1st grade teacher Kim Cook posted this picture on Facebook after her unsatisfactory evaluation, and it went viral. Much of her evaluation was based on standardized test scores for students at another school.
One of the plaintiffs, Kim Cook, was the 2012 teacher of the year at Irby Elementary School in Alachua County.
“My evaluation for the 2011-12 school year was based on the FCAT reading scores of students in another grade in another school,” Cook said. “Specifically, 40 percent of my evaluation was based on the FCAT reading scores of 4th and 5th graders at Alachua Elementary.”
Cook expects to be evaluated the same way this year.
The Florida Legislature has approved a bill to create an online institute through one of the state universities. The Board of Governors will choose the university.
The Florida House has unanimously passed a bill to create an online-only institute at an existing Florida university.
“Florida is leading the charge on the digital revolution in higher education,” said House Speaker Will Weatherford. “We are taking the necessary steps to ensure our students will be ready to compete in the global marketplace.”
The bill requires the state’s top research university to create an institute for online education. It also sets requirements for daily operations and tuition.
Once the institute is in place, students will be able to enroll and complete a four-year undergraduate program without ever visiting the campus.
Sen. David Simmons offered one big change to the parent trigger bill. It gives school boards - not the Board of Education - the final say in how to turn around a failing school.
Senators said they changed a key provision in the session’s most controversial education bill on the advice of Education Commissioner Tony Bennett.
Thursday a Senate panel approved the Parent Empowerment in Education bill, better known as the parent trigger bill.
Members altered the bill to conform with the House version, which has already been approved by the full House.
But they also made one big change: The local school board would have the final say in how to revamp a failing school.
The original bill gave the final say to the State Board of Education if the district and parents didn’t agree on a school turnaround plan.
“With the school district being the final arbiter of this decision, it’s going to take the heat as to whatever decision it makes,” said Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs. “Hopefully, it will turn around that school.”
Bennett’s concern is that giving the Board of Education the final say “may let local school board members off the hook when it comes to respecting a parent’s role in the process.”
Sen. Bill Montford wants to see more parents involved in their children's schools. He says the parent trigger bill isn't needed because they are already empowered.
Sen. Bill Montford, a Democrat from North Florida, doesn’t like the Parent Empowerment in Education bill. It’s much better known as the parent trigger bill.
“We know overall that the majority of students that are successful have parents that are involved,” Montford said. “It’s critical to have parent support and involvement in the schools.”
“The issue with the (parent) trigger bill is it’s not a question of parent involvement,” Montford told StateImpact Florida. “The trigger bill centers on parent empowerment. In other words, they will have the power — if 50% plus 1 vote to go a certain way.”
Montford says parents already have lots of options for being involved in schools.
Florida Readiness Gauge / Florida Department of Education
This map shows how school districts are reporting broadband Internet access. Green districts mean at least 75 percent of schools meet standards. Red districts mean less than 25 percent of schools meet standards.
The State Board of Education will get an update next week on Florida’s next education standards, the Common Core State Standards.
The meeting will include information about the technology needed to implement the new assessments that are scheduled to begin in early 2015.
Florida is among a group of states developing the PARCC assessments, or Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers.
The PARCC tests will be given online.
The main concern is technology and whether the proper equipment will be in place for testing in all 67 districts when the 2014-15 school year begins.
The Florida Department of Education has come up with a readiness gauge to measure each district’s progress toward meeting Common Core and digital learning deadlines.
A map of Florida gives each district a color based on readiness.
Education Commissioner Tony Bennett says Common Core is about local control, not federal intervention.
Education Commissioner Tony Bennett says he will have more information next week about plans for implementing new education standards known as Common Core.
“We have rolled out a very aggressive implementation plan,” Bennett said. “We know that we have to be fully implemented and prepared to teach and assess these standards in 2014-15.”
Florida and 45 other states are transitioning to Common Core.
Levesque is a divisive figure, drawing criticism from parent groups that charge she and Bush are out to boost the bottom line of private corporations at the expense of students.
We sat down with Levesque to discuss her mission and hear what she has to say to her detractors.
Q: You served as an education adviser to former Gov. Jeb Bush, and now you run two education policy organizations with him. One is Florida-focused, the other is national. What are you working to accomplish?
It gives parents a say in what changes should be made to a chronically failing school.
Turnaround options include closing the school, turning the school into a charter, and replacing the principal or the entire staff. The ultimate decision rests with the local school board.
Rep. Cynthia Stafford, D-Opa-locka, doesn’t see a need for the law. “Not only do parents have a voice, they have a seat at the table” already, she said.
Democrats have repeatedly argued against the bill, saying it’s designed to privatize education and turn public dollars over to for-profit charter school companies.
“I come to you today as a person who has spent almost 30 years believing that parents and students should have the ultimate right to choose the educational opportunity that meets their needs,” Bennett said. “It amazes me that we live in a land of freedom…and yet people oppose the freedom of parents and children to choose their schools.”
Gov. Rick Scott told the kids they’re changing the direction of the state.
It allows districts to operate their own version of a charter school, instead of the school being operated by an outside entity.
A popular Democrat is behind it.
The Florida Innovation Zone Schools Act is sponsored by panhandle Sen. Bill Montford, the CEO of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents.
Montford is a long time educator who has a middle school in Tallahassee named after him.
His bill frequently uses the term “innovation schools” instead of charters.
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