JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Clay County public school students will have some new tools at their disposal this school year, Clay County schools Superintendent Addison Davis told The Morning Show.
Those tools include the i-Ready and Achieve 3000 programs, which are designed to help students improve in math and reading comprehension.
"We're really excited about taking two areas of curriculum and making them fit for our learners," Davis said. "We're moving away from the one-size-fits-all approach and more toward a prescribed learning platform."
The programs are aimed at helping move students away from large group instruction and toward smaller groups and one-on-one learning. If a student does poorly in the program or on tests for those programs, the student will not necessarily be held back.
The i-Ready program is an online assessment and instruction tool and can be accessed from any computer with an internet connection. The reading program is offered for kindergarten through third-graders and the math program is offered for kindergarten through sixth-graders.
The Achieve 3000 program is offered for students through the 10th grade.
Davis, who is seven months into his role as superintendent, is charged with setting the agenda for schools throughout Clay County. As part of that role, he's been reaching out to parents and teachers for input through his "Listen and Learn" meetings.
Davis, previously a school administrator in Jacksonville, was elected last November when he soundly defeated longtime educator Rebekah Shively.
Among Davis' concerns as students prepare to return to the county's classrooms on Aug. 15 is school safety.
There were 56 fights on campus at Clay County schools last school year, compared to 33 in the 2015-2016 school year.
"I will tell you Clay County teachers are doing a fantastic job gaining access to our students, so we have a great safe environment in our school system," Davis said.
He said the district is working with various organizations, including Clay Baptist, the Tony Boselli Foundation and Clay Health, to get help for the students who might need it.
"We want students to know how to problem solve, how to collaborate, how to critically think and gain the 21st century skills they need to be successful in and out of the classroom,” Davis said.
When the school year begins, eight schools will have new principals. Two of those principals were hired from outside of the district. Davis said those principals offer a new way of outside thinking that the district might find invaluable.