Commissioner of Education speaks in Sarasota

SARASOTA — While in Sarasota Wednesday, Florida Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran touted the news he announced the day prior: Florida was again ranked fourth in the nation for K-12 student achievement, according to Education Week’s Quality Counts 2019 report.

Corcoran spoke at a Meet the Minds Luncheon at Michael’s on East, hosted by the Argus Foundation.

“We’re only one of eight states in the last basically decade, who has had massive closure of the achievement gap between non-white and white kids, massive closure, including the kids with disabilities,” Corcoran said.

The commissioner credited an increase in Florida’s accountability measures.

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“We put accountability in our school system, and we found out something really quick and really fast,” Corocan said. “As soon as (parents) found out that they were dropping their child off every single day at an F School, when the one right down the block was an A school, guess what? They wanted out of that school... All the resources came pouring in and suddenly the school board members, superintendents, the teachers, the principals, everyone says ‘We got to change the school.’”

Corcoran also credited competition for Florida’s increased success in education, relating it to the free-market system.

“Guess what happens when you put competition in an education world? Every single... school gets better. Competition works; it’s a fact” he said.

He claimed that during the time Florida’s education system has improved, the state didn’t raise teacher’s salaries, build better buildings or significantly increase the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP).

“The only thing that happened was accountability, and it changed the world in Florida,” he said.

Along with placing importance on competition and accountability, Corcoran highlighted the importance of quality education.

“If we do not get education right, if we do not give people that world-class fundamental education, we will cease to exist as a democracy and as a republic. It's that simple,” he said.

Corcoran formerly served as a speaker of the Florida House before he was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis as Florida Commissioner of Education.

His background is a subject of controversy — before he became speaker, Corcoran favored legislation that allowed charter schools more access to construction money. That bill made is easier for his wife, who founded a charter school, to expand the facility.

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The 2020 Florida Department of Education Teacher of the Year also spoke at the luncheon. Dakeyan Chá Dré Graham from C. Leon King High School in Hillsborough County spoke about his career in education and the teachers who influenced him.

“You want to make a broad and large-scale change to the direction of momentum of our society, it starts with education,” Graham said. “It starts with an investment in your educational institutions, and providing all students the opportunity to succeed at all levels, regardless of where they come from.”