Legislators still not listening to parents, teachers, Superintendents and school boards

“The principle of accountability ensures we measure student outcomes.” she says, “Parents have a right to know whether their child is making adequate progress.” ~ Rep Adkins

Florida House Legislative Leaders still do not appear to be hearing the concerns of parents, teachers, superintendents and school boards.  Florida House of Representative Janet Adkins, chairwoman of the House K-12 Education subcommittee released a statement on Tuesday continuing supporting strong support for the current accountability system which is based in testing assessments of students and linking those test to teacher evaluations. Click here to read statement.

Despite the Florida School Board Association (FSBA), Florida Association Of District School Superintendents (FADSS), Florida Parent Teachers Association (PTA), and the Florida Association of School Administrators (FASA) call for an overhaul to the current Florida accountability system which has been plagued with issues largely surrounding the Florida Standardized Assessment or FSA.

While I greatly appreciate that Rep. Adkins shared in her statement that one of the issues she will be working on is to address struggling readers and those with Dyslexia– Rep. Adkins stated, “One major focus of my committee work will be to craft a framework to ensure we address the challenge of those who struggle to read and those with Dyslexia”.  That said I believe that the State Legislature have cross the line of what is best for students with the current over testing and flawed state mandated school accountability system.

I would respectfully counter Rep. Adkins statements by sharing; that the legislature should listen to parents’, teachers’, administrators’, school boards’ and the communities’ concerns, rather than be lectured too and by the legislature. Because of the laws which Rep. Adkins and her colleagues have passed over the last many years it isn’t teachers and school districts who determine ‘adequate progress’– it is unfortunately for our students, the State Legislature. This should be a concern to us all. It is time that Rep. Adkins and the Florida Legislature stop the direction they continue to arrogantly go in public education which is having drastically negative consequences on our students’ lives.

Why do Representative Adkins and her committee continue to believe they know what is best for our young people over the teachers, administrators, parents, and school boards that represent them?

Comments Off on Legislators still not listening to parents, teachers, Superintendents and school boards
Filed under: News & Updates

School Board Meeting Recap for October 2015

A time to celebrate

Tuesday, October 13th, 2015 the Citrus County School Board met for our October Regular Meeting. During the meeting the Board approved over $80,500.00 in donations to our students and students. We cannot thank our community enough for the generous contributions made for our students.

One of the best parts of our board meetings is the Superintendent honoring the community through the “Superintendent Himmel’s ‘Making A Difference Award’”. During the meeting five individuals or organizations were honored including; Rotarian Ray Darling, Teacher Amanda Mathieu, Inverness Kiwanis, Citrus County Blessings, and the Citrus County Educational Foundation.

During the meeting the School Board also approved a Proclamation honoring the Anti-Drug Coalition’s ‘Red Ribbon Week’, from October 23^rd through October 30^th, 2015.

Ray Darling is a Rotarian and founder of the Rotary Upward Bound quarterly student Award Program. Follow this link to learn more about Mr. Darling; https://thomastalks.org/2015/09/13/upward-bound-because-of-ray-darling/

Amanda Mathieu is a teacher at Lecanto High School who was honored for being selected this year to take part in the State Teacher Artist Residencies by the Florida Alliance for Arts Education.

Inverness Kiwanis was honored for their tremendous generosity over the years in providing a Chicken Dinner Competition between our high schools with 100% of all funds received going directly to the schools. This year alone over $10,000 were donated to the schools.

Citrus County Blessings was honored for the great work feeding over 1,050 students in Citrus County for the 2 ½ days of each weekend during the school year. For more information on Citrus County Blessings visit: http://citruscountyblessings.com

Citrus County Educational Foundation is the largest donating contributor to Citrus County Schools. They raised over $412,000.00 for 2014-2015 year. There are numerus programs in our schools and classrooms that could not exist if not for the CCEF. For more information on Citrus County Educational Foundation visit: http://www.citruseducation.org

Red Ribbon Week Proclamation— Citrus County Schools will be hosting wonderful awareness activities throughout the week showing drug free living. These activates are supported by Anti-Drug Coalition, School Resource Officers, teachers and SADD Clubs. For more information on Anti-Drug Coalition visit: http://www.substancefreecitrus.org

Comments Off on School Board Meeting Recap for October 2015
Filed under: News & Updates

Florida School Board Joins in Seeking Overhaul of State’s Accountability System

“The accountability system in Florida is broken. In such a high-stakes testing environment, it is imperative that we reassess current procedures so that we can move forward with a reliable system that educators, students and the community can support,” ~FSBA Executive Director Andrea Messina

On Friday we were informed that the Florida School Board Association (FSBA) joined the Florida Association Of District School Superintendents (FADSS), Florida Parent Teachers Association (PTA), and the Florida Association of School Administrators (FASA), and issued a press release asking to; ‘Seek Overhaul of State’s Accountability System’.

The FSBA has also received request from FADSS has requested FSBA draft a Resolution in support of their position. FSBA is working on draft resolution language prior to the FSBA legislative committee meeting which is scheduled for October 15, 2015 in Clearwater.

As a fellow FSBA member, I fully support the FSBA’s press release and the statement by our FSBA Executive Director Andrea Messina.

### FSBA PRESS RELEASE ###

Florida’s School Board Members Seek Overhaul of State’s Accountability System

October 1, 2015

Tallahassee, Fla. – The Florida School Boards Association (FSBA) recognizes the need for a strong accountability system at the school, district and state level in order to secure a uniform, efficient, safe, secure and high quality system of free public schools as guaranteed by the Florida Constitution. The FSBA also firmly supports the Florida Standards and valid and reliable state assessments to measure student progress in mastering those standards. However, Florida school board members are deeply concerned about the integrity of Florida’s current accountability system, which they believe has continuously deteriorated.

Due to the extensive disruption and confusion that surrounded the initial administration of the Florida Standards Assessments (FSA) and the adverse conditions under which the test was administered, the FSBA questions whether the test is psychometrically reliable, which is essential in determining student performance baselines and in projecting future performance expectations. Additionally, the FSBA is concerned with the lack of trust from educators, students and the broader public in the fairness of statewide assessments and standards.

Since 1998, the number of assessments required by the state to be administered each year has substantially increased. The FSBA believes there is an over-emphasis on standardized testing which has resulted in a variety of unintended consequences that diminish the quality of the educational program, including stifling student engagement, narrowing the curriculum, reducing student access to elective and other desired courses and impeding the recruitment and retention of excellent teachers and administrators.

“The accountability system in Florida is broken. In such a high-stakes testing environment, it is imperative that we reassess current procedures so that we can move forward with a reliable system that educators, students and the community can support,” said FSBA Executive Director Andrea Messina.

In an attempt to fix the eroded system, FSBA is once again calling on the Governor, Florida Legislature and State Board of Education to forego use of the 2015 FSA test results and extend, until fiscal year 2016-2017, the transition period for the implementation of accountability measures relating to teacher evaluation, school grades and district ranking. The FSBA also recommends the formation of a diverse committee of Florida teachers and district personnel to review the FSA to improve communication and public understanding of the state assessment and accountability system.

In addition, the FSBA calls on the U.S. Congress and Administration to overhaul the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, also known as the “No Child Left Behind Act,” to reduce testing mandates, to promote multiple forms of evidence of student learning and school quality and to remove any fixed mandate for the use of student test scores in evaluating educators.

Florida school board members are calling for a re-evaluation of our assessment system in order to uphold Florida’s standing as a leader in education reform and adhere to the state’s constitutional responsibility to make adequate provision for a uniform, efficient and high quality system of public schools.

###

Click here to access this press release issued by FSBA.

The mission of the Florida School Boards Association (FSBA) is to increase student achievement through the development of effective school board leadership and advocacy for public education.

Comments Off on Florida School Board Joins in Seeking Overhaul of State’s Accountability System
Filed under: News & Updates