Schiller was unanimously elected in a 5-0 vote
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Robert Schiller, a highly experienced education administrator who has led school districts in four states, was tapped by the Brevard Public Schools Board as interim superintendent, effective January 1.
Schiller replaces Dr. Mark Mullins, who resigned last month after serving as BPS superintendent since June 2018.
Schiller, who was unanimously elected in a 5-0 vote, will hit the ground running in preparing to take over by meeting with BPS staff, including acting superintendent Beth Thedy.
Schiller has extensive experience as an interim superintendent for Los Angeles public schools, Baltimore public schools and New Orleans public schools.
He has also served as a full-time superintendent in multiple school districts and has written more than 40 research topics for school districts across the nation on a variety of projects.
A native of Miami, Florida, he now resides in Stuart, Florida.
Mark Rendell, the current principal of Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr. High School finished second.
Rendell provided detailed reports showing increases in African-American graduation rates, increases in low socio-economic participation in advanced placement classes, and over 70 percent increase in career and technical certifications.
He also worked on securing funding and building the career and technical college in Indian River County.
Eric Larsen the chief financial officer for Orange County Public schools, also ranked highly.
With almost 30 years of experience starting out as a teacher, Larsen has built an extensive résumé to include increasing student scores in nine of 11 low socioeconomic schools in Orange County.
“Every school board member here today recognized that these three individuals are of some of the highest quality in the state of Florida and nationally,” said BPS Boar Chair Matt Susin.
“I feel secure that the decision the school board made today is a good thing for Brevard, and look forward to working with Mr. Schiller.”
In other BPS updates, Thedy issued the following important message to BPS families and staff:
It is hard to believe we are just a few days away from Winter Break. The first semester has flown by, and I want to wish you and your family a restful and safe holiday. As we prepare to take some much-needed time off, there are important updates I want to share with our community.
This week the school board approved an amended school calendar that impacts the second semester. February 20th and April 24th are now regular school days. These are make-up days for class time missed during Hurricane Nicole. Please make a note of the change to avoid any surprises.
Also, student behavior remains a topic of focus for the district, with the goal being to ensure the best possible learning environment. Respect, understanding, and proper behavior are prerequisites to accomplishing our mission of serving every student with excellence.
With that in mind, I encourage families and staff to review the three highlighted school board policies. These policies are not new, but I feel it is important we all abide by them to help facilitate a positive learning experience.
• _Policy 5610 – Removal, Out of School Suspension, Disciplinary Placement, and Expulsion of Students
• _Policy 5500 – Student Conduct
• _Policy 5136 – Wireless Communication Devices
In addition, this upcoming Winter Break would be a good time for families to review both the K-12/Adult Registration Form Addendum that students and parents/guardians sign each year and the Student/Parent Cell Phone or Wireless Communication Device (WCD) Contract.
You can review the Grades K-12/Adult Registration Form Addendum here and the Cell Phone or Wireless Communication Device (WCD) Contract here.
As a reminder, part of the registration addendum states: “Notwithstanding any other provision of Board policy, pursuant to F.S. 1006.13(5), any student found to have committed an act of assault or aggravated assault, or battery or aggravated battery, on any elected official of the School District, teacher, administrator, or other School District personnel, shall be recommended for expulsion or placement in an alternative school setting, as appropriate, for a minimum period of one (1) year.”
The above policies, like all district policies, will continue to be followed in the new year. BPS families and staff help make our school district a top performer in the State and I appreciate all the care each member brings to our schools and our students.
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