After talking with Gwendolyn E. Gibson, one comes away with the feeling of having been educated. Mrs. Gibson is the School Board Representative for District 4, a predominantly black district comprising 19 schools. District 4 is located in North Jacksonville in Region 1 of the county school system, which is also City Council Districts 7 and 8.

"Population wise, I have a few of the smaller schools in the county which are mostly in the black community. Smaller schools are fine but at the same time, smaller schools lead to closure and less dollars," explained Mrs. Gibson.. "In a smaller school, the environment is great for learning and the classroom shows more control."

But what seems to concern the family law attorney is the issue of education which she thinks has been discussed more lately than ever before. "In the last 10 years, educational issues have become surface issues with a lot of talk and a lot of misinformation. Everyone uses education to catch the ears of citizens. Rhetoric depends on who is speaking."

"Its not just busing issues or desegregation issues, but its the need. We are constantly talking education but we need to make sure every segment is getting what's needed, both public and private schools."
Mrs. Gibson, an undergrad of the 1969 class of FAMU, said she based her school board campaign 10 years ago on quality education. "Being a lawyer, I read a lot, especially statutes. The language of the school system talked about a uniform system of education. The County showed vast differences in delivering education. The delivery systems were complex with no avenue for evaluation. Whose job is it to evaluate the system?"

Mrs. Gibson added that the accountability piece has not been discussed. "Everyone should be accountable––the teacher, the student, the parent. If a parent is complaining, that parent should be asked the question, have you done all you can do? There must be a commitment on the part of the parent to the current school. Same goes for the teacher and the student. Then you have the parent who wants to pull their kid out of the system and place them in another system via charter schools and/or private schools, which poses another problem.

"Charter schools––we have spent more time in the last year than ever on charter schools. When it comes to presenting the idea on charter schools, the language is vague. Administrators of charter schools must realize that there are broad statutes that must be learned and adhered to."
Currently, seven charter schools exist in Duval County. Mrs. Gibson said one school failed based on mismanagement of funds, stating, "They over-obligated themselves on relocatables. They moved once without permission and in doing so, incurred costs and created debt. Charter schools must understand contract law."

Mrs. Gibson is not pro-voucher. "Why create another ship that may sink? I don’t think we've done enough in public education. You can’t say public education is not delivering, because it is, especially where there is accountability."

Mrs. Gibson views the voucher system as not managing the needs of all. "We’re slowly creating something, but what? Even in the schools that receive an F grade, you still have students who are learning. Many parents who are dissatisfied with the system have not done all they can do and think placing their student in a new school is the answer. I likened the new school concept to a used car --- it looks good, smells good, but the engine is bad. The engine in the new school, in some cases, has meant giving grades to students so the school can look good. But has the student actually learned more? No. Or, is your child getting something other than hype and feeling good about grades they actually did not earn?

"The voucher movement scares me; it bothers me. Vouchers are politically putting pressure on the system. Parents really don't seem to understand that money out of public schools makes us offer less programs that can mean the difference to failing and passing schools. The voucher system means fewer students, fewer dollars to spread out.

"The discussion on the vouchers can sound good but the bottom line is to ensure that all kids have good schools that will meet their needs. Access is the number one question. You can have the opportunity but whether or not the opportunity will help the student is my concern. There is quality programming in the public school system that is accessible.

"There are schools in the system doing extremely well. One in particular is Brentwood Elementary, which is located in the heart of the black community. This school was a failing school and is now an A school. The students are receiving a quality education and the parents are taking part in that educational process. And because of their great accomplishment, Governor Bush and the Commissioner of Education will visit the school."

But with the latest reports on the retention rates of high school students in Duval County, the question remains concerning quality education for all. Information received from the Duval County School Board revealed that in the last school, almost 50% of ninth graders flunked. Some high schools had a retention rate of almost 70%, said Mrs. Gibson. The high school with the highest retention rate for ninth graders was Andrew Jackson, a school in Mrs. Gibson's district. Andrew Jackson's rate of retention for ninth graders was $66.3%.

"One of my top three priorities for my remaining two years as School Board Member is to come up with changes and approaches to help remedy this type of situation. With the advent of the new GPA changes, which state a student in high school must have a GPA of 2.0 and pass English and math to go on to the next grade, this has had a tremendous impact." The passing standards in the past consisted of maintaining a 1.5 GPA and earning six credits which could have been in any subjects, not necessarily in English or math.

"My aim is to take on governance issues as they relate to passing standards. It will take a lot of time because it will require reading and understanding new legislation. In addition to this, after I get the understanding, I must communicate this to the community, especially parents with students, so that they will understand how the legislation impacts them and what they need to do. Too many parents are not involved in the process and these parents, along with their students, are left by the wayside."

Personnel and working conditions round out Mrs. Gibson's top three priorities. She said, "With our superintendent, I don’t feel that the communication is there. The educational leadership should be just that: educational leadership. And I don’t feel I have that. Teacher hiring and retention are major concerns for me at this point. We are losing a lot of qualified minority teachers in the next few years due to retirement.

A lot of the black teachers were hired in the late 60s and early 70s. Many are reaching their 30 years. We have a legacy to maintain and we need to increase the pool of qualified black teachers. The standards have changed and the current generation of new teachers must change with the standards in order to secure the best.

Racism is still prevalent in the system after all these years. The working conditions for blacks and other minorities haven't completely changed. There is still a lack of respect for black teachers, black administrators, black parents, and black students. This must change and I will pursue setting a tone. Without the right tone and commitment, nothing goes on. We must be sure that we don't revisit some of the same things that have happened in the past.

"The issues must be dealt with in an effective manner. I've seen some results and some changes, however, the struggle is still there within the staff and administration. Knowing the policy and what happens in the schools are effective tools for me."

Mrs. Gibson was the first black female elected to the school board as well as the first black elected president of the Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, Inc.

A native of Tallahassee, FL, Mrs. Gibson was educated in the public school system of Leon County. She said when she became a member of the school board in 1990, desegregation was the issue locally. Ten years later, it still is. "I never thought we had a unitary school system and we still don't have one. We were declared unitary in 1988 and the decision was reversed in 1989. Just recently, we were declared unitary, and the decision is being appealed. If it is not reversed again, we must continue to move ahead. The parent community should not let gains slip but should also remember that the pace is subtle."

The mother of two children, Mrs. Gibson said her interest in school politics was sparked by her sons typing class.

In high school, my son wanted to take a personal typing class but only needed it for a limited time, not the entire school year. My question was why would you make a child stay in a class a whole year when it wasn't necessary whereas they could be learning something else? I started investigating curricula at various schools for course offerings and found a lot of disparities. Education was always a concern of mine, but at this point, it became an issue for me.

I found out that schools in my community were deplorable. Facilities were awful as compared to other schools in the county. One particular school I visited had dirty, filthy floors, peeling paint. Nothing was demanded from the principal as far as cleaning up the facility. If nothing is demanded, nothing gets done. People say I ask too many questions, make too many demands. If they see what I see, they'll understand why I do what I do. My philosophy still continues to be commitment to providing quality public education to all students regardless of their circumstances.

Course offerings must be integrated into the curriculum but a lot of staff development needs to be done. Computers in the classroom sound good but if the teachers don't know how to use them, what use are they {computers}? And then, on the other hand, we can’t put too much demand on teachers to learn how to use them because their number one priority is to teach. It’s a time factor when it comes to computers in the classroom."

Mrs. Gibson suggested coming up with different ways of assistance to expose students to the computers. "I would definitely like to see them {computers} utilized in the class. We need a technology curriculum which will integrate computers into teaching. Perhaps students should be required to use the computers for assignments based on research. Teachers who specialize in technology should be the teachers instructing the usage of computers. Then you have the other extreme --- computers but no printers or internet access. We've got to get on one accord."

After serving her time on the board, and serving well, Mrs. Gibson, a 1980 graduate of the Holland Law Center at the University of Florida, intends to keep practicing law providing legal and counseling services to mostly low-income families. She said she also intends to continue having a good time with her husband, Joe, of some 30 years, and continue her volunteer efforts in the community. She takes time out to acquaint young people with the law and how it works.

Mrs. Gibson, a member of Central Baptist Institutional Church and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., also divides her time between the Florida Bar, the D. W. Perkins Bar Association, the Jacksonville Women Lawyer Association, the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. Her most important issue of concern before she leaves her board seat is making sure parents become aware of the school system. Says she, "Parents must know about the public school system. They must open their eyes and ears and get to the schools to verify the quality of teachers. They must get involved in their PTAs and visit the schools. They must ask the questions what are we doing?, and why are we doing it? When I leave the school board, I hope people would have learned the process. By knowing the process, you don't have to just settle for anything."