Duval Schools officials say absenteeism to blame for 'COVID slide' in test scores jacksonville.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from jacksonville.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Renaming confederate-named schools is finally over, but pursuing equal opportunity through public schools has just begun. Black third graders are behind.
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Gilberto “Gil” Balli was named assistant special agent in charge of the FBI Jacksonville Resident Agency branch. He will oversee all operations in seven FBI offices in Daytona Beach, Ocala, Gainesville, Tallahassee, Panama City, Fort Walton and Pensacola.
• Orange Park Medical Center, an HCA Healthcare affiliate, named
Pete Long-Innes as chief operating officer of Orange Park Medical Center. He most recently was COO of Frankfort (Kentucky) Regional Medical Center, also an HCA affiliate. He has 12 years of experience within HCA Healthcare.
• At-Large Group 1 City Council member
Terrance Freeman joined Read USA as its first full-time CEO. Read USA is a nonprofit that has provided a quarter of a million free books to more than 73,000 children in Duval County since 2011.
Despite 'missing' students, Florida education advocates say the need for school funding is greater than ever msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Guest column: Black educators can help solve racial disparities in education
Your turn
As we close out Black History Month, I believe Jacksonville has an opportunity to make history by investing in black educators.
Research has shown that teacher diversity helps all students, especially students who look like them. One study found that low-income black boys are 39 percent more likely to graduate high school if they have just one black male teacher in elementary school. That is an astounding figure from a rigorous, long-term study.
Education experts offer a couple explanations for this. One is representation: Black teachers are living proof to students that they can achieve great things in college and career. Another is cultural responsiveness: Black teachers who share the background of their students may be able to relate to them more easily, and be less likely to have implicit biases that negatively impact students.