by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
Ed Pratt-Dannals, Superintendent of Duval County Public Schools, has held that position for just over a year and he was guest speaker at Monday’s Rotary Club of Jacksonville meeting where he offered a “report card” as well as a glimpse into the future challenges that will face public education.
“It’s a great time to be in Duval County Public Schools,” he said. Pratt-Dannals began his career in education when he graduated from Florida Community College at Jacksonville in 1973 and recalled his first assignment.
“My role back then was going out in my van and knocking on dropouts’ doors and convincing them to get back in education.”
Pratt-Dannals then rose through the public school ranks in Duval County as a teacher, school administrator, regional superintendent and since Nov. 2007, superintendent.
“As somebody who has come up through this district in 32 years, I have never been more optimistic about where we are going. I have confidence that public support is there and growing. We have the right people in place in key positions. I have confidence that very soon, Duval County will be the very best large urban school district in America,” he said.
When he was named superintendent in 2007, Pratt-Dannals said, the members of the School Board made it clear they wanted a strategic plan put in place to guide the future of the district.
“Our vision is that all students will be prepared for post-secondary education,” said Pratt-Dannals.
He also explained how the role of education beyond a high school diploma has changed.
“When the public school system was created over a century ago, it was designed for 25 percent of our students to reach high academic levels. The other 75 percent graduated with basically an eighth-grade education and a strong work ethic and they could be successful economically in our country. That is no longer true. For the vast majority of our students today, if they don’t attain post-secondary education, they will not be successful.
“By post-secondary education, I don’t mean a four-year liberal arts school,” explained Pratt-Dannals. “Students have to be able to at least fulfill a two-year technical program and that requires the same academic and mathematical skills that are required to go to a four-year university.”
He added that some studies have indicated a post-secondary technical education can require even greater reading and mathematics skills than a liberal arts education.
“There has been a whole sea of change from the way the system was set up in this country,” said Pratt-Dannals. “For our community to be successful in attracting high-tech industry with high-wage jobs, we are going to have to prepare more of our students for that higher level of attainment.”
Some of the systems in place to achieve that goal include enhancing Advanced Placement classes that may allow students to earn college credits in high school, recruiting and retaining highly qualified teachers and taking advantage of corporate and community sponsors as well as mentors.
“We have seen a 235 percent increase in participation in Advance Placement courses in the last two years with the greatest increases in the African-American and Hispanic student communities,” said Pratt-Dannals.
He said another goal is to increase the number of mentors involved with public school students by 1,500 per year in order to have 25,000 active mentors by 2020.
“It’s something we must do in order to move forward.”
Also on the club’s agenda Monday was the succession of presidents through 2012, when the Rotary Club of Jacksonville will celebrate its centennial.
Following incumbent President Carl Cannon, President-elect Steve Bacalis will wield the gavel in 2009-10, followed by Cindy Stover in 2010-11 and Howard Dale in 2011-12.
“We’re planning ahead for the club’s 100th anniversary year in 2012 and it’s important to have our leadership in place,” said Cannon.
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