May 28, 2024 – Recently, the district announced it was hosting public forums on the new Master Facility Plan (MFP).
These public forums give community members a chance to provide input on recent proposals to consolidate schools, update feeder patterns, and redraw school boundaries.
However, these MFP meetings should not be confused with another type of meeting that is also taking place over the next several days.
These meetings are called ACE meetings, and they are not connected to the MFP proposals.
What is ACE?
ACE stands for Academic and Community Excellence.
The ACE process is where a working group of engaged stakeholders is formed to review the data, history, and facts related to a topic or proposal in order to develop recommendations for the superintendent.
Board Policy 8.51 describes how the ACE process works. Other Board policies describe when the ACE process is actually used.
This includes Board Policy 5.46. This section describes how ACE is used regarding proposals for a new magnet program, the replication of a magnet program at a new site, the movement of a magnet program from one school to another, or the discontinuation of a magnet program.
As background, all Team Duval schools have a special theme or area of focus. For example, Fort Caroline Middle School has a performing arts focus, Darnell-Cookman is a medical science magnet, and Beauclerc Elementary offers a dual language program.
Occasionally the district will identify a school whose programming needs to be reviewed for possible changes.
When this happens, the ACE process is implemented. That means a working group of the school’s stakeholders is formed to review the school’s programming and make recommendations that will be presented to the superintendent. The meetings that are held are called ACE Working Group meetings.
Upcoming ACE meetings
There are three schools going through the ACE process currently:
- Mandarin Oaks Elementary: proposal to add a magnet program
- Rufus Payne Elementary: proposal to discontinue magnet program
- Young Men’s/Young Women’s Leadership Academy at Eugene J. Butler: proposal to discontinue magnet program
Meetings are open to the public but are not public forums. Rather, they are designed specifically for the working groups to discuss proposed changes to the school’s programming and make a recommendation that will be presented to the superintendent.
Both Mandarin Oaks and YMWLA have meetings scheduled for Wednesday, May 29.
Notifications are sent to the school’s stakeholders when there is an upcoming meeting. They are also posted on the district’s General Meeting Notices webpage.
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