Superintendent’s Corner

Mark of Excellence

August 2007

The 2007-08 school year promises to be bright for the students, parents, and teachers across Brevard Public Schools. We begin the new school year with pride in some significant accomplishments from last year, and optimism that continued hard work will result in even greater levels of student achievement. Together, we are fostering an educational environment where great things are happening for children.

Once again, hard work in our classrooms is paying outstanding dividends in our students’ test scores. Of the 22 FCAT data points for Reading, Math, Science, and Writing, Brevard ranks in the top seven districts in 18. Compared to the state’s 66 other districts, BPS finished first in Florida in four areas—sixth grade reading, sixth grade mathematics, fifth grade science, and eleventh grade science. Our district was second in three areas—ninth grade reading, fifth grade mathematics, and ninth grade mathematics. This is the seventh consecutive year that Brevard’s sixth grade students have ranked first in Florida for mathematics, and they have regained first in reading after a one-year drop to second place in 2006. This is the third consecutive year that Brevard’s fifth and eleventh grades are first in Florida for science.

This year 81 out of 84, or 96 percent of Brevard schools, received a grade of an A or B, up from 95 percent the previous year. Eighty-seven percent of schools were As. At the elementary level 51 schools earned an A, four earned a B and two earned a C. At the secondary level 22 schools earned an A, four earned a B, no school earned a C, and one earned a grade of D. None of Brevard Public Schools received a grade of F. These results contributed to the district receiving an overall grade of A from the Department of Education for the fourth consecutive year. In fact, the school district finished First in Florida of 67 counties for the first time ever by earning 591 school grade points, exclusive of charter schools.

The 2006-07 grades reflect a significant increase when compared to the 2005-06 school year. The number of schools receiving a grade of A increased from 68 schools in 2005-06 to 73 in 2006-07. Compared to the 2005-06 school year, the total number of A and B schools increased from 78 to 81. For the second consecutive year, 100 percent of Brevard’s middle schools earned an A and our high schools increased from four A schools to 10 for 2006-07.

These are outstanding results for our schools, especially at the secondary level. This success is a great springboard for our Secondary Schools of National Prominence (SSNP) program, entering its second year of implementation. As we start the new year with expanded SSNP counseling support and a seven period day or its equivalent in every high school, these results are a tribute to the exceptional students, parents, and employees across our community.

Organizationally, the crowning achievement to last school year was the announcement that BPS had won the 2007 Governor’s Sterling Award, the state’s most prestigious acknowledgement for outstanding achievement in organizational excellence. We are only the second school district to receive the honor at the district level. The last district selected was Pinellas County in 1993. For 15 years, the Governor's Sterling Award has recognized organizations and businesses in Florida that have successfully achieved performance superiority within their management and operations.

As always, we are focused on continued improvement and implementation of strategies to reach even higher levels of student achievement. Our new BPS SCORECARD, a data dashboard available to the public from the district Web site, is another tool we are utilizing to insure that our decisions are data driven. More details on this initiative can be found in this edition of the Mark of Excellence.

Much has been accomplished, yet there is still much to do. I wish you, your student, and your family a wonderful 2007-08 school year. Working together, the best is yet to come.