On Tuesday Citrus Springs Middle School’s media specialist Dan Koch traveled to the Florida State Capital to meet with Governor Rick Scott and receive the Governor’s Shine Award. We congratulate Mr. Koch on this outstanding award.
In a press release from the Governor’s office on Tuesday, Governor Rick Scott said, “Florida’s outstanding teachers help our students achieve their dreams every day in the classroom. I’m proud to present the Governor’s Shine Award to teachers who go above and beyond to make a difference in the lives of students across the state, and thankful for their commitment to excellence in education.” Follow this link to full press release; http://www.flgov.com/2015/09/29/gov-scott-presents-shine-awards-to-nine-outstanding-educators/
The press release shared about Mr. Koch and why he was selected for this prestigious award;
Dan Koch, Citrus County, Citrus Springs Middle School – In his sixth year of teaching, Dan Koch says his inspiration to teach started in the first grade. He gravitated towards English and writing because of its ability to bring a students’ passion for the world around them. Dan maintains the “Falcon Call,” the school blog featuring student reporting and writing pieces, and also manages a school-wide Twitter account that allows students to publish “micro” posts and take photos of school and community events.
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PTA joins Superintendents in loss of faith in school accountability system
“…Parents and community stakeholders will not continue to tolerate this mess” ~ Florida PTA
Florida PTA joined the Florida Association of District School Superintendents in being fed up with the Florida education accountability system and do not want the test scores from the new Florida Standards Assessments to determining teachers’ performance evaluations and school grades.
The Tampa Bay Times is reporting, “In its own statement today, the Florida PTA said it stands with the superintendents. The group agrees that schools should get an ‘incomplete’ for 2014-15 school grades, rather than have the FSA test results dictate a letter grade.”
The Florida PTA stated, “The fact that the school districts have lost faith in the decisions of the Department of Education must be rectified. Parents and community stakeholders will not continue to tolerate this mess“. Click here to read Florida PTA Press Release.
This Florida PTA statement today follows Thursday, September 24, 2015 press release by The Florida Association of District School Superintendents who said, “Florida Superintendents have lost confidence in the accountability system”, and asked for four specific recommendations to be addressed. Click here to read FADSS Press Release.
I agree with both the PTA and FADSS and do not believe that the 2015 FSA or other new high-stakes test scores should be used in determining teachers’ performance evaluations and school grades. It is my hope that the Florida School Boards Association (which the Citrus County School Board is a member) will join the PTA and the FADSS in collectively speaking out against the use of this questionable data.
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Florida Superintendents troubled by state’s education accountability system
TAMPA BAY TIMES: Sen. Bill Montford says labeling schools without any growth data is “greatly disturbing.”
Thursday all 67 superintendents spent almost four hours at Florida Association of District School Superintendents shared about all the problems that happened when their students took the Florida Standards Assessments in 2015. In addition superintendents expressed frustration after reading the validity study which said students would be exempt from the results but teacher’s expostulation and school grades would not.
I encourage you to read Tampa Bay Times article, ‘For Florida superintendents, patience wears thin on school testing problems’; http://tinyurl.com/p3uxyzs
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The public has sent 45,000 letters saying the Florida Standards Assessment (FSA) should not be used to grade anyone, and now Florida Sen. Legg says “stop harping” about the FSA.
This gives me hope that our messages are being hear by some, and that some in the Florida State Legislature are all finally on the defensive and having to answer for their decisions, their votes, and they don’t like it one bit. We only need to look at Senator Legg’s scolding to his committee that they are “done” with the conversation on FSA testing and he essentially told the public that he’s tired of hearing from the 45,000 constituents that have written him in the committee asking that the FSA not be used against students teachers and our schools. That’s more evidence to me that it’s time to continue to put on the heat, it’s time for us to continue to advance.
As FundFloridaNow.org reported, “After decades of micro-managing public education, Legg claims ‘there’s nothing the legislature can do.‘”
Not all our Florida Senators agree with Legg, the Politico Florida reports that, “Sen. Bill Montford, a Tallahassee Democrat who also heads the Florida Association of District School Superintendents, said he’s not satisfied. ‘This meeting today gave me no more comfort. In fact, it even gave me more questions about the process that was used, the conclusions that it came to'”.
Florida House Educational Committee Say Regarding Testing: No Opting Out! But should there be?
“So if you want to have your child learn another way or do something different, you always have the option to take them (out). School boards should not be … saying, ‘Well, okay’. There is NO okay!” ~ Florida Rep. Marlene O’Toole’s (R), Chairwoman, House Educational Committee
If parents, teachers, principals, superintendents or school boards ever questioned if Florida Law permitted parents to “opt out” their child from taking high-stakes standardized tests they got a extremely clear answer today during this morning’s Florida House Education Committee meeting. But should there be?
Commissioner Stewart shared two important points regarding opting out. The first that state law does not permit any opting out other than for very specific Exceptional Student Education (ESE). Commissioner Stewart also said that she felt that Legislators should be concerned, “that there would be individuals out there, that want to choose to not follow the law, because it is law that every student” (must be tested), Stewart went on to say, “it isn’t in law that it is student that wish to”. Commissioner Stewart, said she was not aware of any School Boards (Districts) they were permitting ‘opting out’.
This is when Chairwoman O’Toole’s stated, “You’re not allowed to do that (opt out) and keep your child in a public school“. O’Toole went on to say, “So if you want to have your child learn another way or do something different, you always have the option to take them out” (of public school). She then stated, “School boards should not be … saying, ‘Well, okay’. There is no okay.”
Then Chairwoman O’Toole confirmed with Commissioner Stewart that if asked if parents of children in Florida public schools “can you ‘opt out’”, Chairwoman O’Toole said, “then I am free to say, that is the law, public school, we must have a test, (unless there is some physical reason why not), that ‘opting out’ is not an option.” O’Toole then turned to the rest of the Educational Committee and asked, “Is that correct, everyone agree with that? Does anyone have a difference of opinion? Because that is what we have to say as a group I believe as we speak to people”. O’Toole then explained, “There are other schools”, (meaning non-public schools), she continued, “that would probably allow some other method, but that’s the last I heard.” Disappointingly no Florida House Educational Committee member responded differently.
What Rep. O’Toole essentially did today was get the entire Florida House Educational Committee to agree (by not objecting) that Florida does NOT permit parents or School Boards options for ‘opting out’ of any state mandated testing. Therefore it appears that the Florida House Educational Committee just affirmed that as a State Educational Committee they fully support state mandated high-stakes tests and that they have no intention to change laws not requiring high-stakes testing of our students. Now the important question— Why?
I would agree that Florida State laws have no ‘opt-out’ options for parents, but that is because these same Legislators are the State educational law makers that made it law to have these tests. Today it sounded like they were saying they have no options— they are the law makers that created and passed these very laws that do not permit ‘opting out’! It concerns me that we are being told by one of our state educational committees, “So if you want to have your child learn another way… take them out (of public school)”.
Parents would not be interested in opting their child out of these tests if these tests were being used for diagnostic purposes, and for improving student learning. Instead these tests are by law used punitively against our students, teachers and schools. These committees aren’t listening to public educators, and today seems to indicate they aren’t listening to parents either. If anyone knows who they are listening to, then we need to contact them and ask them to start advocating for our kids.
It is time for Florida to have in law “portfolio” and other assessment options for students at all school levels like we have for 3rd graders.
I had the great pleasure this week of visiting Rock Crusher Elementary and while I was there stopped by to see the incredible mural painted this summer. Jessica Collins the 19-year-old artist who is a University of South Florida sophomore, 2014 Lecanto High School of Art alumni, and former Rock Crusher Elementary School student spent more than 250 hours in the Rock Crusher Elementary School’s media center painting the two enormous murals that wrap around the walls of the library. The thought and details in each engaging scenes that include an underwater seascape, beach scene, mountains, forest, and even outer space. Miss Collins work was supported by the RCE parent-teacher organization. Thank you Miss Collins and RCE PTO!!
(click photos below for closer look)
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On Tuesday Citrus Springs Middle School’s media specialist Dan Koch traveled to the Florida State Capital to meet with Governor Rick Scott and receive the Governor’s Shine Award. We congratulate Mr. Koch on this outstanding award.
