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Parents, students and alumni urge board not to discontinue Young Men's/Young Women's Leadership Academy
Summary
Students, parents, alumni and PTSA leaders gave emotional testimony defending the Leadership Academy's single-gender leadership model and urged the district to explore alternatives to closure, citing student transformation and weak district marketing rather than program failure.
Dozens of current and former students, parents and PTSA leaders told the Duval County School Board the Young Men's/Young Women's Leadership Academy (YMLA) provides unique benefits and should not be discontinued.
Students described personal transformation and improved behavior at the single-gender leadership academy. "They have changed my character and they have changed me as a young man," said a sixth-grade student who addressed the board and drew applause. Parents and alumni recounted stories of graduates who succeeded academically and athletically after attending the program and urged the board to preserve the academy's dedicated magnet pathway to Stanton, Paxon and other continuity programs.
Parents and school leaders also criticized what they called inadequate district marketing and support. Latrice Carmichael, a former PTSA president, said district-level recruitment efforts did not sufficiently publicize the program during school-choice windows and urged the board to consider sustaining options before discontinuing the academy.
Board members and staff acknowledged the Academy's value but cited low building utilization and enrollment challenges across the district. Board member Jones, who has advocated previously for making YMLA a 6-12 campus, said earlier efforts to add high-school grades stalled amid shifts in leadership and funding. Dr. Pernier said that if a magnet program is discontinued the district would "do everything within our power to get them to their first choice for an additional magnet program" and assist impacted families through the school-choice office.
Speakers proposed alternatives such as consolidating another under-enrolled campus into the YMLA building or rebranding and marketing the program more aggressively. Several board members asked staff to provide the SAC's proposed alternatives and to explain how magnet continuity and student priority would be handled if the program is discontinued.
No formal vote occurred at the hearing; the item remains a recommendation to be considered on Nov. 4.
