Printer FriendlyJust for Teachers
Just for Teachers |
| Text Index |
Custom Search
|
February 2007 Newsletter
Dear Colleagues,
The February “Just for Teachers” newsletter contains information about free passes from Sea World and the Kennedy Space Center, 2007 legislative priorities for education, new resources for parents and teachers, a new “crosswalk” option for the ESOL endorsement, Sunshine State Standards Mathematics revisions, Advanced Placement and more! There is so much information that you may want to print this month’s newsletter. Remember that previous issues of this newsletter are in the “Just for Teachers” online archives and that links to more detailed information can always be found in the “Highlights” section of the “Just for Teachers”.
Survey Closure
Teacher Experiences Survey: Your Opinion Counts!
This survey closed on February 15, 2007. Thank you to all 12,741 educators who responded! Results of this survey will be released in an upcoming “Just for Teachers” newsletter.
New Resources
Parent/Teacher DVD: Your Child, Your Public Schools
The Florida Department of Education, together with Florida educators and parents, produced a DVD to help parents, students, and educators better understand Florida’s public education system. The DVD offers information on a wide range of topics from family involvement and school choice to annual testing and school grades. The DVDs have been sent to each district for distribution. You may find it is a helpful tool for answering parent and student questions, as well as your own. To obtain your copy of the DVD, simply contact your local district volunteer coordinator. For online access to DVD content via the internet, please visit: www.fldoe.org/justforteachers.
Black History Month: Online Resources
In celebration of the numerous contributions made by African Americans every day in America and in Florida, earlier this month I posted some very useful Black History resources on the “Instructional Resources” page of “Just for Teachers.” Resources include a Florida Department of Education publication celebrating African American “Pioneers in Education,” suggested K-12 reading list from Just Read, Florida!, resources from the U.S. Department of Education, the Florida Memory Project and more! Please take a moment to share with your students some of the contributions that African Americans have made or ask students to share the contributions of African Americans past and present with the class.
Does your school have a Black History Month celebration planned? If so, please let me know about it! E-mail me at: JustForTeachers@fldoe.org. Photos of your event are welcome!
Florida Heritage Month to Begin March 15
The Fourth Annual Florida Heritage Month will take place March 15 through April 15, 2007. To encourage a better understanding of and appreciation for Florida's history and culture among the people of our state, the Governor’s Office has planned a month-long tribute to heighten awareness of our state's rich cultural heritage, celebrating its historical sites, museums, libraries, and the visual and performing arts, which flourish in the state of Florida. The Florida Heritage Month Website contains “Education Station” resources for educators, a statewide events calendar which allows educators and community members to submit events for public posting, free of charge, and access to current and past Florida Heritage Month posters.
News
The Reading Endorsement and ESOL Certification
The Department of Education recently released its “Approved Options for Obtaining ESOL Certification.” A notable change is the addition of a “reverse crosswalk” which awards those who already possess the reading endorsement with 120 hours towards the ESOL endorsement. It is important to note that only those reading teachers assigned to teach Intensive Reading or Developmental Language Arts to students classified as English language learners are required to obtain the ESOL endorsement.
Sunshine State Standards Revisions: Mathematics
The State Board of Education approved the revised Reading and Language Arts standards and has designed a new website which allows educators to compare previous standards to revised standards. Additionally, proposals for the revision of Mathematics standards are currently under review and are available online for public comment. Recently, K-12 Chancellor Cheri Pierson Yecke also asked district superintendents to begin the process of recommending teachers and curriculum specialists for the upcoming review of Science and Social Studies standards. To access the new Reading and Language Arts standards, and to give your feedback on proposed revisions to the Mathematics standards, please click on the link above.
Advanced Placement: Participation and Performance on the Rise in Florida
The College Board recently released its “2007 Report to the Nation” which revealed that Florida ranks number one in the nation for the largest percentage of public school students taking Advanced Placement (AP) exams. During 2006, 36.4 percent of Florida’s public school students participated in AP compared to 32.9 percent in 2005 and 24.2 percent nationally. There were 13,221 more students who took an AP exam, the largest increase to date, for a total of 90,681 participating students.
AP Exam performance is also on the rise in Florida. During 2006, 19.6 percent of Florida public high school seniors graduated passing one or more AP exams ranking the state seventh in the nation. Nationally, the average was 14.8 percent, a 6 percent increase for Florida during the last year. Only four other states have had a 6 percent or higher increase. The total number of Florida students receiving a passing score (3 and above) on an AP exam also increased by 11.8 percent since 2005. Additionally, the College Board recognized several public Florida high schools for their exemplary AP programs. For the second year in a row, Florida has more schools recognized than any other state in the nation.
The Florida schools recognized are:
- Alex W. Dreyfoos, Jr. School of the Arts, West Palm Beach
- Barbara Goleman High School, Miami; Coral Reef Senior High, Miami
- Cypress Bay High School, Weston
- Design and Architecture Senior High School, Miami
- Miami Coral Park Senior High School, Miami
- Miami Killean Senior High School, Miami
- Palmetto Senior High School, Miami
- New World School of the Arts, Miami
- School for Advanced Studies South, Miami
- Stanton College Preparatory School, Jacksonville
- Stranahan High School, Ft. Lauderdale
The Core: More News from the Department of Education
The Department of Education recently revamped its weekly newsletter, formerly entitled: The Monday Report. It is now called: The Core. The newsletter is bi-weekly and is available by subscription. How is it different from “Just for Teachers?” While the “Just for Teachers” newsletter is exclusively for Florida educators and contains information specifically for educators, it also enables the Department to solicit educator feedback on important issues, provide information on legislative changes impacting education, and let you know about great offers available to teachers. “The Core” is intended to reach a broad audience including parents, community members, and other stakeholders in addition to educators. “The Core” also keeps readers informed about the success stories of individual districts, schools, and teachers!
Governor’s 2007 Recommended Budget Funds Education at Record Levels
Governor Crist announced his 2007-08 education budget recommendations, which requests record-level funding for Florida’s public schools. The budget recommendation of $33 billion is a $1.3 billion increase over the current year.
Some highlights include:
- Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) Funding — For the FEFP an increase of more than 7 percent, for a total of $19.4 billion. The recommendations include increasing per pupil spending to $7,341, an increase of more than 7 percent compared to the current funding.
- Class Size — To ensure compliance with the Constitutional Amendment approved by voters in 2002, $3.8 billion is recommended to reduce class size. This includes a 29-percent increase providing $2.7 billion in operating funds. In addition, there is $1.1 billion provided for fixed capital outlay. To date, this will be the largest appropriation for class size.
- Reading Initiatives — Reading instruction is critical to ensuring that students succeed in all subjects. To expand reading instruction in Florida, the budget request includes $217.4 million, an increase of more than 14 percent over the current year. Of this amount, $137.8 million is funded through the FEFP, adding $26 million in new funding to hire 400 more reading coaches.
State Board of Education 2007 Legislative Priorities
The State Board has proposed priorities that address key issues facing education in Florida. Educator bonus programs, teacher mentoring incentives, stronger standards revision processes and reading initiatives are among the top priorities. These recommendations will move on to the Florida Legislature for their consideration during the 2007 legislative session set to begin in March.
Based, in part, on feedback from educators regarding the Teachers Lead Program Stipend, the Department and State Board of Education are asking that the following additional public school personnel be eligible to receive this materials and supplies stipend:
- Charter School Teachers
- Pre-K ESE Teachers
STAR Update: Special Teachers are Rewarded
In January, the State Board of Education approved the performance pay plans of Dixie, Hamilton, Jackson, Lee, Union, and Wakulla Counties. In February, the State Board approved the plans of Nassau, Putnam, DeSoto, Suwannee, St. Lucie, and Gilchrist Counties in addition to the P.K. Yonge Developmental School and numerous charter schools. In his recent release of budget recommendations, Governor Crist indicated a desire to ask the Florida Legislature to reward the top 25 percent of a district’s teachers with a 10 percent salary bonus, rather than the 5 percent currently in law. The Governor’s funding request for the school district performance pay plans that recognize and reward outstanding teachers is $295 million, a 100 percent increase over last year.
Money Saving Offers
The following offers are not sponsored by the Florida Department of Education, but I thought that you should know about them. I know that many of you will want to take advantage of these great deals just for educators. Please direct all questions regarding these offers directly to the sponsor of the offer.
Free 12 Month Educator Passes to Sea World
The “Florida Teacher Study Pass” provides unlimited admission to SeaWorld for full-time, classroom (K-12) teachers from August to August of each school year. In order to receive your pass, simply present a copy of your Florida Teacher Certificate, a photo ID, and a recent paycheck stub to the Annual Pass Center at SeaWorld Orlando. Call 407-370-1386 for the most up-to-date information.
Free 12 Month Educator Passes to Kennedy Space Center
Discover first hand how a field trip can enrich every student’s education with the “Educator Study Pass.” Full-time Florida and Georgia educators receive a free Annual Pass to explore the Kennedy Space Center themselves. Educators can enjoy all the benefits of admission, visit the NASA Educator Resource Center to learn about educational programs and receive new classroom materials. Teachers can also tour NASA’s launch headquarters, meet a real astronaut and watch exhilarating IMAX movies. To be eligible for an Educator's Study Pass, educators must possess a valid Florida or Georgia teacher certificate and be currently employed at an accredited school as a full-time K-12 classroom educator. To receive an Educator Study Pass, educators must present these items to the ticket agents located at the ticket plaza. Professional educators can visit the NASA Educator Resource Center (ERC) to receive information, copy NASA videotapes, reproduce software, slides and videotapes, and review lesson plans and other teaching materials. For details on available materials or to make an appointment, call the ERC at 321-867-4090
Reminders
Teacher Talk: An Inside Look at Florida Education
Did you miss the first installment of the new monthly series devoted to public education in Florida, “Teacher Talk: An Inside Look at Florida Education?” If so, you can view it online at your leisure courtesy of the Florida Education Channel, part of the Panhandle Area Educational Consortium (PAEC). To view the program online, visit: www.fldoe.org/justforteachers.
Be Featured on “Teacher Talk: An Inside Look at Florida Education!”
Are you an innovative educator who would like to share your creative way of teaching or other education-related accomplishments with colleagues and parents around the state? Does your district offer amazing programs for students and/or teachers? Do you have a colleague who should be featured for his/her innovations in education? If so, please visit: www.fldoe.org/justforteachers for the online “Teacher Talk” television show contact form!
Did You Know?
You can keep up with the upcoming 2007 Florida legislative session by visiting “Online Sunshine,” the official website of the Florida Legislature located at: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/.
You can also access “Online Sunshine” on the “Just for Teachers” website under “2006 Legislation.”
Have a suggestion or question? Email me at: JustForTeachers@fldoe.org
See you in February!
Best Regards,
Nicole