Superintendent’s Corner
December 2007
Mark of Excellence
By Dr. Richard A. DiPatri, Superintendent
As 2007 draws to a close, it is a good time to assess our progress as a district. This year was an important one for Brevard Public Schools, with many noteworthy accomplishments for students and teachers.
In January, we began the year by learning that BPS remained second in the state with its 2005-06 graduation rate of 90.7 percent. The district also remained second in the drop out rate in the state. Brevard’s drop out rate for 2005-06 was 0.8 percent, a 0.4 percent drop from the previous year’s 1.2 percent. It is the ultimate goal of our district to have virtually all our students graduate and to have as few students as possible drop out of school.
In April, more progress was made in the important Secondary Schools of National Prominence (SSNP) initiative when the School Board approved $1.4 million for 32 additional guidance office staff to be added in the 2007-08 academic year. With new staff to assist with counseling support duties and clerk responsibilities, we are increasing opportunities for students to maximize their counseling experience. Brevard’s goal is that every student will graduate from high school prepared to enter and be successful in the workplace, in further career education, or in postsecondary degree opportunities. Employing additional guidance office staff is the key to insuring that all students and their parents or guardians develop an Individualized Plan of Study between June and October 15 annually, as designed under the SSNP initiative.
We are fortunate in Brevard to be building SSNP on a foundation of success, and new 2007 achievement data supports this commitment. For example, we have 27 secondary schools in our district: 23 are ‘As,’ three are ‘Bs’ and one is a ‘D.’ Our high schools are particularly strong. In 2006, there were 81 ‘A’ high schools out of 441 in the state, and Brevard had four of those. This past year, the number of ‘A’ schools in the state declined from 81 to 68 or 13 fewer ‘A’ high schools statewide. In Brevard, we dramatically bucked the trend and increased from four to 11 ‘A’ high schools. So as you see, even as other secondary schools across the state have been struggling, we are poised for even higher levels of achievement.
Organizationally,
the crowning achievement to 2007 was the May 1 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
Another critical initiative that is underway is the district’s more than $870 million facilities improvement plan. We want to insure that our students are learning in environments that are safe and conducive to academic excellence. This plan includes the construction of new schools, upgrades and renovations to all of our older buildings, and the addition of special facilities such as theaters and sports complexes. We are also equipping our schools with the latest technology so that our students can learn in the ways they are accustomed to receiving and sending information in a technology-rich world.
Brevard Public Schools is committed to student achievement, and serving every student with excellence as the standard. We appreciate the continuing support of parents, teachers, and the larger community. Together, we are changing student lives for the better.
We all look forward to continuing this tremendous progress into 2008 and beyond. I wish you and your family a Happy New Year!