Florida A&M University’s Board of Trustees is taking an extra step to support its developmental research school in efforts to bring its grade up from a C to an A.
A Special Committee on the Developmental Research School was established by the university’s board on behalf of FAMU DRS and met for the first time in February. The group is set to meet again at 4 p.m. May 12 via Zoom to discuss strategic priorities, give an overview of the school’s grade and performance, and hear updates on recruitment and fundraising.
University trustee and Faculty Senate President Jamal Brown – who was a student at the K-12 school before enrolling and graduating from FAMU – is chair of the committee.
“I went to DRS and I went through that school as a kid. But on this side now, to look back and to really be able to connect the dots with the university is helpful,” Brown said in an interview with the Tallahassee Democrat.
“The intention of the DRS committee is the university and the board’s commitment to go back and reinvest into DRS. We’re looking at those different areas of linking our programs, increasing dual enrollment pipelines and programs of strategic emphasis.”
FAMU DRS was originally founded in 1887, where it was established as the Teacher Training School for FAMU before becoming a developmental research school in 1991. It is located at Orange Avenue and Althea Gibson Way.
The school – which is legislatively mandated and operates as its own school district, serving elementary and secondary-level students – has been graded as a C school for the past decade.
“Our goal is to be an A school,” Brown said. “Right now, we’re not at an A. We see a lot of other schools hitting that target, so… we want to integrate DRS into the university’s strategic plan, because right now, it’s not.”
“We’ve had this school for decades,” he added, “but getting it in the strategic plan is very important. We need to provide them with the support they need to stand out as an A school like a lot of our other peers.” Florida State University School, for example, has consistently maintained an A grade.
The special committee was established by the FAMU board to review, evaluate and recommend policies, structures and strategies that will help strengthen the school’s academic performance, operational integrity, financial stability, according to the committee’s charter report.
Besides Brown, the committee’s members are trustees Natlie Figgers, Emery Gainey, Roderick Harris and vice chair Michael White.
FAMU DRS superintendent: ‘excited about the direction we’re going in’
Micheal Johnson – who has been FAMU DRS superintendent since 2019 – said he’s excited about the university’s renewed focus on the school.
“With this new committee, if it’s better to align the resources and support that FAMU DRS needs and should have, we’re super excited about that,” Johnson told the Democrat during a May 11 phone call. “We’re excited about the direction we’re going in, and we’re excited about some of our data that is coming out for this year in testing.”
He says some of the school’s main priorities include continuing support for STREAM (science, technology, robotics, engineering, arts, math) education and sustaining FAMU DRS’s graduation rates. While the school’s average rate for the past five years is about 92%, this year’s graduation rate is 100%.
“All of that goes into the factor of a school grade,” Johnson said. “I don’t want to predict… but what I will tell you is that we’re feeling pretty good about our data that is coming back thus far for our students. It’s definitely some of the better gains that I’ve seen in my tenure here.”
The FAMU board’s goals for reinvesting into the school include increasing allocated funds − which comes after the university secured $3 million in recurring funds for FAMU DRS during last year’s legislative session for the 2025-26 fiscal year − better understanding the school’s capital needs, improving its accountability systems and lining up curriculums with the future workforce industry. FAMU’s Provost Office and the university’s College of Education Dean Sarah Price oversee operations at the school.
One of FAMU DRS’s programs currently in place is the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Dual Enrollment Program, which is a partnership between the laboratory school and Tallahassee State College, Lively Technical College, and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Areas include agriculture, food sciences, applied engineering and technology, digital media, sports media and exercise sciences.
“If you have students that have more (associate degrees), that’s reducing the burden on parents to pay for college tuition, and that helps us to increase the number of students that are meeting our four-year graduation rates,” Brown said. “It allows us to position students strategically for going into certain programs that meet our metrics for the Board of Governors.”
Brown said working toward salary increases for FAMU DRS employees is also on the committee’s to-do list, but more financial resources are needed to accomplish that. In FAMU’s legislative budget request for 2026-2027, $48.3 million is being requested for priorities including student success, operational and academic excellence, and FAMU DRS. It is unclear how much would go toward FAMU DRS specifically.
How to watch FAMU board’s DRS special committee meeting
Tarah Jean is the higher education reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat, a member of the USA TODAY Network – Florida. She can be reached at tjean@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @tarahjean_.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU DRS committee works to boost school’s grade from C to A
Reporting by Tarah Jean, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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