Monroe County School District Superintendent Edward Tierney joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s going on in the schools.
He said this has been one of the best starts to a school year he has seen in his 25 years in education.
Now entering the third week of the school year, the district has nearly completed its recruitment of personnel and is seeing positive early indicators across its schools.
“The opening is probably the best I’ve ever seen in 25 years,” Tierney said, crediting teachers, school-based administrators, bus drivers, cafeteria workers and other staff for the smooth start.
Tierney said strong attendance at back-to-school events and “Meet the Teacher” programs was one of the first indications that the school year would get off to a good start.
“We just had record turnout there,” he said. “I think that’s the relationship with the schools kept with the parents over the summer, that they were eager to come back and meet and start school again.”
Tierney said another positive sign came when he visited classrooms and saw teachers and students quickly transition into regular academic instruction.
“To get to business that quickly just indicated to me that everybody was ready,” he said.
The district also began the school year with a new emphasis on preparing incoming kindergarten students. Tierney said kindergarten enrollment is higher than projected, running against the statewide trend.
The district communicated with incoming kindergarten families throughout the summer through videos in their home languages and activities designed to help children and families prepare for the transition to school.
“We’re doing our first kindergarten assessment testing right now,” Tierney said. “I’ll be very interested to see if we improve the percent of kids coming in deemed ready for kindergarten by the state.”
Students across the district are also already taking their first progress-monitoring assessments, known as PM 1. Tierney said the testing is important because it establishes an academic baseline and helps determine where students begin subsequent assessments.
He encouraged students to take the tests seriously and do their best.
“It’s just a good habit to pursue excellence in everything you do,” Tierney said.
He also noted that the assessments are adaptive, meaning the results can influence where a student begins future progress monitoring.
Beyond academics, Tierney said extracurricular activities remain an important part of the educational experience in Monroe County.
Athletics, career and technical education programs, clubs, band, cosmetology, fashion programs and other activities are all opportunities that can help students become more engaged with school.
“There are some students that don’t like any subjects, but they come because they want to do cosmetology or the fashion show or the band or the football practice or athletics,” Tierney said.
Tierney said he plans to make a greater effort this school year to attend extracurricular events throughout the district. He noted that he did not make it to a Coral Shores football game last year, but one is already on his calendar for October.
He also expressed enthusiasm about the finalized agreement involving Coral Shores baseball and Founders Park, saying it will allow the community to enjoy games there without the uncertainty that had surrounded the facility.
The superintendent also addressed the district’s long-standing emphasis on patriotism and support for members of the military, particularly with Sept. 11 approaching.
Tierney said the district will treat the anniversary with the dignity it deserves and praised Monroe County as “the most patriotic community that I’ve ever been a part of. I’m proud to be a part of it and admire all the work done to date on instilling young people the importance of patriotism.”
The Monroe County School Board is scheduled to meet Sept. 8 at Marathon High School. Meanwhile, the district is already preparing to send progress reports as the first marking period approaches.
Tierney said the rapid pace of the school year continues to surprise him, even after decades in education.
“I’m just grateful for your support and then the community support, which has such love for the students and the teachers and the schools,” Tierney said. “We are working very hard every day to improve outcomes for students and support our teachers and our schools.”
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