Q&A with Brevard Schools Supt. Rendell: wins, challenges, goals as new year begins
What does it take to be the superintendent of Brevard's schools?
Mark Rendell is prepping to start his second school year heading Brevard Public Schools. It's not his first foray as a superintendent — he's previously served as deputy superintendent for schools in St. Lucie County, then as superintendent for Indian River County schools from 2015 to 2019.
Last year saw changes right from the get-go, including murky instructions from the state about what teachers could and could not teach from the AP Psychology course, numerous new forms parents had to fill out to OK their kids attending activities outside the classroom and an expanded law about instructional materials and what was permissible in libraries and classrooms.
Now, with that behind him, Rendell is ready for the new year with fresh plans and goals for the district.
Here's what he's learned, and what he's looking forward to.
Your biggest accomplishment to date as superintendent?
Academic achievement: We improved in every testing grade in ELA (English Language Arts), and in six out of eight testing grades for Math. In the past, Brevard was known as a leader in academic achievement and for the past several years we haven’t met that mark. It was a goal of mine to get us back to a place where we are performing as one of the best districts in the state; we are on our way. Brevard Public Schools is back to an “A” district.
What's your biggest short-term goal/goals for the district?
My goal is to have all schools fully staffed, not to just get people hired and placed but also making sure they're supported, valued, and happy. We have faced staffing shortages, like most school districts in the country as well as other industries. My goal is to get us to a point where we have stable staffing, especially with teaching staff.
We're excited about the fact that we're opening the year with staffing 97% fulfilled and retained with a high percentage of teachers returning.
What about long-term goals?
I want the culture within Brevard Public Schools to be one of high performance, but I also want our schools to have independence and autonomy. To continue their mission of high academic achievement, but knowing they have support from the central office.
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I want to make sure everybody views the central office as a place of support. We need to ensure that everybody who's not in the classroom understands that their role is to support what happens in the classroom. For the Purchasing Department, for example, your job is to make sure you find the best product at the best price so we can have more money available for other things. If you're in IT, your job is to make sure that the classroom teacher is supported with any technology they're using. Long-term, everybody's working towards that same end.
When Heidi (my wife) and I moved here in 1993, we chose Brevard because of the schools. When we relocated back to Brevard after moving for family, we chose Brevard again because of the schools. My goal is for every one of our families to feel that way. This is the place to live, and one of the main reasons is because of the school district.
What's been your favorite part of the job?
Obviously, visiting schools. Any time you can get in a classroom with kids and teachers, it's so enjoyable, it's so rewarding. It's why we do this work. I've been blessed to go visit a lot of happy classrooms and see a lot of exciting things being done. I'm not just talking about elementary schools. When I go to a high school and you walk into a senior English class and they're doing a Socratic seminar and these kids are fired up, so excited about it, it's great to see.
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Any surprises/unique challenges and if so, how have you navigated them?
I don't think there have really been any surprises. I have been a superintendent in Florida before, so the job itself is not different. I think it’s a fantastic job. The community seems to be excited about the school district once again. We were in a different place when I came on board, and I believe we're in a much better place today.
I welcome the opportunity to meet with community leaders and groups to tell the story of the tremendous opportunities at Brevard Public Schools.
What would you like kids and families to know as this school year begins?
We understand that we have a great responsibility in educating and caring for the children of our community. We take that responsibility seriously, and position student safety as the number one priority, not just physical safety but emotional safety too. We want to make sure that our students feel safe and secure at school and that they feel valued and cared for.
We also want to make sure that we're teaching students to the standards in both knowledge and life skills. We want parents to know that we look at this responsibility as a privilege and an honor to be able to teach and educate their children.
Finch Walker is the education reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Walker at [email protected]. X: @_finchwalker
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Brevard Schools Supt. Rendell talks wins, goals for students, district
