‘Has to be fed every day': Duval schools superintendent encourages parents to be literacy partners
When kids miss school, they can get behind on their learning and literacy. The proof is in the numbers.
The State of Florida's 'State Reading Assessment' in the Spring of 2024 is one measure of literacy in local students. The St. Johns County School District leads the state, with 76% of third graders reading at or above grade level.
The same report notes that St. Johns County also has the lowest chronic absenteeism rate in the state and has had that distinction for ten years.
Nassau County ranked second in the state at 68% at grade level. Clay ranks 12 at 63%. Duval County ranked 51 out of 67, at 49%. That's also lower than the state average.
Those numbers led to a community-wide push to get Duval third graders on track. Duval County Public Schools' Superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier believes literacy is a family matter.
'If you're proficient in third grade, you're 96% likely to graduate from high school. That's why it's important' Bernier said.
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Bernier said students are making progress.
'In our scores across the board last year, from state testing, every single grade band that's tested 3 to 10 made positive gains in proficiency. That's unheard of.' Bernier said.
He expects the improvement is continuing.
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'I have anecdotal evidence with the third-grade teachers talking about 60, 70, 80-percent of their children are now arriving in a position where they can start to read to learn,' he said.
Bernier credits support from community partners, the tireless work of educators, and some new programs the school district has incorporated into its curriculum.
That includes incorporating the University of Florida Literacy Institute curriculum for kindergarten, first, and second grade students. The UFLI curriculum focuses on foundational skills, like sounding out words.
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'What I tell parents is, if you go into one of our kindergarten, first and second grade and third-grade classrooms, you'll recognize reading again,' Bernier said. 'It'll remind you of the way we were taught to read.'
The superintendent said parents are seeing the difference, and he encourages families to be partners in the process.
'You know, we always make sure that our kids are fed right, and we give 'em the right amount of food and we snack 'em and we try to chose healthy snacks for their own nutritional basis. We have to approach literacy acquisition the same way. It has to be fed every day' Bernier said.
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