Jacksonville scored a top-five rating in a new national study on cities best positioned for K-12 school reform.
"America's Best (and Worst) Cities for School Reform," unveiled Tuesday by the Thomas Fordham Institute, cited a combination of positive municipal and school district characteristics that propelled Jacksonville to place fifth among 30 large U.S. cities.
But Fordham researcher Mike Petrilli acknowledged that Jacksonville's high ranking was at least partly due to reform-minded state policies governing education accountability programs and charter schools throughout Florida.
"It's quite possible that more Florida cities would have done better," Petrilli said. But because the study's parameters narrowly prescribed city limits, Miami and Florida's other metro markets were excluded.
That said, Jacksonville scored high on several indicators, including:
Charter schools: Noting that the local school board is currently sole authorizer, researchers saw improvement ahead. "The opening of the first KIPP school in 2010 is a sign that national and local organizations are entering this territory," they wrote.
Quality control: "Florida boasts impressive state-level quality-control measures that propel Jacksonville to the top spot in this category."
District environment: "The teachers' union is less antagonistic than many other local unions in this study -- even supporting charter schools."
The report, subtitled "Attracting Entrepreneurs and Change Agents," concluded, "Unlike most other cities, which face a negative district environment and powerful anti-reform teachers union, Jacksonville is relatively open to reform."
Overall, the study praised Jacksonville for an "intimate atmosphere (that) helps build relationships among reformers."
Still, the report cautioned, the city "needs stronger human and financial capital pipelines" to augment what researchers found to be a strong level of "local philanthropic investment."
None of the top five cities received an "A" grade in the Fordham study. Jacksonville and the four leading cities -- New Orleans, Washington, New York and Denver -- each received "B's" for their reform efforts and potential.
The five lowest-scoring cities were: Detroit, El Paso, Phoenix, San Antonio and Seattle (30th).
Rick Hess, of the American Enterprise Institute and co-author of the study, qualified the results, stating that the study's scoring methodology was not predicated on test scores or graduation rates.
"Results won't happen overnight. Systemic reform takes time," said Amber Winkler, research director at the New York-based Fordham Institute.
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Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or (772) 801-5341.
