If we are going to “serve every student with excellence as the standard”, we have to keep them safe on our campuses.

• • District-wide security risk assessment done by 3rd party firm in collaboration with local law enforcement
    • Used to prioritize security projects in facilities and technology and human resources
    • Used to update procedures in all schools and those unique to each school building
  • Thorough review and implementation of recommendations by Marjorie Stoneman Douglas Commission
  • Purchased “panic button” app for staff use 2 years before the state mandate, “Alyssa’s Law”
  • Maintained dedicated armed safe school officers on every campus
    
  • Continued national best practice training for active shooter situations
  • EKG screening added to requirements for our athletes, thousands screened and many life-threatening conditions already identified, worked with Who We Play For and other providers to make this a no cost or minimal cost process
  • Advocated in Tallahassee alongside student leaders regarding the vaping crisis

 This is our number one purpose, to ensure that the children who walk in our doors in Pre-K or Kindergarten will walk across the stage at graduation prepared for a career and/or college.

• • Graduation rates increased to 90.6%
  • Adopted district-wide progress monitoring in 2019 to identify the students earlier in the year who were struggling in math and reading and start interventions
  • Minimized school attendance boundary changes
  • District accreditation in 2021 almost 100 points higher than previous accreditation in 2016
  • Increased mental health supports, including the number of school social worker positions

Being on a school board during a global health crisis was difficult work, rife with controversy. It meant months of reading and research, listening to health care professionals and our community, and making decisions not based on politics.

• • Opened schools to in-person learning as soon as the state’s shutdown was lifted (summer of 2020)
  • Offered learn-from-home option (e-learning) in 2020-21 for families who needed it
  • Extended deadlines to sign up for Brevard Virtual School in 2020-21 and 2021-22
  • NO layoffs or furloughs during the shutdown of Spring 2020
  • Encouraged struggling students to return to in-person – over 90% in person by the end of the year in elementary and more than 70% in person for secondary
  • Approved Parent Liaison position to assist with low attendance issues and finding “missing” students
  • Used federal COVID relief dollars to purchase cleaning supplies, PPE, provide additional academic support to students during the school day/in summer/before and after school, provide additional mental health supports, increase technology supports, etc., kept the public informed of spending plans through public forums and website for community input and transparency

 Parents are the #1 decision-makers in their children’s education.  We need to make our traditional public schools the very best they can be, but parents should be free to choose charter schools or homeschooling if that is what best meets the needs of their child or their family. Parents should also maintain the right to approve or disapprove any sex education, health services, or counseling that might conflict with their family’s values.

• • Revised book challenge process so that parents/community members could challenge books district-wide, to include parents and board representatives on the district review committee, and to ensure that books that fail the challenge process are noted in the system
  • Refined the Directory Information to limit what kinds of student information is available by public records request and to inform parents of their options
  • Kept language out of district guidance that would direct staff to keep parents uninformed about choices their children are making at school regarding sexual preference and gender identity
  • Expanded school choice options for families and extended timeframes for students to be accepted

In the classroom, the most important factor in a student’s education is the teacher, and we need to be paying them a competitive salary that will keep experienced teachers in Brevard. High quality administrators and fully staffed support positions keep our schools running smoothly.

• • Recurring teacher raises every year, in addition to $1,000s in non-recurring bonuses or premium pay
    • In 2018-19, $1100 for Highly effective teachers (majority of our teachers), $850 for effective
    • In 2019-20, $2000 for Highly effective teachers, $1500 for effective, 12+ year teachers received an additional $1200 recurring longevity supplement
    • In 2020-21, used the Teacher Salary Increase Allocation from the state to raise minimum salary from $39,226 to $46,550, teachers over the minimum received at least $850
    • In 2021-22, used the Teacher Salary Increase Allocation to raise the minimum salary to $47,000, teachers over that amount received at least $245
  • Established paid parental leave
  • Increased flexibility in planning time
  • Provided FREE healthcare services to members of health plan for surgeries, orthopedic physical therapy, and cardio health support
  • Regularly visited schools to cheer on our student achievements, listen to staff concerns, and see what is going on at each campus

Just as families entrust their children to us, taxpayers entrust their dollars to us to use responsibly and not wastefully to ensure that our community has high quality schools. This involves oversight through audits, the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee, and regular budget review.

• • $29 million cut from budget over the last 4 years, in the process of cutting more for upcoming fiscal year
  • Hiring freezes and positions eliminated at the district office
  • Opened new elementary school in fast-growing Viera area with NO debt
  • Comprehensive plan to use half-cent sales surtax dollars, communicated extensively to the public before the vote to renew
  • Sale of excess properties around the county
  • Hired RSM to serve our internal audit function
  • Purchased new student information system, enabling us to move to online registration
  • Requested and supported development of Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR) to make financial data more accessible to citizens

Brevard Public Schools has career and technical education programs at every high school, ranging from engineering to culinary arts to A/C refrigeration and heating technology and many more. These programs provide training and certifications that will enable students to move into better paying jobs right out of high school as well as foster the expectation that after graduation, students will become productive members of society.

Career and technical programs are excellent choices for students who are not college-bound, but they do not limit students to that path.  In fact, college-bound students would greatly benefit from the real-world experience brought by these programs and the ability to find a good job to support them through school so that they can graduate without the burden of large student loans.

• • Communications plan to increase awareness of CTE opportunities
  • Added programs to our high schools and middle schools, including digital certifications, manufacturing, welding, and the new Firefighter Academy opening at Palm Bay Magnet High School in 2022-23
  • Added pilot programs at some elementary schools in coding and Microsoft tools
  • Increased number of internships and apprenticeships for students, signing students with companies like L3Harris, Embraer, Health First, Brevard County and many more

Volunteers, mentors, and community partners add so much to our students’ education. The more people who pour into our students, the greater their chances of success.

• • New business and church partners added to every school
  • Advocated for (and received) two mobile fingerprinting units for district security to make it easier for volunteers at the north and south end of the county to sign up
  • Development of district communications plan to make parents and community more aware of what is going on inside BPS
  • Increased partnerships with cities and county

Students don’t come to us with the same level of at-home support or learning readiness. The answer to this is not going to be found in ideologies or political agendas that create oppressor/oppressed mentalities. History is full of good, bad, and ugly events that should all be taught.  We are still living with the consequences of past mistakes, but our students have never had such great opportunities. We need to make sure they are prepared for those opportunities, and offer extra support to those that need it without sacrificing personal responsibility and academic rigor.

• • Graduation rates increased across all subgroups (race, economic disadvantage, students with disabilities, English language learners) over the last 4 years
  • Regular review of academic data across all subgroups
  • Established “priority schools” – low income, low academic achievement areas – to put human and financial resources where they are needed most
  • Granted Title I schools higher matches for fundraising projects that would have taken them much longer than higher income area schools (ex. Playgrounds, marquee signs, etc.)
  • Extended day for lowest performing elementary schools
  • Enhanced relationships with historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to attract teaching talent