Dec. 2, 2020 – Duval Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene was named the 2021 Florida Superintendent of the Year by the Florida Association of District School Superintendents (FADSS); making her the 33rd superintendent and second African-American woman to receive this honor.
The announcement was shared Wednesday afternoon during a FADSS virtual conference with more than 60 of Dr. Greene’s fellow superintendents, colleagues, and dignitaries from around the state in attendance.
“I am grateful and truly humbled to accept this honor because it is a reflection of the great work and accomplishment of everyone at Duval County Public Schools,” said Dr. Greene. “It is an honor for our team – Team Duval – and the entire community, which is really embracing and supporting our schools. I am honored to accept this award in recognition of everyone’s great work and support.”
“We are so proud of Dr. Greene! Her bold leadership has offered steady guidance for all of Team Duval during a very challenging year and I can’t think of anyone more deserving of this incredible honor,” said Duval County School Board Chairwoman Elizabeth Andersen. “We know she will represent Duval and Florida well.”
“Diana leads with compassion and conviction, driven by a work ethic grounded in servant leadership and a commitment to educational excellence,” said FADSS President and Pinellas County Schools Superintendent Dr. Michael Grego. “Her philosophy that the work of a superintendent and public educators ‘has to be done as if there is no tomorrow because we only get one chance with these kids’, clearly exemplifies her dedication to public education.”
A media release from FADSS noted the following highlights:
“One of the most impressive areas of progress in the district under Dr. Greene’s leadership is the increase in the district graduation rate. This community-wide focus led by Dr. Greene involved securing buy-in and support from a variety of stakeholders including board members, staff, parents, and business and community leaders. While the work had already begun prior to her arrival, through her leadership, the district amplified those efforts and accelerated a trajectory of exemplary progress.
Over the last five years, DCPS has seen a steady rise of students graduating college and career-ready from district high schools and has seen the graduation rate move almost 10 percentage points, from 76.6% in 2014-2015 to 86.5% in 2018-2019.
Even more impressive is the narrowing achievement gap between the district’s white students and students in underrepresented categories. Most notably over the past five years are the following outcomes:
- The achievement gap between white and African American students decreased by 7 .3 percentage points, from 10.2% to 2.9%.
- Five years ago, the graduation rate for Hispanic students was 6.9% lower than white students; now their graduation rate actually exceeds that of our white students by 0.1 % — a change of 7 percentage points.
- The gap has decreased by 8.6 percentage points between our students from low SES in comparison to those not qualifying for a low SES program, from 17.0% down to 8.4%.
- The largest change has been the disparity in graduation rates of students with disabilities compared with their non-SWD peers, moving from 23 .4% down to 2.1 %, a change of 21.3 percentage points.
FADSS full press release is available on its Twitter page: https://twitter.com/PublicSchoolSup/status/1334205304318390274
To learn more about FADSS, visit https://fadss.org/.
The announcement — typically made during an annual in-person FADSS meeting — was made virtually this afternoon and captured in video below.
Dr. Greene shares her remarks at the 5:35 minute mark.
