Archive for News & Updates

FCAT 2012 Begins!

Posted on April 16th, 2012 by

FCAT 2012!

As FCAT testing begins I want to thank the educators of Citrus County for their hard work with our students.  As a direct result of their influence and strategies students are less anxious or worried about the FCAT tests, rather they feeling more confident and optimistic.  That is a credit to the labor and preparation these teachers have each done with them.

For the last number of weeks and months my own children have brought home practice work done in class or for them to do at home.  With the urging of their teachers they have used our home computers to access online FCAT resources such as Study Island and FCAT Explore.  They have been taught test taking strategies and in many cases teachers and/or administrators  have met with them privately to make them aware of the expectations we have for them individually and to let them know that they are capable of success.  In 3rd grade families were given FCAT packages with helpful tips, suggestions and even letter paper and envelopes with instructions for give each family member to provide their student an inspirational encouraging note before taking the FCAT.  In addition to that my own children’s mother is a Citrus County educator who further requires enrichment learning at home. (my poor kids 😉 )

All of these efforts are not unique rather they are the norm.  I am encouraged for our students’ results and our students are blessed to have these dedicated educators in their lives.

I thank the educators of Citrus County for what you do each day for the students of Citrus County!

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Regular Board Meeting & Public Hearing for April 10th, 2011

Posted on April 14th, 2012 by

Regular Board Meeting & Public Hearing for April 10th, 2011

It was a full board meeting on Tuesday which included a Public Hearing to approve three district policies and the 2012-2013 Code of Student Conduct.

The meeting began with a presentation of the Joe Buccheri Memorial by Jim Manos which passed the school board unanimously.  (Please click here to read this special blog post.)

The Board approved the appointment of Belinda Woythaler as Director of Professional Development effective July 1, 2012.  Ms. Woythaler comes to us from our Human Resources Department where she has been serving as the department’s coordinator.  Following the appointment the board approved changes to the job description for the Director of Professional Development to bring inline the duties that will now be encompass by this position.

Also approved at the board meeting on the consent agenda was the purchase of new Cafeteria Furnishings for Citrus Springs Middle School, Rock Crusher Elementary, Forest Ridge Elementary, Citrus Springs Elementary, and Crystal River High School.  The cost of these new cafeteria tables total over $364,000.  None of the funds generated to purchase these tables were from any tax payer moneys. The funds were provided by the Food and Nutrition Services Department who generated the funds by the sales from the A La Carte side of the cafeteria sales.  So keep in mind when your students buy those “Combo Meals” the profits go right back into our schools for the students.

At the meeting the board adopted to maintain the existing attendance school boundary zones for all elementary, middle and high schools.  I know many are asking when the high schools will be rezoned.  The report submitted by Chuck Dixon, the Director of Planning & Growth stated, “High school rezoning may be appropriate for the 2013-14 school year based on the construction schedule for Crystal River High School. This year’s report includes 5 years of enrollment data for consideration. Next year’s (End of Year 2012) report will focus on high school enrollment trends and outline a timeline for rezoning, if appropriate.”

Also at the meeting was the consideration of the November 11th, 2011 request, by the Citrus County Builders Association, to remove the Concurrency Requirement from the Interlocal Agreement for Public Schools Facility Planning.  A motion was made to consider removing the requirement but there was no “second” to the motion, therefore the motion died and no change to the concurrency requirement was made.

During the Public Hearing portion of the meeting the Board approved the adoption of Policy 2.231, Policy Development or Amendment.  This is a new policy that describes the process for developing and adopting School Board Policies. The Board approved revisions to Policy 6.37, Suspension and Dismissal Language. These revisions regard employee petition for a suspension or dismissal hearing which has been revised to comply with Florida statute. The last policy approved was revisions to Policy 4.12, Exceptional Student Education.  This was a simple correction to the web address for the Citrus County Exceptional Student Program description that was added to the policy. Lastly, was the approval of the 2012-2013 Code of Student Conduct.

The major item approved at this board meeting was for a Resolution regarding the Holding of a Referendum Election of the School District of Citrus County, Florida to approve levee of an additional 0.25 mills of Ad Valorem Taxes for necessary Operating Expenses; directing the Citrus County Commissioners to place this measure on the Ballot for the November 6, 2012 General Election.  I have begun sharing this issue with you already and I will be speaking more about it in the coming weeks and months.

If you have any questions please feel free to always contact me.

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Coach Buccheri Memorial Thanks to Former Colleague

Posted on April 14th, 2012 by

Coach Buccheri Memorial Thanks to Former Colleague

A Coach on the field and in the classroom

The Chronicle recently referred to Coach Joe Buccheri as “a rare man who brought more to a teenager’s life than teaching hitting and pitching.”

At the Tuesday, April 10th, 2012 School Board meeting , after presentation by a retired Lecanto High School teacher Jim Manon, and friend to Coach, the school board unanimously gave approval of the Joe Buccheri Memorial plaque which will be displayed within the compounds of the Crystal River High School Baseball Field.

Coach Buccheri passed away last August. Coach was a teacher at Crystal River High School and coached CRHS baseball from 1987 to 1996. Under his coaching the CRHS team won five district titles and he was a mentor to many young people. Long before Coach came to Crystal River, Buccheri played, and then coached, for the St. Louis Cardinals. He was a survivor of cancer and two strokes, before succumbing to the rare Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in 2011.

After the approval of the board Mr. Manos shared these words, “on behalf of the family and friends of Joe Buccheri thank you for your approval, but more importantly, your blessings for this well-deserved tribute in memory of Coach Buccheri.”

Processes are under way for the setting of a date for the 2013 Baseball Season for the unveiling and presentation of the plaque.

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Changing Education Paradigms

Posted on April 5th, 2012 by

Changing Education Paradigms

“Every Country on Earth, at the moment is reforming public education”

Recently Fellow Board Member Pat Deutschman forwarded me a video to watch from Sir Ken Robinson.  I had seen this video before and I so much appreciated Ms. Deutschman reminding me of it.  It is critical for all of us as parents, educators and community members to understand and be mindful of its message.  The video does an excellent, entertaining and clear  job explaining about education its past and current design and what we need to be cognizant of in developing education for the future.   Please take a few minutes and watch the video below.

Sir Ken Robinson is an author, speaker, and international advisor on education in the arts to governments, non-profits, education, and arts bodies. He was Director of The Arts in Schools Project, Professor of Arts Education at the University of Warwick, and was knighted in 2003 for services to education. Originally from a working-class Liverpool family, Robinson now lives in Los Angeles with his wife Marie-Therese and their two children.

(video source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U)

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Chronicle Editorial Board: Valuing students

Posted on April 5th, 2012 by

“This week I had planned on writing a blog post about the history of the .25 millage rate and begin sharing with you the direction the school board may go in requesting from voters continuing the .25 critical need millage rate. As I was preparing to write the article the Citrus County Chronicle Editorial published an excellent editorial on the issue. I ask if you would take time to please read it.” ~Thomas

Chronicle Editorial Board: Valuing students

“Vote critical to sustaining quality schools”

April 4, 2012
THE ISSUE: School tax vote.
OPINION: Maintaining 1.75 millage rate merits voter approval.

Prior to 2008, local school district millage rates were set by the state at 2 mills and restricted to capital outlays. Since 2008, the Florida Legislature, in a cost-shifting political shell game, passed the responsibly for adequately funding school construction and maintenance to local school boards by reducing the millage rate to 1.5 mills with the option for local school boards to restore it to 1.75 mills with voter approval.

Faced with the state’s slashing of $10 million for capital projects, annual facilities maintenance costs of $10 million and a $47 million renovation project for its aging primary and high schools in Crystal River, the Citrus County School Board placed students first by assuming the political risk of calling for voters to restore the millage rate to 1.75 in 2010.

Answering the board’s call, Citrus County voters affirmed their strong support for the education of our students by overwhelmingly approving the requested quarter-mill restoration by more than 60 percent of the vote.

This demonstrative show of community support for valuing the education of its students was cited by the Fitch Group as a key factor in the school board recently earning an A-plus financial rating during a period of prolonged economic decline.

Unfortunately, the state will eliminate the current quarter-mill levy for capital programs by year’s end.

Accordingly, school board members once again are placing students first by asking voters during this November’s general election to replace the expiring quarter-mill capital outlay levy with a quarter-mill levy for school operations, given that the state has cut the district’s operational funds by $18 million the past four years.

Since the requested quarter-mill levy, which equates to $25 annually for the average homeowner, would replace the current quarter-mill levy for capital outlays, the wording on the voter’s referendum cannot say that it is simply a renewal of the levy approved by voters in 2010.

Consequently, school board members and district officials are concerned that voters may mistakenly view the requested quarter-mill levy for operations as a tax increase.

Unlike the Legislature, which passed the buck in fulfilling its constitutional responsibility to make education a paramount duty, Citrus County voters accepted that duty with the overwhelming number of ballots cast for the education of our children in 2010.

Voters are urged to continue valuing students by approving the requested quarter-mill levy to maintain the current 1.75 millage rate, which is critical to sustaining the quality of education that our students receive.

www.chronicleonline.com/content/valuing-students

 

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The Math FCAT Show

Posted on April 3rd, 2012 by

The Math FCAT Show

On Monday I had the an opportunity of visiting Rock Crusher Elementary to observe John Mullen, Supervisor of Achievement Data Technology and Brady Hannett, Teacher on Special Assignment for Math who facilitated a special Math FCAT Show.

Each year the Educational Service Division of the School District offers to all schools the opportunity to come in to do an FCAT Show.  The main purpose of this Show is to relieve student stress and reinforce test taking skills that our educators have been working on all year.  Mr. Mullen has shared that both he and Mr. Hannett always leave learning valuable data about our students processing skills and even different ways to solve math problems.

As you can see by a sample test question below Math assessments are often as much about reading as they are about math equations.  It is why there is often a correlation of test scores between reading and math results.

Here is a sample 4th grade FCAT Math Question.  See if you know the answer and post your answer.

Bo is filling the swimming pool in his backyard. He notes how many inches the water level rises every minute. The water level raises 20 inches in the first minutes. The table below shows the change in the number of inches the water level rose each minute.

Second Minute = Decrease of 1 inches
Third Minute = Decrease of 2 inches
Fourth Minute = Decrease of 4 inches

If this pattern continues how many inches of water will be in the pool after minutes?

A.         27 inches
B.         35 inches
C.         74 inches
D.         80 inches

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