Superintendent Spotlight:
Dr. Diane Gullett
Marion County Schools
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You boast an impressive 30+ year career in public education with an extensive background in both instructional and operational leadership. You served 19 years with Orange County Public Schools having started as teacher, elementary dean and principal, then rising through the ranks to become area superintendent. In 2018, you moved to Nevada to take the number two spot with Clark County Schools, the fifth-largest district in the nation, where you served until your appointment as Marion County Public Schools (MCPS) Superintendent in Spring 2020.
Of all the positions you have held in public education which has been the most rewarding and why?
I really feel that every position I have held in education has been rewarding, yet challenging and brought a new perspective on serving students. Once I left the principalship, the way that was accomplished was different, but energizing and fulfilling, nonetheless. Even as a superintendent I prioritize time in schools because that is the reason we are all here.
What significance does it hold for you to be the first-ever appointed superintendent in MCPS’ 151-year history?
It has been an honor the lead in this historic role. The change to an appointed superintendent was a major one for the community and the district. Interestingly, I never worked in a district that had an elected superintendent and I knew it would take some time to navigate the transition.
Your leadership challenge for CEOLDP has focused on talent development and management. What specific policies, procedures, and programming have you put in place related to your challenge; and what impacts have you seen, and hope to see, on student achievement?
In order to meet our ambitious goals, it was essential to establish a comprehensive learning plan that addressed meaningful, research-based learning for leaders across the district in their current roles and pathways of development for future ones. As the superintendent, that commitment begins with me and all of our work is centered around data-driven collaboration on high impact strategies to improve student outcomes. We engage deeply in the work of a common language, evidence-based approach to decision-making squarely focused on student needs.
What is an innovative/impactful initiative in your school district that you are most proud of during your tenure as a superintendent?
My tenure in Marion County has been marked with a lot of firsts. Like many of my colleagues, I was hired during the pandemic and had to manage unprecedented times in education. I am proud that we never closed school a day due to COVID-19 since my arrival in 2020. I expanded early learning, offering PK at every school in our district and we opened our first early learning academy, including 3-year old students this year. We also just received a $5.57m appropriation from the Florida legislature for an exciting career expansion at our technical college, aligning our offering with the community needs. I am also proud that we expanded our CTE pathway offerings, now beginning with the elementary grades. We added the first of its kind equine CTE program in Florida to align with the vast career opportunities in our community and developed several new partnerships with businesses to engage students in stronger post-graduate options. We began offering career dual enrollment, doubling the number of participants in the first year, created a leadership class to engage our community members and established a family partnership academy across the district which was the first of its kind.
The community has been very supportive in our commitment to help every student succeed, supporting the renewal of our operational referendum, with voter approval in every precinct for the first time in our county. We also re-engaged with our local agencies and re-established an interlocal agreement that had not been in place since 2008.
Outside of being a superintendent, what is something that your colleagues may not know about you that you would like to share.
My family means the world to me. My husband, Rick, and I have known each other for 41 years and have been married for nearly 35 years. We are blessed to have three wonderful sons (Bradley, Stephen and Dalton) whom I enjoy spending as much time with as possible. They are amazing men with one serving in international anti-money laundering, another a current MD student, and the third in private equity. We all love travel, being near the water, and enjoying the great outdoors.
Individual you admire most for their positive impact on public education:
I am inspired by our teachers who are on the front line with students every day and managing times in the post pandemic world. No one could have anticipated or fully realized what this might look like. I am also so proud of my colleagues who demonstrate strong leadership for students each and every day.
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Dr. Gullett and MCPS are extremely proud of Erin Jackson, a former MCPS student whose hometown is Ocala, FL. Jackson is an American speed skater, roller derby player, and Olympic gold medalist. Jackson is the first Black woman to win a Winter Olympic gold medal in an individual sport. Learn more about Erin and her tremendous accomplishments HERE.
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Spending time with students in the classroom is a highlight of Dr. Gullett's day. |
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Implementing the New Laws -
What You Need to Know
By Brian Moore, FADSS General Counsel
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The Legislature passed over 50 laws during the 2023 Session that will have an impact on school districts. While some of these laws are self-executing, many require the Department of Education (DOE) to interpret, expand, and implement them. The DOE does this primarily through rulemaking, and, with so many new laws, there are going to be a lot of new or amended rules this year.
The State Board of Education (SBE) adopted or amended nearly 100 rules during the 2022-23 school year, and it may need to adopt just as many during the coming year. As of June 20, 2023, there are already 40 rules in rule development with 16 of these scheduled for adoption by the SBE at its July 19, 2023, meeting in Orlando.
Impact of SBE July Meeting
Once adopted, SBE rules have the same force and effect as state law. Thus, it is important for districts not only to be aware of the new rule requirements, but also to participate in the adoption process. The easiest way to do this is to regularly visit the DOE’s Rule page, which allows you to see all the rules in the pipeline, request a rule development workshop, or submit written comments.
Items for consideration at the July SBE meeting include:
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Principles of Professional Conduct adopted in Rule 6A-10.081, F.A.C. Consideration of more amendments to address the latest laws addressing restrooms and gender issues.
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Amending its voucher rules to address HB 1 and the state’s move to a universal voucher system. Rule 6A-6.0952, F.A.C., will have the references to income restrictions and limitations on the use of funds removed. The rule will still require scholarship funding organizations (SFO) to verify that a student remains enrolled in a private school before paying tuition or fees to the school, but this process has not been working well for districts serving thousands of students who have re-enrolled in public schools while the funding continues to go to the SFO instead of the district. Districts who have not been receiving funds for students they are serving may wish to submit suggested changes to the rule to address this problem.
On the Horizon
Multiple rule development workshops have been held in recent weeks, and we are now just waiting on the proposed rule language. These include:
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Safe Schools and Threat Management. There was a workshop schedule for earlier today (June 23, 2023) to address Rule 6A-1.0018, F.A.C., which has been amended multiple times in the last two years, as well as the creation of a separate Rule 6A-1.0019, F.A.C., for threat management teams, forms, and processes.
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School-Sponsored Events and Activities. The expressed goal for this new Rule 6A-10.089, F.A.C., is “ensuring that children are not exposed to inappropriate school-sponsored events and activities.”
There are also several rule development workshops scheduled over the next couple of weeks. These include:
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GED policies for 16- and 17-year-old students. On June 30, 2023, the DOE will hold a workshop to look at Rule 6A-6.0201, F.A.C., and the way that districts handle 16- and 17-year-old students seeking a GED. Some of the changes being considered are in response to new legislation, but they are also looking to require districts to adopt a specific policy in the student progression plan for underage students seeking a waiver to pursue the GED. District Adult Education directors may wish to participate in the workshop, or submit comments about the draft rule language.
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CAPE Industry Certification Funding List. District CTE and workforce education personnel may want to participate in the CAPE Industry Certification Funding List (Rule 6A-6.0576, F.A.C.) workshop scheduled on June 26, 2023, at 2:00 pm.
Please note: this article addresses only 20% of the rules that are likely to be adopted by the SBE before the end of August, and SBE rules can create just as much of a regulatory burden as new laws. Thus, it is important for all public education stakeholders to monitor and participate in the DOE rulemaking process.
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A Warm Welcome to Some of Our New Superintendents!
FADSS is pleased to welcome these 3 new superintendents to the FADSS family.
Between them these new superintendents have over 80 years experience in education!
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Jason Wysong – Manatee County
During a special School Board Meeting on May 16 Dr. Jason Wysong was selected as the next Superintendent for Manatee County Schools. Jason is already well known to many of you as he has attended several FADSS conferences in his capacity as Deputy Superintendent of Seminole County Public Schools. In fact, Jason says that it was attending the FADSS conferences, and being part of the conversations with superintendents, that made him feel ready to apply for the Manatee position. Jason started with SCPS in 2000 starting as a Social Studies Teacher and Debate Coach before moving to the district office in 2011.
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Peter Licata – Broward County
On Thursday, June 15, the School Board of Broward County selected Dr. Peter Licata as Superintendent of Broward County Public Schools, the sixth-largest school district in the nation and the second-largest district in Florida. Peter is returning to the school district where he was once a first-grade student at McNab Elementary School in Pompano Beach. He began his almost 30-year career in education as a teacher and basketball coach for the School District of Palm Beach County. His experience includes 15 years of teaching and leading at the middle and high school levels, and 14 years at the district-leadership level most recently as a regional superintendent.
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Mark Vianello – Charlotte County
Having been selected as the new Superintendent for Charlotte County Public Schools on May 9, Mark assumed his new role on June 14. Mark has spent his whole career in education starting as an ESE teacher in Marion County Public schools in 1992 and working at the elementary, middle, and high school levels before becoming a principal of an elementary school and then the Marion Technical Institute. He advanced to the district office in 2010 as the Executive Director of Student Services and held several other positions ending with being the Chief Operations Officer.
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Education Update
Resources from the Commissioner of Education's Task Force
By Katrina Figgett, FADSS Director of Education
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Those assembled in our superintendent only sessions at this month’s FSBA/FADSS Joint Conference had the pleasure of hearing from Michael Igel, Chair of the Commissioner of Education’s Task Force on Holocaust Education, and Senator Geraldine Thompson, member of the Commissioner of Education’s African American History Task Force.
Michael Igel shared his family’s moving story of holocaust survival, along with a wealth of educator resources that can be accessed at https://www.fldoe.org/holocausteducation/resources.stml. Michael brought up the fact that very soon holocaust survivors will no longer be with us, and asked the question “how will we teach these important lessons when survivors are no longer here?” One resource for doing that is Dimensions in Testimony, a virtual program that allows students and educators to ask questions, and get real time answers, from pre-recorded videos of holocaust survivors and witnesses https://iwitness.usc.edu/sites/dit (you may have seen the 60 Minutes segment on this work https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9tZnC4NGNg). If you have any questions about Holocaust programming Michael is happy to hear from you michaeli@jpfirm.com.
Senator Thompson began her presentation with a “hot off the presses” video about the history of the African American experience in the Paramore Community of Orlando Florida through those involved in the music, medicine, hospitality, and fashion industries. The Senator then discussed the importance of teaching with historic places, enabling students to understand the evolution of their communities. The book African American Sites in Florida by Kevin McCarthy (Professor Emeritus at UF) is an excellent resource for this. Other educational resources can be found on the Task Force site https://afroamfl.org/sites-and-resources/ along with an African American History Instructional Standards guide which can be found here. Any questions about African American History standards and resources can be directed to the Task Force: https://afroamfl.org/contact-us/.
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$300,000 in National Fitness Campaign Grant Funding Announced for the Florida Statewide Wellness Campaign
The National Fitness Campaign (NFC) has announced $300,000 in grant funding for up to 10 communities and schools in the state of Florida for 2023-2024. This funding will be allocated to support school districts and municipalities across the state to join the growing NFC wellness campaign building healthy infrastructure for smart communities of the future.
NFC’s award-winning initiative is supported by 13 of the country’s largest healthcare providers and is planning its 500th Healthy Community, delivering vital outdoor wellness programming and curriculum planning to school districts across the country. If you are not yet familiar with the campaign, the program is designed to bring world-class healthy infrastructure to public spaces, including school campuses, along with consulting, funding and community programming support. Please watch NFC’s 3-minute video describing the program.
NFC is offering priority access to application briefings for Florida superintendents who may be interested in qualifying for funding and partnership. Funding is now available for 2024 site partners on a first come first serve basis. The briefing is a 30-minute Zoom call which will qualify your campus for a feasibility study and grant application.
If you would like to receive a briefing to learn more about the program and how to qualify, please fill out the short contact form at nationalfitnesscampaign.com.
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A Final thank you to FADSS 2022 - 2023
Annual Business Partners
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Be sure to follow FADSS on Twitter [@PublicSchoolSup] and tag FADSS in your district tweets so we can share the great stories and happenings in Florida public schools across our state!
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Florida Association of District School Superintendents
208 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32301
850.577.5784
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