What do Zumba and the Super Bowl have in common?

A lesson to learn on how unwise to bet with a teacher!

I should have listened to a good friend of mine when they said, “You should not bet”, but my extreme confidence in my beloved New England Patriots “told me” they would win last week’s Super Bowl for a record six times.  Big mistake!

The bet was if the Patriots won, Ms. Holly Becker, a teacher at Citrus Springs Middle School, would, with the approval of her Principal, have to wear my Tom Brady (#12) Patriots jersey for one full school day.  In the very RARE chance that the Patriots lost, I would have to  participate front and center in a Zumba Exercise Class taught by Christina Heady for Citrus County School employees.

Well, we all know what happened at the Super Bowl….!!

So, on Monday, February 6^th, 2012 at 4:30pm with a very sad face and a miserable cold, I went and participated in the Zumba class.  My wonderful wife was so kind and accompanied me to also participate and encourage me. When I got to class I had hoped that Ms. Becker might forget about the “front and center” part of the bet until I heard the  double doors fling open Ms. Becker announce,  “Mr. Kennedy, front and center!”  Then Ms. Beck very sweetly said, “Mrs. Kennedy you can be in the back if you’d like.”  I knew at that point it wasn’t going to get any better. (All kidding aside, Ms. Becker kept checking on me and encouraging me and really made the class fun as did the instructor and all the other participants.)

I will tell you that I had a wonderful time participating in the Zumba class and I hope to do it again.  Thank you to everyone whether you were supportive, teasing me, or just plain put up with me that evening.

For those interested in learning more about th exercise classes offered: In an effort to provide positive health opportunities, encourage staff, and promote better health (which would also minimize the cost of high health insurance claims, thus in the long run minimizing the rising cost of Health Insurance Premiums) Citrus County Schools, through the Risk Management & Employee Relations Department, has implemented the Zumba Exercise Class.  This exercise classes, along with other strategies, and our District Wellness Center, have dramatically assisted in lowering the high cost of health care insurance that the district offers.  Monies for these classes do not come out of our schools’ general operating fund.

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State Proposed Educational Budget Update – Revised

The state budget is beginning to take shape in the Florida 2012 Legislative Session.  We have seen some encouraging signs and some discouraging signs as the budget is being developed.

It is important to understand that while the information I am sharing is encouraging, it alone does not mean we still will not have several budget funding challenges ahead for our district, but it will potentially provide with some options.

The Encouraging News

About a month ago Governor Scott presented a budget which asked for a $1 billion dollar increase in Education PreK-12 funding for this year’s state budget. The Florida House of Representatives presented passesd their version of the House State Budget and it included a $1.1 billion dollar increase in Education PreK-12 funding over the previous year’s budget.  While we know this may affect other agencies budgets we also know that education has seen severe budget cuts in the past many years and funding back some of those cuts is critical to providing for our students future. This increase, over last year’s funding, could mean as much as $3 million dollars in funding back to Citrus County schools.

Initially the Florida Senate began sharing their budget allocations which shows a budget reduction cut of over $1.3 billion to the PreK-12 budget from last year’s budget.  But that has changed.  The Senate Education PreK-12 Funding Summary for its educational budget proposal was released.   The Senate proposal provides an increase in funding of about $1.18 billion (about $130 million more than the House budget proposal).

What To Do Now?

I want to thank our local Representative, Jimmie Smith, for his efforts in his own Education Committee for working to develop a budget that is more positive for students.  If you have an opportunity I would ask you to email or call Rep. Smith and thank him for his efforts in supporting education at (jimmie.smith@myfloridahouse.gov or by calling Tel # 850-488-0805)

I would further encourage you to contact our State Senators that represent Citrus County and ask them to fund this Educational Pre-K-12 budget increase over last year’s budget and restore back some of the Educational funds that have been taken away from our students.  Citrus County Senator Charles Dean (dean.charles.web@flsenate.gov | Toll Free: 866-538-2831) and Senator Mike Fasano (fasano.mike.web@flsenate.gov | Phone: 850-487-5062).

Please remember when you contact your Legislators it is important if you want to have a positive impact to be respectful when stating your position.  Be clear and brief with what you are asking of them and share how it may affect you personally or someone that you may be concerned about.

Looking Forward

I am optimistically encouraged by the Florida House’s and the Florida Senates Proposed Budgets.  But we still must do our part to inform our Legislators of the needs of our students, teachers and schools.

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Spending Time with Students

This past week several of my activities involved me talking and speaking to students.  Without a doubt this is my favorite part of what I get to do as a board member.  Students will always make you remember what it is that is really most important in life and the work we do in education.  Those of us who have children in our lives, or work with them, know that you never ask a student a question that you are not prepared to hear their truth.

On Tuesday I was at Citrus High School and spent three block periods with Ms. Kathleen Oliver’s students.  Ms. Oliver teaches Learning Strategies classes.  Students in these classes often have learning challenges like me.  Once or more a year, I try to go in to the classroom and share with the students about my own learning challenges as a person with Dyslexia.   I share with them how I have learned to deal with it and what tools I use to overcome the daily challenges which come with it.

I enjoy sharing how the use of technology helps me.  I explain to them how, as a dyslexic, I benefit from using my iPod to listen to audio books, for reading documents and other books to me, and how I use my SmartPhone and iPad to speak into to help me with correct spelling and writing.  I also explained what reading can looks like to a dyslexic when they read and why it can be so challenging to read, write and work with letters, words and numbers.  I explained that math can be challenging, not because of lack of the ability to understand the formulas or how to do it, but because dyslexics might be asked to give the answer for “232 x 41” and instead our brains might inadvertently mix the numbers up and write down “323 x 41”..  I shared that when I do write hand notes I use long hand and write capital letters in different situations where they really don’t belong.  For example I may write a sentence, “The Boy went to the door”, because my mind finds it easier to know that a capital “B” is a “b” instead of an “d”, whereas my mind gets confused and mixes up the small “b” and “d”.

I want to share with you that recently Jerry Swiatek who is one of our District Instructional Technology Specialist shared with me a new font called, “Dyslexie” which is a typeface for dyslexics. It’s based on the 26 letters in the standard alphabet used in English, many of the letters look similar – such as “v/w”, “i/j” and “m/n” – thus people with dyslexia often confuse these letters. So by creating a new typeface where the differences in these letters are emphasized, it was found that dyslexic people made fewer errors.

I shared with the students that to say I found reading and spelling quite difficult is an understatement. I told them that when I was a high school student, like them, that my own reading level was middle school reading level and that “I HATED TO READ”, “I HATED TO WRITE”!   The funny thing now is when I ask myself what I find myself doing in my life much of the time, it is READING!!!!  The reason I do so much reading now is to learn more about educational issues that I may be voting on, and writing letters, speeches, emails, blogs and more.  I also have always been a very inquisitive person in general and interested in a wide variety of subjects to do with life, our country, and so many other things. This, of course, puts me in a position of needing and “wanting” to read all kinds of material to constantly learn, not because I HAVE to but because I WANT to!

I wanted the students to understand that I know what it is like for people to not understand who you really are and to, perhaps at times, think less of you. I have had to deal with people who would read what I wrote and jump to the conclusion that I was not smart and didn’t know anything. I want them to know that I understand how that makes them feel and reassure them that I know that is not the case at all!

I want students to have, a dream and to work to achieve that dream.  No matter what that dream is, they will need to obtain knowledge and skills from what you are learning right now, in high school and then in college. The trick is to always keep learning and finding a way to use those skills because you never know when they will come in handy again. Like many they will probably hold many different positions as an adult in the work world and never know when something you learned in a previous career will give you the edge in your next job.

Nothing is insurmountable!  An intelligent person once said, “Start working to fulfill your dreams today… because if not, someone will put you to work fulfilling their dream.”

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