Today's School Board Elections.

[Metro Jacksonville]

Today's School Board Elections.



The failures of the Duval County School Board, over the past twenty years have been abysmal and city changing. For many, home buying and renting decisions are based largely on the "assigned" neighborhood school. A failing education system goes much deeper than a high drop out rate. It directly impacts the prosperity and livability of the community. Not only is suburban sprawl exacerbated by families fleeing a Duval education but jobs and businesses migrate out of Duval---, following families who are "forced" to make a very easy decision to live near the best schools.

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2012-aug-todays-school-board-elections

[KenFSU]

Really great piece Stephen.

Two quick comments:

1) That is an incredible photo (the desegregation one).

2) My wife's first teaching job was at Norwood Elementary. That was a really, really special school. We both miss it dearly.

[aaapolito]

Nice article.  I agree that we have to do something about Duval County schools to make sure that every child has the opportunity to obtain an excellent education.  Today, as the article suggests, may be a step in that direction by installing the right leadership to help get our schools to that point.

[thelakelander]

Great page at the TU to get the rundown on candidates in all the races: http://news.jacksonville.com/elections/2012/

For school board, I live in District 7.  I'm going with Coree Cuff.  I think her fiscally strong professional background will be an asset as well as her willingness to incorporate technology into the educational process.  It also helps that her 11-year-old is currently enrolled in the public school system.

[jaxlore]

Great article and recommendations.

[fieldafm]

In the past, I really wouldn't have cared much about a school board race.  Based on studying the issue over the past year (specifically Duval County school performance, college attainment levels and the quality of leadership in our school system), I have come to realize how critically important the School Board and consequently our school system is to our community. 

What some may say is an inconsequential election today really couldn't be further from the truth.

Our School Board needs strong leaders.  Voter turnout has been very low so far this morning.  I urge you to do your duty as someone who cares about your city and vote.  If you are on this site, you do care for your city.  Do yourself and your community a favor and vote.  There are some very strong candidates running today.  Our children and our city's future depends on it.

Voting is very easy.  There have been virtually no lines at any precincts this morning, and BY LAW your employer can excuse you to go vote.  The way voter turnout is today, voting should take 5 minutes.  It took longer for me to get a Slurpee this morning (true story).

As an aside, I am also going to plug my vote for Ruth Ann Hepler for County Court Judge Group 12 .

[riverside planner]

Great article.  I experienced the desegregation order first hand and it did not make for the greatest educational experience.  Being bussed from the Southside to the Eastside to a "Sixth Grade Center" was a logistic nightmare, and the effect of going to a new school for one year on the overall educational experience was not that great either.  At the high school level, Mandarin High School (where I attended) was not permitted to offer AP math and science classes (we could take calculus, physics, etc., but could not sit for the AP exams).  Students wishing to take those classes were supposed to go to Raines or Ribault (can't remember which one) as part of integration efforts.  I do not know of a single person who took that option.  While the magnet program can be a good thing, I'm not sure that the way it has been implemented is benficial to the students or the community.  Logistically, forcing kids to endure hour long commutes to and from school is not the answer. 

My daughter will be starting kindergarden next year and we are struggling with where we should send her.  It should not be this difficult of a decision.

All that said, go out and vote!  The decisions that most directly impact your life are made at the local level, so be part of selecting the decision makers.

[cguerrieri]

By Troll, Mr. Dare means I wrote, I think district 5 needs a fresh set of eyes not Betty Burney part two which is what Hall will be and people should vote for Gaines Macintosh or myself. Apparently Mr. Dare disagrees and likes the direction the district has been heading in. I on the other hand do not.

Chris Guerrieri

[MissMinda]

I shared the article on my Facebook page. I'm hoping many read and go out and vote today.

[Tacachale]

Stephen, I'm very happy to see such well considered endorsements coming from Metro Jacksonville. I hope to see more of this in the future.

[Jaxson]

I agree with Stephen that past serves as a rich prologue to our present education problem.  Duval County's public school system was run by a group of people who worked their hardest to preserve a divisive system that favored one group's future and prosperity while neglecting even the basic needs of others. 
This way of running things, from superintendent down to the newly-hired teacher, was the culture that died hard when Duval finally integrated their schools.  Imagine the shock of some teachers who were being transferred involuntarily to an inner-city school because they were being used as pawns in this social experiment.  I am sure that resentment was difficult for some teachers who seethed over being put into a culture that they were raised to believe as bad.  These feelings may have manifested themselves in the form of unfairly punishing minorities through inconsistent enforcement, ignoring white student on black student assaults, or who openly expressed their prejudice.  I do not claim to know how many, but I know that today's situation between minorities and authority figures stems from the fact that these children are the offspring of parents who were those aforementioned students who came under attack from their teachers.
Today, the education field embraces diversity and wants to build better schools for all, but often meets the most resistance to parents of color who still carry those negative memories of how they became collateral damage in the integration battle.  This relationship between schools and families further falls apart when the 'street life' carries more currency with young people than advancing themselves academically and starting a career. 

[Jaxson]

I honestly believe that Chris Guerrieri's passionate style does not come from anything but accumulated from years of asking the school system to hear him that he tired of the same reindeer games that may be played on Prudential Drive and the Schultz Center.  Longtime teachers tend to view many of the middle management to be over-paid consultants and professional development people who stay useful and justify their jobs by making life a living nightmare for the teachers who do not roll over and play dead for the latest new program that must be adopted.  There is one 'rock star' who thinks that he is the 'sh*t' because he goes around talking about how being a shop teacher transformed him into the offspring of David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton.  Like an infomercial salesman who was sent from the hardware gods to show teachers how to be the superior master teacher that he is.  We're being blitzed by folks like this everyday.  The fear is quite palpable among teachers who fear their regular inspections.  Well, that is the system that my friend Chris wanted to wake up voters to.  I believe Chris to be an honorable advocate for public education by exposing in his blog and in the local media the issues that faced educators regarding the very political nature of schools today.  Many may perceive him to be strident or rude, but I believe that nobody would question his sincerity.  He put a lot on the line for his ideals and I hope that he has a good school year.