From the superintendent’s desk

Dear Friends,
There has been so much activity here at the District; I feel as if I need to update you on the latest developments.
Regarding our transition to local control, we received a letter from Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran to which I responded in writing January 24th. That same evening, at a Special Board Meeting, members of Mr. Corcoran’s team were present to answer questions from the Jefferson County School Board and the public. Transition Principal Jackie Pons shared our proposal with all, providing details, background and plans; I was ill at home and present on Zoom.
My formal reply made specific requests on a couple of key issues including funding, a formal collaboration with Community Partnership Schools/Children’s Home Society, and fair appropriate evaluation of student achievement once the new school grading system and student assessments are in place. I am unwavering in my request that the evaluation data must contain information about learning gains of our students, as there is no other way to monitor progress, design plans for our students and guide them toward success.
If by this writing I have not gotten a response to my letter, I assure you that I will have already touched base with FLDOE to check on the status of my request and will update the Board and the community as soon as I hear from them.
Catching Up
In my January column, I mentioned feeling as if I had made little progress since taking office. Upon more careful reflection, however, this self-assessment isn’t accurate; I have been quite busy in the past 15 months. Taking back our schools, and the unending negotiations at all levels, is naturally at the forefront but there are so many other important processes I am tackling, still with a skeleton staff. I want to share those with you here.
Strategy
First and foremost, I recruited Jackie Pons for the Transition Principal position at Somerset. I knew that I needed to build the strongest team possible in order to rebuild this school district. I worked with Mr. Pons in Leon County Schools and know the passion he has for serving students, and his inexhaustible commitment, connections and work ethic are unmatched. He knows how to turn around schools and he knows our students. We are fortunate he is now on Team Jefferson and together, as in old times, I feel there is nothing we cannot conquer together in this journey once we have full control.
Over the past several weeks, Mr. Pons and I have worked diligently to analyze staffing needs and create a new organizational chart for the schools and the District. Mapping this framework enables us to determine budget needs and was instrumental in the funding request I submitted to FLDOE.
Using our combined 65 years of education experience, Mr. Pons and I have also started to flesh out a long-term vision, the focus of which is three-pronged: 1) Improved Academics; 2) Financial Stability; and 3) Community Engagement. You will be in the loop at all stages of this plan, and I commit to being fully transparent in this work.
In turn, Mr. Pons is tapping into his network of excellent certified teachers who are excited to work for him here in Jefferson County. In fact, before Christmas he had already identified six highly qualified certified teachers who are ready to join us once the District is back in our hands, and by the time this column runs there will be more. I am proud that we will start addressing the severe shortage of qualified, certified teachers that has plagued the K-12 school under charter operation. Our students deserve better.
Financial
I have built the District’s Unassigned Funds amount to a healthy 17%. When I became Superintendent, that number was approximately 10%. The State requires that we have a 3% Unassigned Funds cushion.
I plan to move these funds into an account separate from operating funds and never touch them so that, barring an unforeseen emergency (for which these funds are reserved), we will never be under financial oversight by the State again.
In my January letter to the Florida Department of Education, I requested that the District be released from state financial oversight. At this writing, I have not gotten a response to this request nor to any others included in my proposal for the transition back to local control of our schools.
Unfortunately, I am still discovering accounts that are in arrears and am bringing all accounts current as they are identified. This has been an eye-opening process as I was left no digital files and little historic information. I am especially happy that one specific account (one of several) that was months in arrears— CHP insurance for active employees, dependents and retirees — is now current. I shudder to think what could have happened to families if this didn’t come to light in a probing phone call my assistant made to CHP.
Academics
Up to this point I have not had control of academic decisions at the K-12 school. Now that the transition to local control is within reach, be assured that I will update you on school curricula and programs. Because I have extensive experience in reading development and serving special needs students (I hold an M.S. in Special Education and was Director of FDLRS — Florida Diagnostic & Learning Resource System — for six years, and Jefferson was in my service area), my heart and expertise lie with literacy development and providing access to excellent education for all students. With Mr. Pons and the staff we will assemble, our students will soar.
On the Adult Education side, our English Learning Program is the most solid it has ever been. We found an excellent, passionate instructor who keeps learners fully engaged, and providing homework help in the evenings while learners were in class made a big difference in attendance consistency. In fact, 100% of our adult learners who completed the semester were post-tested, and 40% of those who tested made learning gains that were reportable to FLDOE and NRS (National Reporting System for Adult Education). Some learners improved by two NRS levels or more.
Operations
I am currently working with NEOLA, the state school board association’s preferred provider of policy services in Florida. Most of Jefferson County School District’s policies have not been examined or updated since 2009; some were updated in 2012. This is intense work done in daylong workshops with an expert team. The new framework of policies will enable us to look forward and act efficiently and according to contemporary guidelines once we are on our new path.
I am also working with accrediting body COGNIA. This is a process undertaken every 7 years and is legislatively mandated. Our schools are currently accredited under Somerset and that status is good until 2024, but I want to act preemptively to make sure that our plans align as they should for the benefit of our students. Accreditation ensures standards of excellence for our students and teachers. If a school is not accredited, credits do not transfer to colleges and students’ educational paths are stalled. This process is vital for student success and also for survival of our school district, and our town: losing accreditation translates into sub-par education and lost funds, and a community with non-accredited schools does not attract or retain residents, so the sad cycle of low tax base/suffering schools/unqualified workforce/dying downtown/population decline continues.
Our school district is going in a new direction, and we need a fresh brand. I’ve contracted with a local company to overhaul our tired web site and provide a full new brand package. Information should be current and documents should be readily accessible on our website, and these are at the forefront of services I’m requesting.
I have addressed all six findings from the 2020-21 Operational Audit from the Florida Auditor General. The items have been either corrected or new procedures implemented, ensuring that the next audit will be clear. It should be noted that at least one item was corrected a year ago but was still noted in the findings. Also of note: I have a staff of three full time employees at the District Office who assist me in completing district-level duties that once were handled by an entire building of full-time district staff.
Personnel
After eight months in office I brought on my full-time Executive Assistant, a very common practice for superintendents and agency directors, presidents and CEOs. Taryn Bellflower worked for me during my last four years as Director of FDLRS, and I realized I needed seamless communication and synergy if I am to get anything done with the limitations placed on me in this role. She is thorough and efficient, and has precisely the outward-facing demeanor that can build bridges and repair relationships in this community.
In her short time here, Ms. Bellflower has implemented accountability systems for finances and operations, including incoming rent payments, monthly employee FDLE incident updates and all accounts payable. To be clear, before now there were no such organizational systems in place. Through research and time-consuming communications, Ms. Bellflower is severing loose ends that have wasted District funds over the past several years. In fact, just last week she discovered 12 phone lines that have not been used for several years, the monthly cost for which is $600. That totals $36,000 over the last five years, when all District staff were let go and the charter school took over. This is a significant amount on its own but considering Jefferson County School District remains under emergency fiscal management by the State, and I cannot make even the smallest office supply order without permission, it is unfathomable. Continuous internal auditing such as this will stop the waste that has characterized this District for far too long.
An aside on the phone topic: We frequently hear from community members who are so grateful that phones are answered now or calls returned within a day; that’s a low bar for our standards, but one we have certainly raised as a matter of course. This is how it should be.
One key pathway Ms. Bellflower forged on behalf of the District involved opening communication and establishing procedures with our Home School families. She created a detailed packet marking processes for each stage and has made it available to families and District colleagues. Realizing that the full scope of information was not reaching Home School families, and key marks and dates were sometimes missed, Ms. Bellflower saw the need to provide comprehensive information services for families to foster a more fluid, positive experience. Her outreach and service to our Home School families is instrumental in building positive relationships county-wide, and families are finally receiving the information they need from the District in a timely manner.
District personnel decisions such as this are mine to make, and I have no regrets about my decision to bring this talented young woman with me to serve the Jefferson community. I only regret I did not do so sooner.
Community
When I first heard that First Bethlehem Baptist Missionary Association, Inc., a Florida not-for-profit corporation, wanted possession of Howard Academy, I was concerned for their safety in the old building. However, once I learned more about Howard and that the building is part of community heritage, and a key history marker for our African American community, it was obvious the building needed to transfer into the appropriate hands. The School Board entered into a 15-year lease with the association, and I support this initiative 100%. I am hopeful the site will become a gathering place providing programs for the community while honoring local history.
I continue discussions with the Chamber of Commerce, Property Appraiser and local colleges to develop workforce development plans to bring relevant training to students in grades 6 to 12 and adult learners in our community. Though I cannot comment on anything until finalized, it should be public knowledge that an expanding shrimp cultivating company got a resounding yes from our School Board when asked if our District is interested in their coming to Jefferson County and developing a career training partnership with our schools. There are exciting things on our horizon!
Looking Forward
I am digging into the hard work that will deliver our schools back to us. Know that as a former classroom teacher, school administrator and education program director, I have been where our teachers are and know how to support them and help them develop into the fine educators they want to be. I am never too proud to join them in the trenches, and I am showing them at every turn that I mean this.
I hope you share my excitement for the future of Jefferson County Schools. It will take all of us, and I welcome your input.