Senate Education Committee Meeting Update on SB616
During today’s Senate Education Committee meeting to address SB616 (https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0616) there was an impressive effort by Senator Alan Hays (https://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/s11) through his amendments to SB616 greatly improve the testing challenges our students and school are facing this year. Unfortunately Senator Hays amendments were withdrawn. [Note: A Senator will sometimes withdraw an amendment rather than just simply have if voted down.]
Senate Rules Chairman David Simmons submitted an amendment that was adopted. (http://m.flsenate.gov/session/bill/2015/0616/amendment/283090/pdf) Simmons amendment does not provide the many positive changes that Sen. Hays’s amendment did. Simmons amendment primarily just identifies third-graders in the lower 25% quartile as at risk and provides them with additional help going into fourth grade. This of course is something that teachers and schools already do.
Hays plainly shared with the Committee, “let’s admit we have a train wreck on our hands“. He went on to say, “…we have some serious work to do to get this train back on its track“.
We should all thank Senator Hays for his valiant effort today. I believe we have found an advocate and friend in Senator Hays for students, parents and teachers.
While Hays amendments didn’t make it through committee, the Committee acknowledged that more needs to be done. There was much testimony by the public stating why the State would spent over $200 million on a State mandated test that is unclear if it is even going to be valid for measuring any student learning gains this year. In addition there was much testimony on the question of whether our students have too many state mandated tests. One of those that testified was a 19 year veteran principal who the Committee asked, “do you think we test too much?” He responded, “…yes, test less so we can teach more”. While in the Senate Education Committee today we didn’t get all that we needed, but all and all it wasn’t a bad day for those of us that have major concerns and issues with state mandated high stakes testing requirements of the last many years.
What I am pleased about this Legislative session is that Legislators are hearing and listening to parents about their concerns about the FSA test and other high stakes testing. What is still disappointing and concerning is that while the Legislators are realizing there are concerns with these high stakes test and there is a willingness to perhaps not use them this year punitively against students that is not what the Legislators are willing to do for teachers. Legislators have not been willing to suspend any testing results against teacher’s evaluations. I believe that is clearly wrong and have to ask, why? If Legislators are saying these tests are not valid for students then these same tests also must not be valid for teacher’s evaluations either.Top of Form
Joseph Buccheri Foundation’s 3rd annual charity golf tournament
Foundation keeps Coach’s work living on
The Joseph Buccheri Foundation will be holding their 3rd annual charity golf tournament on Saturday May 2, 2015 at Citrus Hills Golf Club.
Coach Buccheri was a Guidance Counselor at Crystal River High School and coached CRHS baseball from 1987 to 1996. Under his coaching the CRHS team won five district titles. Coach was not simply a coach on the field but 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.
Past Award Recipients of the Joseph Buccheri Foundation Scholarship:
Forest Ridge Elementary School student Vincent Lahera received the superintendent’s Making a Difference Award for his speech, which he delivered at this Tuesday’s School Board meeting.
Here’s a excerpt:
“From the moment we step into third grade, all we hear about is the tests that determine our future. Then we hear we have to take it until we finish high school. Who are they kidding? Our biggest concern as 10-year-olds is who we’re going to play with at recess, and what we’re going to eat for lunch.
“Every Friday we have to take a test to prepare for a test like this. We have to field test the test before the test to see if the test is a good enough test for us to test on. The future of my education lays on this test.”
Watch the video below by clicking [play] or click here!
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Commissioner Carnahan: I’m an advocate of children and their activities
Three cheers for Commissioner Carnahan!!
Great quote by Commissioner Carnahan regarding his support of keeping a pool open, “I’m an advocate of children and their activities… I’ll be dadgum if I’m going to take something from these kids.” (See Chronicle; Mike Wright- Board makes splash by backing BH pool http://www.chronicleonline.com/content/board-makes-splash-backing-bh-pool)
Join me in thanking the Honorable Commissioners Carnahan, Damato and Meek for their support of our kids!!
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Wednesday morning I had the great pleasure of participating in a round table discussion at Citrus County Blessings with Coordinator Debbie Lattin and several Florida Atlantic University students on their “Alternative Spring Break”. ASB is a program where FAU students spend their spring break week serving and learning in a community. This group’s focus is on childhood hunger in rural communities, its effects on children, including physically, emotionally, and perhaps most importantly, academically.
The FAU students chose to spend time in Citrus County because of our high percentage of students coming from economically disadvantaged households. Currently Citrus has approximately 69% of our students on the USDA Food and Nutrition Services free and reduced meal program. Because of the high percentage of free and reduced students all of our elementary and middle schools are Title 1 schools. In order to be a Title 1 school, at least 40% of a school’s students must be from low-income families who qualify under the United States Census’s definition of low-income, according to the U.S. Department of Education. In Citrus our lowest percentage of Title 1 students at an elementary school is 66% at Central Ridge Elementary and our highest is at Homosassa Elementary with 82% of the students being on the free and reduced meal program.
Blessings is a not-for-profit program that provides easy to prepare meals for these students (and all the school aged children in the home) from economically disadvantaged household to have on the weekends.
This day the FAU students have come to learn more about the success of the Blessings program begun by Mrs. Lattin and how it has been positively affecting our students’ lives. The students asked to meet with educational leaders in Citrus County to better understand the effects hunger can have on a student’s life and how Citrus is addressing this challenge. The students spent the afternoon assisting Mrs. Lattin and the Inverness United Methodist church assembling packs for some of this week’s students.
In addition to spending time at Blessings the students spent time visiting some of our schools. One of them was Forest Ridge Elementary who has 79% of its students on free and reduced lunch. In addition to learning about the Title 1 services FRE offers, the students spent time visiting the classrooms and even participated reading in the Dr. Seuss day at FRE.
These student’s interest are lying beyond this week’s work, the students expressed how they planned to take what they learned this week and bring it back to their communities to start or expand on programs like Blessings.
I want to thank the FAU students for giving up their vacation to make a difference in students’ lives in Citrus County. I further want to thank Debbie Lattin for helping facilitate and sponsor this group’s visit and work this week. I also want to thank Mrs. Lattin for the direct impact her Blessings program is in having on our schools and most importantly our students.
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