Brennan Asplen, Superintendent, St. Johns County School District

June 2026 — Invest: spoke with Brennan Asplen, superintendent of St. Johns County School District, about early childhood education, workforce readiness, and the role of community partnerships in sustaining the district’s performance. “It’s not just one person, it’s not one group, it’s everybody working together,” Asplen said.

What key changes over the past year have impacted St. Johns County School District?

We are focused on several key areas as we move forward. One is early childhood education, particularly our pre-K students who are preparing for kindergarten. We are trying to bring as many students from our community as possible into our pre-K system, where they can learn with certified teachers. We know that the sooner we can reach students, the better their chances are of learning to read by second grade and certainly by third grade.

That has been one of our major goals. We have increased the number of pre-K students from about 400 five or six years ago to more than 1,000 students today. That effort is going very well.

We also focus on acceleration in middle school and high school. Our goal is for every student to have at least one accelerated class while they are with us, although many students take multiple accelerated courses. We want every student to have that experience at some point.

Our middle-school students have earned more than 17,800 digital tools certifications this year. Our high-school students have earned more than 5,700 industry certifications this year. Workforce education is another area we are watching closely. We want students to be prepared for the workforce, whether they graduate from high school and go directly to work, go on to college and use that certification later, or enter the military.

How are the district’s career academies supporting workforce readiness?

We have 29 career academies across our eight high schools. They range from banking and finance academies, such as our VyStar Credit Union finance academy, to the Veterinary and Biomedical Academy, logistics, technology, and many engineering academies.

Students have many areas where they can become engaged. Right now, more than 64% of our high-school students are involved in those academies. That helps them prepare for the workforce, and it also helps businesses because they can hire students who already have relevant experiences, including internships.

How is the district approaching teacher recruitment and retention?

We try to market ourselves as effectively as possible to reach potential educators through colleges, universities, and businesses. More than 1,300 of our 3,500 teachers are second-career teachers who built careers in other fields and then decided to teach. We are always looking for excellent teachers, and we participate in career fairs and other recruiting efforts.

One of the biggest factors helping us retain teachers has been the recent referendum approved by our community. It was a one-mill referendum, and the ballot stated that 85% of the funding would go toward salary increases for employees. This is our first year increasing salaries, supplements, and compensation, and teachers are now earning anywhere from $5,000 to $8,800 more than they had in the past.

Our culture also matters. We have a welcoming environment, and our employees help each other. 

What trends are most reshaping K-12 education today?

Artificial intelligence and technology are major trends. We have a task force looking at how to educate students on AI while also creating the right guardrails. From the businesses we have spoken with, we know students need to understand how to use AI properly. It needs to be part of the curriculum, or students may be left behind when they apply for jobs.

We have built a program around how students, teachers, and employees use AI. We also involve students in the task force so we can understand what they think they need. Business partners are involved as well, so they can help us understand workforce needs.

Another trend is micro-credentialing and alternative pathways. Not every student is pursuing a traditional four-year degree. Many are using the internet, St. Johns Virtual School, and other methods to gain knowledge, credentials, and certifications. We need to prepare students for college, but we also need to support industry certifications and other pathways.

The way school looks today may not be the way it looks in 10 years. Technology has changed how we think about education and the areas in which students need to be prepared.

What are the biggest challenges facing the district and K-12 education more broadly?

Technology brings challenges. Florida has a new law requiring students in kindergarten through eighth grade not to have cellphones in school. In high school, phones can only be used when a teacher includes them as part of a lesson. That requires a shift in mindset because phones have become part of daily life for many students.

Social media is another challenge. Things that happen outside of school on social media can come into the school system the next day. Students may arrive upset about something that happened online overnight, and we have to work through issues we may not have seen develop.

Another major challenge is the voucher system in Florida. Taxpayer dollars now go not only to public schools but also to charter schools, private schools, home schools, and micro-schools. There are more places drawing from the same education funding.

We support choice and believe parents should be able to choose the educational setting that works for their children. We also believe in competition. However, it becomes difficult to compete when public school districts lose revenue for students who may never have attended the district in the first place.

In St. Johns County, we continue to grow by about 1,000 students, but there are also roughly 6,000 students in private schools or home schools in the county. Many of those students have never been in our school system, but they now receive the same per-student funding amount that we receive. At the same time, public schools have significant accountability requirements and regulations tied to taxpayer dollars.

Each student represents about $9,100 in funding. As our expenses increase because of inflation and student growth, our revenue can decrease because of vouchers. Instead of adding about 40 teachers for 1,000 additional students, we are having to cut 130 positions. We have also cut $8 million from the district office, eliminated 22 district office positions, and reduced leases.

We have a plan in place, and we are not closing schools, but some districts in Florida are closing schools and cutting positions. All districts are working through this as best they can. We have to compete, market ourselves, and show the value of our school system.

What are your key priorities for the coming years?

It is important to stay with key goals over multiple years so we can see how they are working and avoid constantly changing direction for our 50 principals. Early childhood education remains a strong priority. Acceleration is non-negotiable. We will continue expanding career academies, providing more opportunities for students, and increasing internships. We also want to bring on more business partners to help with curriculum and to help us understand what students need as they enter the workforce.

Technology will remain on the front burner because it changes so quickly. We need to stay ahead of it, or at least keep pace with it, because students often move ahead of us in that area. We are learning from our students just as they are learning from us.

What role does the community play in the district’s success?

It takes everybody to have a great school system. We have amazing teachers, terrific administrators, and outstanding non-instructional staff members. We also have wonderful students, terrific parents, and strong community and business partners.

Having a transparent, collaborative working environment and culture is what helps keep us at the top. I want to continue thanking everyone for working together. It’s not just one person; it’s not one group; it’s everybody working together, and in St. Johns County, I believe everybody does that very well.