GREEN COVE SPRINGS – Since being sworn in as the new superintendent of Clay County Schools last week, Addison Davis has been out and about, visible in the community.

On Monday morning, Davis and district staff toured Middleburg High, W.E. Cherry Elementary, Lake Asbury Junior High and Charles E. Bennett Elementary. Tagging along with Davis were school board members Betsy Condon of District 3 and the newly sworn-in Mary Bolla representing District 4.

“I’m here to listen and learn,” Davis said at Bennett Elementary, one of the model schools for the district’s ‘collaborative classroom’ program. “We want to see strengths and what’s working as well as areas of opportunity to improve.”

The collaborative classroom is a team-oriented approach to learning, with students working in groups and relying on each other’s strengths and knowledge. It also involves technology. At Bennett, students in grades 4-6 use personal Google Chromebooks for interactive learning in the digital age. Some third-graders also have been issued Chromebooks.

“We’re looking at the instructional core, such as student interaction, student tasks, if equipment is being leveraged in appropriate ways and delivery models by instructional staff,” Davis said. “We’ll use that type of information to better assist the staff and the school system.”

Davis and the group stopped in a couple of classrooms at Bennett with school principal Shelley Lester leading the tour.

“This is the most important thing we do,” Condon said of touring the classrooms.

Davis beat Charlie Van Zant Jr., who had served one term as superintendent, in the Aug. 30 Republican primary. He went on to defeat independent Rebekah Shively in the general election, taking nearly 75 percent of the vote.

Davis had the support of the teacher’s union, Bolla and council members Janice Kerekes and Carol Studdard. He said he wants to make Clay County Schools a top 10 district in the state, whereas it currently ranks 20th.

He was scheduled to unveil to the public a 20-page plan of action today, Dec. 1.

“Addison is walking into the classrooms, talking to people, talking to the kids – it’s really good,” Bolla said. “It was much needed in our district.”

Bolla was a teacher at Argyle Elementary until Nov. 18 when she retired to take her seat on the school board. She beat former board chair Johnna McKinnon – who served one term – in the primary and was unopposed in the general election.

Email Christiaan DeFranco at chris@opcfla.com. Follow him on Twitter @cdefranco.