system grappling with low academic performance and fractured community trust. At that time, SDIRC was ranked 38th out of 67 districts in Florida and was facing significant hurdles in achieving its educational goals. “This is a beautiful place to live, a great community. It has a feeling that is just not comparable, as you look at other counties across the state of Florida,” depicts Dr. Moore. “It just didn’t make any sense why this wasn’t one of the top 10 districts or even higher in the state. So, over the last four years, we have been creating a nonnegotiable education system that the community can respect and trust. We have been extremely busy promoting the idea that we will act in the best interest of kids, and we will make decisions that ensure that we move the district forward.” AN ACCELERATED OPPORTUNITY When COVID arrived in 2020,it became an unexpected catalyst for the shift SDIRC was desperately in need of. This pivotal time enabled the district to formulate and get approval for a strategic plan, streamline operations, overhaul outdated instructional systems, and refocus on student-centric approaches. Dr.Moore elaborates, “When you have a pandemic, where you go from a traditional schooling environment to every student being at home, the reaction to that is 100%, a change in adult behaviors and organizational thinking. We were able to leverage that and make change the norm for the next year and a half. We came out of the pandemic of the most improved school district in the state of Florida.” CAREER AND TECHNICAL PROGRAMS Central to these efforts was the establishment of what Moore describes as “a non-negotiable commitment to student success.” Part of this included boosting the profile and impact of career technical education (CTE) in the area. “We first looked at the programs that were in the school and ensured that every one of those was aligned to the state standard, which is that when you finish one of these programs, there is a market for a job,” Moore elaborates. The district expanded the welding and nursing programs and revitalized a dormant culinary program to support the local hospitality industry. Community engagement was a cornerstone of this strategy, and the district reached out to non-profit organizations, and local business leaders to showcase the college’s programs. “We have a portion of our county that is extremely wealthy,” Moore relays, “A lot of CEOs of major organizations retire here. So, it was providing funding opportunities to align those resources.” From there, the district worked to strengthen its partnerships with entities such as Piper Airlines,which is the largest private employer in the community. “They build airplanes from scratch, here in Indian River County. We are reestablishing a relationship 425 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 05, ISSUE 07 SCHOOL DISTRICT OF INDIAN RIVER COUNTY
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