JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Just one week into his position as superintendent of Duval County Public Schools, Dr. Chris Bernier was out in the community Monday to meet with the Jacksonville branch of the NAACP.
Isaiah Rumlin, the local NAACP president, talked about his hopes for working with Bernier.
“I think the first he’s gonna have to address is the school closures. That’s going to be discussed, or in the process of being discussed as we speak. That’s going to be a tough battle to deal with. Then the construction of the new schools,” Rumlin said.
Joanna Delphonse, a rising senior at Jean Ribault High School, sang the Negro National Anthem at the meet and greet.
“We hear a lot about the education committee getting to work hand-and-hand and a lot of the decisions that are happening within our schools,” Delphonse said. “It’s great to get to know the superintendent. I’m very excited. I’m very proud, and I’m not taking this moment for granted.”
Bernier said he heard a lot of feedback from community members about declining enrollment and the proposed Master Facility Plan.
At Tuesday’s school board meeting, he addressed the plan, noting that the consultants would be asked to revise what was released in March.
“I don’t have the exact date of when the revised version would come out, staff is meeting right now going over the community prioritization of criteria that’ll be turned over to the consultant,” Bernier said. “And we suspect within two to three weeks, we’ll have a report back in again. It’s about community engagement all over again. We have to make sure that the community can value and realize that their voice has been listened to.”
Bernier’s predecessor, Dr. Dana Kriznar, released an eight-page plan to address student safety following multiple misconduct issues with Douglas Anderson School of the Arts teachers.
Bernier said the school board still has work to do on that policy to prepare it for a vote.
“What you’re really talking about is professional and ethical behavior of educators, staff, superintendents and other individuals. We have a responsibility to make sure that our educators and the people who work in and around our kids behave in a positive, professional manner every day,” Bernier said.
Terrance Brisbane is a parent and executive director of the Beaver Street Enterprise Center, where the meeting was held.
“Making sure that our teachers and our administration treat our children the right way,” Brisbane said. “They learn the right way, that environment is good. It’s highly important to hear that someone is going to keep them accountable and make sure things flow the way that it should.”
At the meet and greet, Bernier also talked about all students deserving a quality education no matter their background.
Rumlin hoped the community could come together to help Bernier and the school board overcome the issues the district has been facing.
“If he can continue to put one kid at a time, maybe we can continue to do a better job as it relates to prison, student prison pipeline,” Rumlin said. “He’s not going to be able to do it himself. It’s going to take the entire community. It’s going to take the city of Jacksonville to work with him in order to deal with these challenges that we’ve been faced with.”
Delphonse said she planned to get more involved with the school board in the future.
Bernier said the board plans to workshop the safety plan on July 16.