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What I’ve heard at town hall mee ngs
Dr. Desmond K. Blackburn
Brevard Public Schools superintendent
I’ve been talking with parents, school sta and local leaders in town hall mee ngs at high schools across the Space Coast. I call it a “listening-and- learning tour.”
Listening to people’s concerns about their schools or children’s needs is essen al to learning how Brevard Public Schools can serve them be er. Our next town hall mee ng will be Thursday Nov. 2 at Titusville High from 5:30-7 p.m. Everyone is welcome, including grandparents and business owners.
What have your school board and I learned so far this year? Plenty. At Space Coast High in Port St. John,
I heard pleas to hire more reading coaches for all elementary schools. At Viera High and Bayside High in Palm Bay, I heard parents’ concerns about BPS’ plans to rezone their students to new schools.
Titusville High 150 Terrier Trail, Titusville, FL 32780
BPS NEWS is a publica on of Brevard Public Schools.
Superintendent
Desmond K. Blackburn, Ph.D.
School Board Members
Chairperson: Misty Belford, District 1 Vice Chairman: John Craig, District 2 Tina Descovich, District 3
Ma hew Susin, District 4
Andy Ziegler, District 5
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At Satellite High, I heard calls for more transporta on to help more students reach programs of their choice. But at Merri Island High, I heard
there might be a shortage of bus drivers to do it.
And in every school auditorium we visited, people wished BPS had more money to serve more struggling students, pay teachers more, and build or expand schools in fast-growing areas.
Yet, those are only a
frac on of the issues I’ve
noted during this tour.
So will anything happen with all these concerns expressed by hundreds of people at our town-hall mee ngs?
Well, those who a ended probably no ced me stepping back to the podium occasionally to make wri en notes of residents’ ques ons or requests. I write their comments in
a li le black book. Then, I bring those notes back to my o ce and put them into a spreadsheet.
I note when I’ve heard something repeatedly and when it seems to be a passionate topic for residents. Then, I ask my cabinet or principals to research those issues for me. I like to see objec ve data that either con rms or refutes what I heard.
Once we iden fy the big, real issues, we priori ze them, explore solu ons, then work those solu ons into our budgets.
That process worked before, a er an earlier listening-and-learning tour in 2015.
discuss the future of Brevard Public Schools
How’s Your Investment
Growing?
School Board Chair Misty Belford invites you to a town hall meeting
November 2
in the auditorium at
Titusville High
at 5:30 p.m. -7:00 P.M.
Among the ac ons we have taken to serve children be er, based on what we heard from the community:
• Created a new discipline plan to ensure consistency for students across Brevard County, regardless of their background.
• Eliminated more than 190 district assessment tests that were causing stress for students and robbing me from instruc on.
• Made plans to reopen the former South Lake Elementary in Titusville as a school of choice focused on science, technology, engineering and math.
So you see, speaking up ma ers. We do listen.
That’s how we’ll make Brevard Public Schools even be er, together.
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