Duval County Public Schools

Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) is the public school district for Duval County, Jacksonville, Florida. As of 2011, the district had an enrollment of over 123,000 students, making it the 15th largest school district in the United States,^[1] and 6th largest school district in Florida. In 2010, it was home to two of the top ten high schools in the United States, Stanton College Preparatory School and Paxon School for Advanced Studies.^[2]

School board

The district's administrative offices are primarily located on the southbank of the St. Johns River in a six-story building at 1701 Prudential Drive. The Superintendent of DCPS is Ed Pratt-Dannals. The position of superintendent is appointed 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 Martha Barrett, Fred E. Lee, W. C. Gentry, Paula Wright, Betty Burney, Becki Couch and Tommy Hazouri. Board members are elected every four years with 2 term limits, with Districts 4 through 7 elected during midterm election cycles (next in 2010) and Districts 1 through 3 elected during presidential cycles (next in 2012).

The board received national attention^[3][4] in November 2008 when the five white members voted to retain the name of Nathan Bedford Forrest High School. The case was controversial because Forrest had been a slave trader, a confederate General, and a Ku Klux Klan founder.^[5]

In 2011, Duval County had four schools identified as failing, according the results of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). Accountability legislation passed during Jeb Bush's administration required that schools failing the FCAT for four consecutive years must either: become a charter school, operate under an outside management organization, or close. Andrew Jackson, Raines and Ribault High Schools, and North Shore K-8, all traditional black schools, face intervention if they do not pass the Spring 2011 FCAT.^[6]

Superintendents

2007 - Present	Ed Pratt-Dannals
2005 - 2007	Joseph Wise
1998 - 2005	John Fryer
1989 - 1997	Larry Zenke
1976 - 1989	Herb Sang

Schools

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.

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 19 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. The total does not include charter schools, which numbered 13 for the 2009-2010 school year. Charter schools operate under contract to the Duval County School Board and follow the curriculum and rules of the DCSB. They are publicly funded and non-sectarian; 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.^[7]

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.

Magnet

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.^[8]

Best in the Nation

Since 1998, Newsweek Magazine 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).^[9] 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.^[2] 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,^[10] 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: 1. Robert E. Lee 2. Baldwin 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 ^[11]

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.^[12]

See also

	Florida portal
	Schools portal

• List of schools in Duval County, Florida

References

1. ^ US Department of Education, Digest of Education Statistics
2. ^ ^{a b} Mathews, Jay: America's Best High Schools: The List Newsweek magazine, June 13, 2010. Retrieved April 28, 2011.
3. ^ "Florida High School Keeps KKK Founder's Name" Fox News, November 10, 2008
4. ^ "Fla. high school retains Klan leader's name" MSNBC, November 4, 2008
5. ^ Wyeth, John Allan (1989). That Devil Forrest: Life of General Nathan Bedford Forrest. p. ix. 
6. ^ Sanders, Topher: "Duval's plan for struggling schools rejected by state" Florida Times-Union, February 7, 2011
7. ^ "Charter schools" Duval County Public Schools, School listings
8. ^ "Magnet programs" Duval County Public Schools, School listings
9. ^ "America's Best High Schools: The FAQ" Newsweek Magazine, June 13, 2010
10. ^ Newsweek Magazine: The Top of the Class 2007 Newsweek, 2008
11. ^ Mathews, Jay: "America’s Best High Schools: The Catching-Up List" Newsweek, July 14, 2010
12. ^ Burmeister, Caren: “New boundaries, new school changes enrollment” Florida Times-Union, July 30, 2010

External links

• Duval County Public Schools Official Website
• School Board information

Coordinates: 30°19′02″N 81°39′02″W / 30.317280°N 81.650548°W / 30.317280; -81.650548