J. Ray Poole
Chief of Legal Services
Nassau County School District
Media Release
June 6, 2017 8:54 a.m.
The mission of the Nassau County School District is to develop each student as an inspired lifelong learner and problem solver, with the strength of character to serve as a productive member of society. As the 2016-17 school year comes to a close, it is important to reflect on our mission and the success and accomplishments of our students. The Nassau County School District has 15 schools, serving 11,547 students. The County’s four high schools graduated 841 seniors. Those graduating seniors received over $9.4 million in scholarships.
The number of students receiving industry certifications grew to over 1900 this year. Students received certifications in the areas of: Office Specialist, JAVA Oracle, A/C Service, Certified Nursing Assistant, Agriculture, Carpentry, and much more. Those certifications allow students to successfully enter the workforce upon graduation.
As we come to the final days of May, plans are already being made for 2017-18. August will begin with the opening of Wildlight Elementary School, as well as new attendance zones. Student registrations, new teacher hires, employee trainings, budget preparation, and facilities improvements are happening now.
Our goal is to increase student performance, improve and enhance learning opportunities, expand career and technical training, and strive for a 100% graduation rate.
As a parent of a 2017 graduate from FBHS I was surprised to learn of the 224 graduates I learned that approximately 45 received bright future scholarships. The bright future scholarships are tied to the SAT/ ACT scores hence the need to create a greater focus on improving these scores throughout the county. The data from Florida DOE shows that these scores have been dropping in Nassau County. The colleges have all figured out the “grade inflation” game and have zeroed in on the SAT/ ACT scores so as a community we need to get a serious focus on real incentives to help students find success with higher scores. My question is where is the plan? The business community needs to ensure that students are gain ground on this important measurement of learning. The students need help in finding a path towards better scores to help obtain bright future scholarships that open the doors to college and help ease the financial burden of college debt and advanced education.