DUVAL COUNTY, Fla. – Five candidates are now vying to become the next Duval County Public Schools superintendent, and during the interview process, they addressed key questions that will determine the future of the public school system.
The current semifinalists are Dr. Christopher Bernier, Adam Taylor, Dr. Daniel Smith, Dr. Joe Phillips, and Dr. Cheryl Proctor. Candidate Luis Solano withdrew his application earlier this week.
They all had to answer questions from the board — some with written answers, others with video responses. Those responses were just shared with the public Thursday night.
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Here are the video response questions and answers to two key issues that the district is currently dealing with:
What is your detailed plan to eliminate all D and F-graded schools?
- Dr. Cheryl Proctor: “We will prioritize the adoption of top instruction materials with the states best standards and cater to the diverse learning needs of our students. I providing educators with the tools they need for engaging and effective instruction we can elevate the power of teaching.”
- Dr. Christopher Bernier: “There are no easy fixes and it reflects hard work but owning the problem working collaboratively to solve the issues of student achievement are possible.” Bernier then talked about how he helped three failing schools in Lee County achieve passing grades.
- Adam Taylor: “As superintendent, my vision to eliminate all D and F-graded schools is both comprehensive and equitable. It is imperative that we build organizational capacity through recruiting and retaining high quality teachers and staff, equitably inline the budget, and develop state of the art, safe learning environments in hubs of the community.”
- Dr. Joe Phillips: “As we turn up the performance pressure, we have to ensure that the pressure comes with framework I call PDMRSA> Purpose. Direction. Motivation. Resources. Support. Accessibility.”
- Dr. Daniel Smith: “Schools should be tiered based on their current grade and should receive differentiated support and staffing accordingly. Our schools should know students by name and need. Who are the students that are struggling? What are we doing to help them? And how are we monitoring their progress along the way.”
That question, about the candidates’ detailed plan to eliminate all D and F-graded schools, is important, because ten DCPS schools received a “D” or “F” rating last year.
Candidates also had to share a plan to handle competition with school choice.
Florida is wide open for school choice. What are you going to do to lead DCPS to compete for students?
- Dr. Joe Phillips: “We’ll launch choose DCPS. An initiative that is a robust campaign that demonstrates our unmatched value proposition to the parents and students. Choose DCPS is about revolutionizing our approach with innovative instructional models, cutting edge technology and amazing culture and climate that allows us to gain and retain the highest quality teachers and staff.”
- Dr. Cheryl Proctor: “I intend to work with district teams to focus on several key strategies. We’ll prioritize academic rigor and excellence in our curriculum., Ensuring our students receive a high-quality education that prepares them for success in high school, college and beyond.”
- Adam Taylor: “I envision every school is a great school where students thrive academically as we prepare them for college and careers and to be contributors to a just society. If we accomplish this vision, parents will choice Duval County Public Schools as a place best able to achieve their goals.”
- Dr. Christopher Bernier: “We must engage the community from birth to K. They are critical in our recruitment process. We must connect them to programs from birth to kindergarten so they see DCPS as the opportunity for their continued education.”
- Dr. Daniel Smith: “We must tell our own story. Focus on student achievement and our results. We must build and share our culture and climate where people want to be.”
The district has posted each candidate’s response to the website. Click here to read and watch what they said.
The school board decided on these questions in April, when they picked the semi-finalists.
Board Chair Darryl Willie said then that board members picked questions based on what they want to see in a candidate – and that the answers will be critical in choosing the finalists.
The school board will meet on May 7 to select finalists, who will then come to Jacksonville for interviews.