Robert Avossa currently serves as superintendent in residence of The Scoir College Network, helping the superintendent’s in the network think through any of their challenges, but particularly those around college and career readiness.

Palm Beach County Schools, Florida

Dr. Avossa spent 25 years as a teacher, principal, executive leader, and school superintendent in Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia. Robert ended his career in public education as school superintendent of Palm Beach County, the 10th largest district in the country with a student enrollment of nearly 200,000 students. The annual budget exceeded $2.5 billion, and the district employed nearly 25,000 employees.

The District made rapid gains in student achievement under Dr. Avossa’s leadership. For the first time in many years, Palm Beach County had NO “F” rated schools and earned an overall district rating of A from the Florida Department of Education. The District outperformed all other Florida large urban districts by ranking first or second in state accountability categories for English Language Arts, Science, Math, Civics, and U.S. History. In total, 61% of all Palm Beach County schools were rated “A” or “B” schools.

Fulton County Schools, Georgia

Under Avossa’s four years at the helm, Fulton County Schools achieved dramatic academic gains, earning the District the highest graduation rate of Georgia’s large school systems. Additionally, students scored the second highest average SAT score in the entire state, with 85% of seniors taking the test, which is twice the national average. The graduation rate over the student population increased from 70% to 79%, while the dropout rate decreased from 24% to 12%. The African American graduation rate increased from 58% to 68%, while the dropout rate decreased from 34% to 17%. The Hispanic graduation rate increased from 54% to 62%, while the dropout rate decreased from 37% to 25%. The Caucasian graduation rate increased from 87% to 92%, while the dropout rate decreased from 10% to 4%.

Background

Dr. Avossa is a Broad Academy Fellow and a member of Chiefs for Change, an esteemed network of state and district education chiefs. He has served locally on the boards for the American Heart Association and Center for Creative Education, and he speaks nationally on education issues. Dr. Avossa graduated from the University of South Florida with a bachelor’s degree in Exceptional Education and Behavior Disorders and a master’s degree in Special Education. He earned his doctorate degree from Wingate University in North Carolina.

Listen to a podcast of Robert being interviewed by Dr. Robert Berger. And another of Robert discussing his background and motivations.