SARASOTA

Official talks schooling goals

State’s commissioner of education speaks to Argus Foundation

Elizabeth Djinis
elizabeth.djinis@heraldtribune.com
Florida Commissioner of Education Pam Stewart spoke to an audience at the Argus Foundation's luncheon at the Field Club Thursday.

SARASOTA — At a time when school security may be on the minds of every Floridian, nearly two months after 17 students and teachers were shot in Parkland, Florida Commissioner of Education Pam Stewart did not mention the topic and instead praised the state's education system for ranking in the nation's top 10 at an Argus Foundation luncheon Thursday, although she did not specify what rating system she was discussing.

Stewart, appointed by Florida Gov. Rick Scott in 2013, said her top priority is to close the achievement gap, an oft-stated phrase that refers to attempting to eliminate the differences in academic performance between students of varying racial backgrounds and socioeconomic status.

She cited a number of factors that she said contributed to the achievement gap, including a disparity in discipline and chronic absenteeism. But she said one of the nuances not commonly known is chronic teacher absenteeism, or a teacher who is not always present in class.

"I can tell you, in our Advanced Placement classes, those teachers are there every day," Stewart said Thursday. "But it is with our most vulnerable students that we have our teachers that are less motivated and less capable. We've got to make that shift and we've got to help them become better or help them find another profession."

Stewart cited some statistics at the Field Club event to show that the achievement gap has already been improving. She said students in particular sub-groups, including minorities, non-English speakers, those with disabilities and accessing free and reduced lunches were outperforming those same groups of students in every other state in the country.

"We are the number one state in the nation in addressing the needs of our most vulnerable students," said Stewart, who is likely to be replaced after a new governor is elected this fall. "I believe that when you can, in fact, do that work, you're going to see the state's economy improve."

Questions of diversity in race and gender and how that related to academic performance were directed to Stewart during a question-and-answer session. One audience member asked what was being done to change males trailing females in graduation rates. Stewart countered by saying the larger difference occurred between black male students and female students.

"African-American males are the biggest contrast," she said. "... I wish I knew what was the cause of that and what we could do to address that. I do believe that the mentoring is one of the biggest issues — our males need the mentoring more than our females need the mentoring."

She added that the ongoing issue in closing the achievement gap has to do with academic differences between black and white students, but that there is less of a disparity between white and Hispanic students.

"We have closed the gap between white and Hispanic students in the state of Florida — some Hispanic students outperform our white students," Stewart said. "When I talk about the gap, I'm really talking about the gap between white and African-American students. ... One of the biggest issues that has to be addressed is the belief system of the educator."

In a nearly 30-minute speech, Stewart did not get into the facets of exactly how the Florida Department of Education planned to entirely close the achievement gap, but it is an issue often referenced by the Sarasota County School District. It is one of the primary initiatives district administrators say a one-mill, local-option property tax helps fund.

Stewart also wryly touched on Florida's often unflattering national reputation for its education system. "Now you've got a couple of facts that you can go out and use when someone disparages education in Florida," she said.