October/November Letter

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October/November Letter

Dear Colleagues,

Happy autumn! This newsletter is packed with interesting topics for Florida educators. Links to more detailed information can be found on the “Just for Teachers” web page. As always, contact me any time with questions or concerns.

October/November Highlights:

Feedback Surveys: Your Opinion Counts!
I am happy to announce the first of many online surveys, which give Florida educators an opportunity to provide feedback to the Department of Education on a wide variety of topics. Each survey is designed to take no longer than 5 minutes to complete and will allow me to collect statewide data on issues important to you. Survey data will be provided to the Commissioner, as well as other education officials, and will also be made available on the Just for Teachers website. Look for notification of survey availability via e-mail from Just for Teachers. The subject line will read: “New Survey Available Just for Teachers” and will contain a link taking you to the survey. The first survey is available now! Go to: www.fldoe.org/justforteachers

Welcome to New Florida Teachers
Welcome to the thousands of teachers new to Florida and to their school. Very soon, I will be surveying our new teachers to learn more about what brought them to Florida schools, and what we can do to make them feel and be successful. I will also be asking veteran teachers for their ideas, on what has been helpful in supporting new teachers, which they may wish to share with other schools. Does your district or school provide resources specifically for new teachers? If your district or school offers a great mentoring program for new faculty, please e-mail me and tell me about it! JustforTeachers@fldoe.org

Reading in the Arts: Book Read and Middle School Contest
Recently, a statewide book read and a reading-in-the-arts contest for middle school students were launched. The contest focuses on the bestselling book Peter and the Starcatchers by Florida author Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. The book read, coincides with grade-specific contests and activities open to all students in grades 6-8 in public, private and home schools. Three winners will be chosen based on the following categories: 6th Grade Illustration Contest, 7th Grade Short Essay Contest and 8th Grade Short Video Contest. Winners will receive prize packages including a SeaWorld park vacation and much, much more. Teachers of winning students will also receive prize packages. Entries must be postmarked to designated entry submission locations no later than 5:00 PM EST on Friday, November 10, 2006. Contest information, including rules, judging guidelines and prizes can be found at: www.fldoe.org/justforteachers

Florida’s Charter Schools, a Decade of Progress: 10th Annual Florida Charter School Conference
Charter schools are just one of many public school choice options available to Florida students and teachers. They are very popular—and among the fastest growing of the school choice options in Florida. Since 1996, the number of charter schools in Florida has grown from 5 to 334 schools in 2005-2006. Charter school student enrollment for 2005-2006 was well over 92,000 students and over 50 new charter schools opened in the 2005-2006 school year. This year’s conference will be held in Orlando November 29-December 1. Teachers and administrators interested in attending can find more information at www.fldoe.org/justforteachers

Sponsor a ThinkQuest Team
The Oracle Education Foundation (OEF) has recently announced the opening of a new ThinkQuest competition, ThinkQuest International 2007, inviting students and teachers from around the globe to take part in this unique collaborative learning experience. The educational contest is open to students between the ages of 9 and 19 and their teacher-coaches from anywhere in the world at no cost. The program promotes collaboration and cross-cultural learning by encouraging students to team with peers in other regions to develop Web sites on educational topics. In the process of creating their site, students learn and practice their skills in research, writing, technology, and teamwork. The competing teams have the opportunity to create Web sites that can be used as educational resources by students worldwide. All submitted Web sites for ThinkQuest International 2007 will be judged by professional educators. Entries are due in April 2007 and qualifying entries will be published in the ThinkQuest Library, created by students for students and available online. Winners will receive prizes from the Oracle Education Foundation, including laptops and $1,000 school grants for the top 10 teams in each age division, travel to the annual ThinkQuest Live event for the top 3 teams in each division, and digital cameras for the team that receives the Global Perspectives Award. For more information, visit www.fldoe.org/justforteachers

New Legislation

The Special Teachers Are Rewarded (STAR) Program: How does it work?

This year, the Florida Legislature allocated an unprecedented $147.5 million for teacher performance pay. All instructional personnel (excluding paraprofessionals) assigned to schools are automatically eligible to receive a reward of at least 5% of their salary, without having to apply. In order to qualify to receive the allocation, a district has to submit their union negotiated and school board approved STAR Plan to the State Board of Education for approval.

How does the plan work? At least a majority (50%) of the evaluation has to be based upon student achievement, with the other portion based upon other job-related performance, such as the typical performance evaluation. District school boards, working in collaboration with the local union, determine the method to evaluate instructional personnel, as well as methods to evaluate improved student achievement in specialized areas, including exceptional student education, fine arts, career and technical education, and other specialties so that all instructional personnel are eligible for rewards.

Districts desiring to receive their portion of the STAR money must negotiate a plan with the local union, obtain local school board approval, and submit the plan to the State Board for approval by Dec. 31, 2006. State funds will be distributed to districts whose plans are approved. Districts choosing not to participate must still provide and fund a performance pay program, as mandated by law (1012.22).

The State Board of Education is recommending that the Legislature allocate this funding beyond 2006-2007, with annual increases, and to make STAR a recurring program. This summer, the Florida Department of Education began providing technical assistance for all school districts to assist them in developing their plans. Currently, the Department of Education is working with a number of districts on their draft plans. Hillsborough County Public Schools revised their existing performance evaluation plan to meet the STAR requirements. The plan met all of the requirements and was unanimously approved by the State Board of Education. To view the Hillsborough County STAR plan, or for more information on this or other recent education legislation, please visit www.fldoe.org/justforteachers.

Coming Soon

Participate in Ongoing Discussions on Hot Topics in Education
Although the Department of Education has always asked teachers to participate in various committees and focus groups, I am interested in the feedback of my colleagues on a statewide scale. I invite you to apply to participate in online educator discussion groups to begin in January 2007. There will be six ongoing educator focus groups designated by Florida region: Northwest, Northeast, Central, Southwest, Southeast, and South. For each region, the goal is to have at least one teacher from each county participate for an estimated total of 20 participants per region. If you are interested in giving your feedback on a wide variety of issues on a regular basis and can make a commitment to participate for at least one semester, then look for the application in the next Just for Teachers newsletter. Your opinion counts!

Did You Know?

Teacher Retention Rate
Florida’s teacher retention rate has been the same for the past five years? Many people think that our retention rate is going down but the data show that it has not changed among teachers in their first five years of teaching. Source: Florida Department of Education

Best Regards,
Nicole