JACKSONVILLE, Fla — Duval County Public Schools' superintendent is being recognized as the state of Florida's Superintendent of the Year for 2021.
The Florida Association of District School Superintendents named Dr. Diana Greene as its yearly honoree for next year, announcing the award in a post on Twitter.
"Greene is the 33rd superintendent and the second African American woman to receive this honor since inception of the awards program in 1988," FADSS says in a release. "The announcement is usually made in-person during the general session of the annual joint conference of FADSS and the Florida School Boards Association ... however, this year, the announcement was made virtually during a FADSS superintendent session among Dr. Greene's colleagues. To say that Dr. Greene was surprised and honored is an understatement."
Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry tweeted his congratulations to Greene shortly after the announcement was made.
"Very proud of @DuvalSchools Supt @DrDianaGreene for being named Florida’s Superintendent of the year. We are grateful for your leadership, hard work and commitment to the children in our community. Congratulations!" Curry posted.
FADSS' release detailed some of the reasons Greene was selected as 2021's recipient:
- Under her leadership, the DCPS graduation rate has increased from 76.6% in 2015 to 86.5% in 2019.
- Achievement gap between white and African American students decreased by 7.3 percentage points, from 10.2% to 2.9%.
- Graduation rate for Hispanic students went from 6.9% lower than white students to 0.1% better than white students in the last five years.
- Disparity in graduation rates of students with disabilities compared with their non-disabled peers moved from 23.4% down to 2.1%.
"Diana leads with compassion and conviction, driven by a work ethic grounded in servant leadership and a commitment to educational excellence," the release says. "Her philosophy that the work of a superintendent and public educators 'has to be done as if there is no tomorrow because we only get one chance with these kids' clearly exemplifies her dedication to public education."
During Greene's 33 years as an educator, she has served as a teacher, assistant principal and principal as well as in curriculum development, staff development and senior executive leadership, according to the release.