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Put students ahead of systems, incoming Florida education commissioner Richard Corcoran says

The goal should be a 'world-class education' for all, Corcoran told WTSP.
 
Published Dec. 28, 2018

Standing in front of the Pasco County school district headquarters, education commissioner-select Richard Corcoran told WTSP-TV that the state should focus more on the quality of education given to each Florida child than the place he or she receives it.

"Let's put 100 percent of the focus on the school children," Corcoran said, during a nearly 7-minute interview. "If that's what every single person does, and says, 'How do we take this child and give them a world-class education? We don't care about place, we don't care about systems, we don't care about vendors.'

'If that's the focus, we'll get there and we'll achieve it."

As an elected representative and state House leader, Corcoran was known for his efforts to seek options outside traditional public schools. He championed new charter school systems, tax credit scholarships to attend private schools, and other initiatives that his critics contend divert money away from the state's single biggest education provider — school districts.

As commissioner, Corcoran will have a different role than simply driving philosophy. He also must comply with the statutory definition of his new role, "chief educational officer of the state and the sole custodian of the K-20 data warehouse."

Among his many responsibilities is a section that suggests that place and system do matter in pursuit of his larger goal of student learning. The duties include:

"To implement a program of school improvement and education accountability designed to provide all students the opportunity to make adequate learning gains in each year of school as provided by statute and State Board of Education rule based upon the achievement of the state education goals, recognizing the following:
1. The district school board is responsible for school and student performance.
2. The individual school is the unit for education accountability.
3. The Florida College System institution board of trustees is responsible for Florida College System institution performance and student performance."

Corcoran has noted that he is the product of public education, and he has no intention of killing the system. Rather, he stresses, he wants to make it great for everyone.

His supporters and detractors will be watching in 2019 to see how Corcoran acts to accomplish his objectives. Eyes will likely look to proposed rules, legislative requests, budget priorities and other specific actions, rather than simply the words that come out of the Turlington Building where the Department of Education operates.

Stay tuned. And let us know what you want to know, as well as what you see.