Alvin Brown is the City of Jacksonville’s first “Education Mayor.” He appointed the City’s first Education Commissioner,
Dr. Donnie Horner, on July 8th, 2011 effectively beginning an unprecedented, active, and hands-on approach to improve the quality of education in Jacksonville.
Click here to see Dr. Horner’s current membership on Jacksonville boards and commissions.
Dr. Horner serves on-loan at the cost of a ceremonial $1 from Jacksonville University (JU) for two years based on an agreement forged by Mayor Brown and Dr. Kerry Romesburg, JU President.
The Education Commissioner reports directly to Mayor Brown and acts as his senior policy advisor for all matters pertaining to education. The Education Commissioner is the cabinet level officer tasked to carry out the Mayor’s educational vision and initiatives, and for partnering with community members and organizations.
The Office of the Education Commissioner includes a program manager,
Mr. Cedric Cruse, generously funded by Florida Blue. The Office of the Education Commissioner operates at no cost to the taxpayers of Duval County.
ADVOCATE for education at every opportunity and across boundaries. The focus is on K-12 public education in Duval County schools, but home-schooled and students in private schools are included in the Commissioner’s broad mandate to positively impact education “from cradle to grave.” Conceptually, this inclusive approach to and interest in education begins at birth, and proceeds from pre-K / early learning years all the way through professional retirement. The Mayor's vision is to make Jacksonville a lifelong learning community, one which attracts and retains businesses to provide well paying jobs.
ENGAGE every aspect of the community – private, public, non-profit, for-profit, foundations, philanthropies, individuals, organizations – to improve the quality and accessibility of educational programs for Jacksonville residents.
PARTNER with parents, teachers, students, schools, providers, community and private sector organizations to develop, plan, and execute programs and initiatives which add value to the educational lives of residents.
ACT on behalf of citizenry to LEAD, CHAMPION, CONVENE, and COLLABORATE on issues of educational import in concert with community activists.