WJCT Public Media – November 16, 2018 – Darryl Willie, a former teacher and now the Executive Director of Teach for America Jacksonville, was recently elected to the school board Duval County’s 4th District, which covers parts of Jacksonville’s Northside and Eastside.
When ask what he thinks about charter school, Mr. Willie said:
For charter schools, for me, it’s about making sure kids are in the right environment. And I think parents are probably the best person, or people, to choose that for their kids. So I am not against charter schools. I think charter schools have their place and they’re not going anywhere in Florida. But as for as my district goes, like there’s not a bunch of charters in District 4. So when people ask me about charter schools, especially within District 4, I think charter schools have their place, I think that’s a great option for parents. In District 4 we have to figure out how do we fund traditional publics at their highest possible rate. That is the ultimate goal. At the end of the day, if there aren’t charter options within District 4 and children are going to traditional publics – we gotta make sure we’re boosting those. I think what we have right now is this battle between charter schools and traditional publics. But charter schools are public schools. And charter schools are getting money and public dollars, so we have to make sure we’re holding all of those schools accountable.