That same year, just 35% of Duval eighth-graders scored at Level 3 or above on the Statewide Science Assessment, considerably below the statewide average of 45%. The school district, JPEF and others consider third-grade reading scores a bellwether for overall literacy. “So who are we, actually, graduating?”ĭuring the 2021-22 academic year - the most recent data available - just 47% of Duval County third-graders scored at Level 3 or higher (out of 5) in English-language arts comprehension on the Florida Standards Assessment. “When you dig into the numbers of these graduating children, their reading, math and science levels are extremely below proficiency levels,” King says. Duval County education activist Quisha King is more concerned about what students are learning and the scores they are earning on standardized exams. Graduating students - even if that percentage is approaching the non-pandemic-era high of 86.5% - is not enough for some of Greene’s critics. Overall, Duval County graduated 85.6% of its seniors during the 2021-22 academic year, a 0.5% increase from the year prior to Greene’s arrival. Hours after Greene announced her retirement, the Jacksonville Public Education Fund, a nonprofit that has worked with the school district to recruit and retain more Black and Hispanic educators, applauded her for ensuring that during her tenure “more low-income students have donned caps and gowns, walked across a stage and accepted their diploma than any other time in DCPS history.” Her impending retirement comes less than a year after Greene and the School Board agreed to extend her contract through 2026 and less than six months after the Board rated Greene an “effective” leader who exhibited strong “ communication with the board and with the community.” Lessons learned? Those accomplishments were not enough to keep the veteran educator in her office at the end of Prudential Drive. And under her leadership, voters from both parties approved a sales tax referendum in 2020 that will fund school infrastructure and another in 2022 that increased teacher pay and funded athletics and arts programs. Nevertheless, she enjoyed bipartisan applause in 2021 when she was named the Florida Superintendent of the Year, the same year the district renamed six schools that were named after Confederates. Greene’s tenure ends amid criticism from people on both the left and the right ends of the political spectrum. Superintendent Diana Greene meets with reporters following an April 26, 2023, meeting about hiring outside legal counsel to review allegations of teacher misconduct at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts. He and other supporters believe Greene was unfairly forced out of her position amid a burgeoning teacher misconduct scandal at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts - though Greene herself hasn’t publicly blamed the fallout for her decision to retire three years before her contract was set to expire. Jones is himself a district graduate who has served in elected office for more than 35 years. Her passion shows through everything she does for this community.” She cares about our students, and she works hard. We were just four points away from being an ‘A’ school district prior to the pandemic…She cares about our community. “She’s done historic work in this county, something that no other superintendent could consider they’ve done. Greene has been a trailblazer in this county,” Duval School Board member Warren Jones said at a press conference following her announced retirement. Greene is also among a growing number of superintendents in Florida who have resigned, retired or been outright fired by their school boards in the past two years amid a politically fraught education climate in the state. She retires as one of just a small handful of Black women in the country who have served as superintendents of large, urban school districts.
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