concerns of elementary and secondary classroomsettings. The focus is on establishing and maintaining a positive learningenvironment through the use of rituals and routines, goals for studentmisbehavior, and effective techniques for addressing inappropriatebehavior.

Remedial Reading Assistance - Intensive Reading is a program to trainteachers to help struggling readers in middle and high school. Thecurriculum includes implementing daily class structure such as ReadAlouds, Initial Instructions, vocabulary and word study, ImmediateIntensive Intervention, and Independent Reading.

Parental Involvement - The Education Technology program addressesstudent achievement, classroom management of technology, and usingtechnology in the real world. The DCPS Riverdeep Learning Village is anonline learning community for teachers, students, administrators andparents that provides opportunities for communication, collaboration andteaching. .


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10. DCPS should provide academic assistance to all students scoring atLevels 1or 2 Oil FCAT Reading orMath until they score at Level 3, reallocatingresources as necessary. This assistance, coupled with enrichment activities,should heprovided either during or after school, during the Slimmer, or OilSaturdays. Resources should be leveraged through increasedpartnershipsbetween low-performing schools andfaith-based agencies or other community-hased organizations offering academic assistanceprograms tofailing students.Results: Duval County Public Schools provide extensive remedial assistance tostudents throughout their academic careers from elementary school through highschool, as documented in Recommendation 13. Included inDCPS remedialprogram is strong focus on FCAT performance, both reading and math, throughthe FeAT Explorer program, progress monitoring, after-school tutoring, Saturdayschool, etc. Particular emphasis is provided to those students who score at Levels1 or 2 on the FeAT examinations.Itshould be recognized, however, that the testing system is constantly evolvingand is subject to occasional changes in the standards against which students aremeasured (e.g., science has been added to the subject areas measured on the 2007FCAT). This complicates the process of measuring year-to-year progress on anapples-to-apples basis.While not every school in the system participates in everyprogram available, allat-risk students can get the specific remedial assistance they need somewherewithin the system. Ideally, every school in the DCPS system would offer everyone of the safety net programs in the inventory, but some programs are moreapplicable to certain schools than others. Therefore, it is impractical to provideprograms inevery school for which there is little or no demand.It is important to note that while DCPS provides safety net programs sufficient 10meet the requirements of its students, the larger challenge is getting all of thestudents who need assistance to take advantage of the opportunities affordedthem. It is not uncommon for a significant number of the programs offered toattract only a small handful of students because many who could have used theexperience chose not to attend.In addition to local efforts by DCPS, the Florida Department of Educationadministers Title I supplemental instruction programs and academic interventionservices for educationally disadvantaged children. These services are available toschool districts, agencies, private schools and local neglected and delinquentinstitutions. Programs are offered to four different segments of the studentpopulation, including the disadvantaged, homeless children, neglected anddelinquent children, and migrant children.


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11. To raise expectations and motivation of students, DCPS should ensure that allmiddle and high school students who score atLevels 4 or 5 011 FCAT ReadingorMath have the opportunity to enroll ill an Honors orAP course. Somestudents who show particular interest, skill, or motivation but who have notscored at Levels 4 or 5should be coached and encouraged to take allHonorscourse.Results: One of Superintendent Wise's main priorities is to encourage as manystudents as possible to participate in Honors, AP, or IB courses, and he isfollowing through on Iris words. From January 2006 to January 2007, the numberofDCPS students enrolled in AP classes grew 142% from approximately 4,200 tomore than 10,200. Every high school in Duval County offers AP courses, and theamount and subject matters of the courses offered has increased. During the2005-06 school year, nearly 32% ofDCPS seniors took at least one APexamination. The school district is now encouraging ninth-graders to email in APcourses as well, and this year, nearly 2,400 (23% of all DCPS ninth-graders) areenrolled in at least one AP class.The DCPS performance targets include a provision that by 2010,80% of allDCPS students in grades 10-12 will participate in at least one AP course per year.In2005-06, the baseline percentage was 20%. Another 2010 target is that 80% ofall DCPS seniors will have taken the SAT or ACT college entrance exams .. .49%did so in 2005-06.To underscore the Superintendent's goals, the School Board enacted a policy in2006 to ensure that all middle and high school students who score above Level 3on FCAT Reading or Math have the opportunity to enroll in an Honors or APcourse.Other DCPS initiatives related to encouraging students to reach a higher levelinclude the dual enrollment program which provides another avenue for gainingcollege credit, and the DCPS Early College Program, both of which are the resultof collaborative arrangements with FCCJ. In addition, DCPS recentlystrengthened the requirements for high school graduation.

12. The First CoastMedia Council should promote high academic expectationsthrough press coverage 0/ education. Coverage should communicate:., the significance 0/ early-learning opportunities; the importance of a high-school education/or getting and maintaining agood job; and the benefits 0/ attending college.


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Results: Since the Public Education ITstudy was released in 2004, the FirstCoast Media Council was dissolved. Over the past several months, the TaskForce turned its consideration to whether a similar organization might be engagedto assist with the implementation of this recommendation.No similar organization was identified, but it is clear from the escalation in thevolume of media articles and TV and radio mentions over the past year, that thelocal media is fully aware of the achievement gap issue and is poised to continuecovering the subject extensively.

13. The Human Services Council and DCPS should ensure that adequate safetynet programs and school-based services are available to low-performingstudents.a. The Human Services Council, ill cooperation with DCPS, should seekincreasedfunding to expand services, including those provided throughFull Service Schools. Additional funding should increase the number 0/schools offering school-based services as well as reduce waiting lists illexisting programs.b. DCPS should assess the costs and benefits of school-based services/orlow-performing students.Results: Duval County Public Schools offer extensive remedial assistance to allstudents from elementary through. high school. Ongoing school safety netprograms for DCPS students include:Before, during and after-school tutoring

Saturday schoolRamp-upComputer-assisted instructionVacation enrichment campsExtended day activitiesExceptional student educational servicesDropout prevention servicesMentoringIntensive skills developmentTeam-up program

None of the programs have extensive waiting lists, and in general, there are moreresources available than students taking advantage of them. In addition to DCPSprograms, the state's Title I program will offer Saturday tutoring to Levellstudents in SIl'U Level 3 and 4 schools.


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In 2006, a new Full Service School was opened to serve families on the West Sideof Jacksonville, w i t h funding secured by the United Way through a grant from theLucy Gooding Charitable Foundation Trust. The School Board has recently .approved a motion to seek funding for another Full Service School in theSandalwood area. Partners in Full Service Schools of Jacksonville include UnitedWay ofNE Florida, Jacksonville Children's Commission, Duval County PublicSchools, and Duval County Health Department.The Task Force recognizes that too few low-performing students are utilizing thesafety net opportunities afforded them through Duval County Public Schools.While beyond the purview of this specific recommendation, it is suggested thatfuture emphasis be placed on encouraging a larger number of students toparticipate in these important programs.

14. DCPS Office of Community Involvement, in conjunction withKeslerMentoring Connection, should convene allfunders andproviders 0/ community-based and school-based mentoring programs toplan/or expansion of mentoringactivities so that all students at risk/or failure have all opportunity/or group orone-on-one mentoring, This effort should also monitor expansion of'servlces tomaintain their effectiveness.Results: Extensive work was accomplished over the past year on the creation ofa significant "rnentoring alliance" in Jacksonville, consisting of more than 20organizations in the community, including Kesler Mentoring Connection whichwill serve as the clearing house. Mentor Jax, as the alliance is called, waspublicly announced on February 28, 2007, resulting in a partnership agreementdedicated to recruiting, training and screening volunteers who wish to help nearly45,000 at-risk students in need ofmentoring.Principles in the Mentor Jax partnership include Mayor Peyton, City CouncilPresident Michael Corrigan, Superintendent Wise, Sheriff Rutherford, andChamber of Commerce Chairman Steve Wallace. Prospective mentors contactKesler Mentoring Connection, which does a background check, provides training,and refers them to one of the community mentoring groups involved inthealliance. A key to the program's success will be influencing local businesses topermit their employees time off if they wish to serve as mentors at schools wheremanaged pro grams exist.


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In addition to Mentor Jax, another initiative designed to foster more mentors wasa $425,000 appropriation in2006 by the City Council and Mayor toward thispurpose.As these mentoring initiatives expand, their effectiveness will need to bemonitored by the appropriate stakeholders in the community.


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I I I IJCCIitizens build ing .;la bette r commonny_ r - - - - - J I I I I "The following individuals participated in some or all of the two-yearadvocacy efforts of the Public Education II Task Force. Their interestand involvement is sincerely appreciated:

Dr. Christine Arab, ChairAnaArnaizTim BallentineKrisBarnesSherri BrownJ.F. BryanChris BuckleyBetty BurneyCharles ClineJim CrooksKay EarhartBill GatesCarolyn GirardeauWarren GrymesDonna HulseyJanice Hunter

Sylvia JohnsonKathe KastenMarcia LeboldLevander LillyAmy LingrenJesse MurrayMarsha OliverRachel RaneriCheryl RiddickEtoile Graves-SmithConnie StophelLouis VensonLinda WilkinsonJim WilliamsRhonda Williams

Documents

2007 Public Education Reform