School board members in Florida are elected by the voters of the county and serve four-year terms. The school board controls school property, establishes, organizes, and operates the schools of the district, including: establishing schools, adopting enrollment plans, maintaining the school year schedule and other more specific duties as outlined in Florida statutes. St. Johns County School Board members have a salary of $ 40,539.
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I have received extensive training through Florida School Boards Association, having earned both Certified and Advanced Certified Board Member status, as well being named a Distinguished Leader and attaining Advanced Boardsmanship Certification.
I am a 6 term incumbent and have devoted my career to the welfare and academic advancement of children. I am an experienced advocate for our children locally, statewide and nationally.
St. Johns County Schools (SJCS) excel in preparing students for their futures academically. SJCS have been A rated every year of the grading system. We have been 1st in the state for 18 of those years, missing by a few points the two years that we were not.
The 31 career academies in our high schools are hallmarks of SJCS. Academies prepare our students to go straight to work following graduation while also preparing students for post-secondary education. Examples include Construction Management, Health Careers, Biomedical Engineering, Homeland Security, Pre Veterinary, and Logistics, to name a few.
Navigating the voucher program with its unstable funding is a challenge. Deep cuts have been made, but uncertainty remains moving forward.
I believe ensuring that our teachers are treated like the professionals they are will enable us to retain the high quality educators we employ. Our students deserve to have the very best teacher in front of them every day. That requires appreciating and upholding our educators while providing the highest level of compensation possible. Providing opportunities to work from home on planning days has proved to be something teachers appreciate. Increasing maternity leave and adding bereavement leave have also increased job satisfaction. I will continue to seek opportunities to enhance work/life balance for our hardworking instructional staff.
I believe this is an area where improvement is needed. When one student disrupts the learning of 21 others, no one benefits. Working within the constraints of laws like Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which requires the least restrictive environment for students, we must find ways to deal positively and consistently with poor behavior to reduce or eliminate it - for the disruptive child as well as his/her peers. I plan to work proactively on solutions to this dilemma in my next term. Consistent, impactful consequences for disruptive behavior will improve this problem.
Our district works to ensure a safe, secure environment on our campuses. All schools have a single point of entry, requiring visitors to be buzzed in and then sign in prior to entering the school proper. All staff are equipped with a device that allows them to summon help, including law enforcement, should the need arise. These devices are tied into the Sheriff's Command Center and immediately alert officers to the exact location of a problem in real time. SJCS continually monitor and evaluate the safety measures on our campuses and enhance them whenever new means to do so present themselves. One example is training on reunification of student/parent should an emergency happen. We also continue to provide law enforcement on each campus.
We in public education have been lax in promoting the strengths of our schools. Encouraging principals and staff to "brag" on the achievements and programs in each school, utilizing social media and reaching out to traditional media will help the public understand how broad our academic offerings are, in addition to helping the public understand how we address the whole child with extra curricular offerings to expand their education. Beyond sports and the arts, our schools provide opportunities to participate in national and international competitions, igniting a passion for learning in our students. We need to greatly expand the public's knowledge of all that we offer our students. Traditional public schools remain the #1 choice!
