New schools superintendent has plan for first 90 days
Robert Avossa
Robert Avossa has spent his career working in diverse schools and large urban districts across Florida, North Carolina and Georgia. He’s helped boost student achievement, turned around poor performing schools and afforded his schools more flexibility in day-to-day decisions.
Now, Avossa, 43, is poised to become the next schools superintendent in Palm Beach County after a unanimous decision by the School Board this week.
“I am excited about the opportunity to join a great school system,” said Avossa, currently the superintendent in Fulton County, Ga. “In many ways, this is a homecoming. I grew up in and graduated from Brevard County schools and many of my family still lives in Florida.”
Avossa said he has a 90-day entry plan that includes understanding every board member’s concerns, engaging union leaders, visiting the schools and providing a report about what is working well and what the district needs to focus on.
“There’s so many good things happening here,” he said, citing the district’s extensive magnet programs and other choice schools. But among his concerns: maintaining aging school buildings, finding appropriate funding to do so and remaining competitive with local charter schools.
“Charters can play an important role in the school system,” said Avossa. But “they should be solving a particular problem.”
Avossa has led the Fulton County