Live updates: Brevard Schools superintendent finalists talk achievement gaps, recruitment
Brevard's school board interviewed the three finalists for the superintendent position over the course of the day Thursday, starting at 9 a.m.
Finalists Scott Schneider, Mark Rendell and Jason Wysong were each given about 90 minutes to speak to board members Matt Susin, Katye Campbell, Gene Trent, Megan Wright and Jennifer Jenkins in the district's board room. The meeting was streamed on YouTube and is also available to watch on FLORIDA TODAY.
Interviews were initially set to end by 4:45 p.m., though that time was adjusted since finalist John Stratton dropped out of the pool of candidates Tuesday following a controversy with a teacher in Hernando County.
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Community gathering offers chance to meet finalists
Interested parents and members of the community attended to discern for themselves which of the finalists could best lead the school district down the road.
After short speeches by candidates Scott Schneider, Jason Wysong and Mark Rendell, community members lined up to discuss with them the issues they felt most pressing to the district. Issues like school safety, discipline, busing and achievement gaps. Joseph McNeil Jr. has grandkids who attend Brevard schools and wanted to make sure his concerns were heard. He said he spoke to the candidates about racial achievement gaps and how they plan to close them. "I want to see that the playing field is leveled. I don't think at this point at time it is level. The educational gap is disproportionate still, even among students in VPK, especially from marginalized communities," McNeil said. "By the time they're in third or fourth grade, they're already behind."
Jennifer Stratford, a mom of a Satellite High School student, said she appreciated the opportunity to talk to the candidates."I think the process is great and that they're having the community come in to meet the candidates," she said.
"I think the finalists reflect what we're looking for here in Brevard County," Stratford added, declining to mention which of the three she might be leaning toward. She said she hopes the process is putting the school district on the right path toward smoothing over the tumultuous past few months.
Rachele Jolley said she's been attending the community input forums leading up to choosing the finalists, saying she was concerned about disciplinary issues in the schools, worrying there would be a divide racially in how different students are punished. "All the data shows our Black and brown children are being disciplined more severely. I don't think SROs (school resource officers) should be involved in discipline at all," she added.
Carole Miller said she was concerned largely about discipline and bullying in the schools. "If a kid comes in and tells their story and says they were bullied, will they look into it and go by the book and do what they're supposed to do?" she questioned. "The discipline is terrible. Teachers have to have more rights. Teachers shouldn't feel afraid to walk into the classroom and they are," she added.
Miller said she spoke to each of the candidates about her concern and next she'll mull over their answers before going to the online portal to submit her feedback with the hopes that her voice will be part of the process in choosing the next leader of BPS.
The new superintendent will be chosen at a board meeting on May 2.
Wysong talks community, achievement gaps
Wysong, who has worked for the Seminole County Public School district for about 16 years, has been a deputy superintendent in Seminole County since 2021.
He has served in multiple capacities in Seminole County, including executive director of instructional excellence and system equity; executive director of education pathways and strategic partnerships; coordinator for the Race to the Top, differentiated accountability and response to interventions; and more.
Despite the challenges of the pandemic, Wysong praised Brevard's history of academic achievement and said he would focus on continuing it.
“Academic outcomes are why we are here," he said. "We can get a lot of things done as a school district, as a community lever, but we have to deliver on student learning first in order to do all of those things.”
In terms of what he would do first if he were to be chosen as superintendent, he said he would want to listen to the community and their needs.
“The first piece of anything is listening and getting out and really engaging with as many stakeholders as possible," he said. “You (the board) have the existing community and business connections, you know the history of how things unfold, and a superintendent coming in from the outside is going to need that support to kind of say ‘this is the lay of the land.’”
Addressing achievement gaps was something Wysong said would involve taking a deep-dive look at what's working and what isn't by examining schools with large gaps to see what's going wrong there as compared to schools with smaller gaps.
“The key is not to start and stop," he said, adding that building a group of principals and assistant principals who can be resilient would vital. "It’s a long game problem. It’s not something that you’re going to fix in one or two or three years.”
Wysong said he has been to Tallahassee twice to present to House subcommittees on education-related issues, though he did not specify what the specific issues were.
“That’s an incredible opportunity because you have legislators sitting on these education committees,” he said. “It’s different when you have classroom teaching experience, and you’re trying to communicate the complexity of different issues.”
Wysong interview begins
1:32 p.m. EDT
The board reconvened and began Jason Wysong's interview. He is the final candidate to be interviewed.
Rendell discusses organizational structure and recruitment
12:23 p.m. EDT
Mark Rendell began his career in education within BPS, working as a teacher in 1993 and later as an assistant principal, then as an assistant principal at Titusville High in 2001. After leaving Brevard in 2006, he returned in 2019 as principal for Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr. High. In between, he worked at a high school in North Carolina and served as principal and later assistant and deputy superintendent in St. Lucie County.
Rendell said one of his biggest priorities would be to address academic achievement. Based on the district's socioeconomic status, he said he believes the district should be ranked higher academically, adding that socioeconomic status and grades often correlate.
"We're 13th from the top (in terms of socioeconomic status) ... and if you're looking at our performance, and you're saying that income level is often correlated to performance, then we should be in the top 13 in every category when compared to the other districts around the state," he said. "We need to start looking at the other districts and see how they're doing and why are we not doing as well as them."
Another issue he said he would address were he to be chosen as superintendent would be BPS’ organizational structure, adding that it didn’t seem effective from his position as a principal. Making necessary changes would help with the retention of teachers and other staff, he said.
“Let’s find out what we can do to improve our working conditions to keep our people," he said.
One of his strategies for recruitment included holding more career fairs, as well as talking to people in their current positions. Talking to people who enjoy their jobs and advertising that would be a good way to attract potential employees, he said.
The board went into recess at about 12:22p.m. following Rendell's interview. They were scheduled to begin the final interview at 1:30 p.m.
Mark Rendell interview begins
10:50 a.m. EDT
The meeting resumed, with the board beginning Rendell's interview.
Rendell is the principal at Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr. High School.
Schneider talks teacher retention, CTE
10:22 a.m. EDT
Schneider, a Florida native, has worked for Duval County Public Schools for about 12 years in various capacities, most recently taking the position of chief of schools in 2021. He has also served as principal of a high school and region superintendent.
Much of Schneider's focus was on teacher recruitment and retention. He said the best way to improve the district would be to fill teacher vacancies.
"You can have the best intentioned substitute (teacher) inside that classroom, but that’s not going to deliver the same quality of instruction," he said.
When it came to addressing achievement gaps, he again focused on the importance of teachers.
"It's so important for academic excellence that we have the same excellent teachers, regardless of what school setting they're in," he said. "We must first and foremost recruit (and) retain those amazing teachers, but also we need to have professional development if there's something more that needs to be done and we feel like our teachers perhaps are not equipped to do the work."
In addition to teacher recruitment and retention, his goals included creating a better sense of teacher safety by addressing student discipline, building stronger connections with the community and expanding upon career and technical education into middle and elementary schools.
“It’s all about building hope for our children," Shneider said. "I think that CTE courses absolutely bring hope to our children that might not have normally had hope, because college was not an interest of theirs.”
Schneider’s interview concluded at 10:20 a.m.
Following his interview, the board took a short break.
The next scheduled interview is with Rendell.
First candidate arrives
9:04 a.m. EDT
Scott Schneider, chief of schools for Duval County, has arrived. Each member of the board is allocated 15 minutes within a 90-minute period to interview him.
Meeting begins
9:02 a.m. EDT
The board has gathered and is beginning the meeting. No candidates are present yet. A small gathering of about six members of the public are in the audience.
Prepping for interviews
7:45 a.m. EDT
Interviews are scheduled to begin in a little over an hour. The board has not convened yet.
Finch Walker is the education reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Walker at 321-290-4744 or fwalker@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @_finchwalker.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Live: Brevard Public Schools superintendent finalists talk achievement, retention
