A panel of journalists revisited questions raised during the WLRN Miami Herald Town Hall meeting in Fort Lauderdale last February.
The journalists quoted here are Mary Ellen Klas of the Herald/Times Tallahassee bureau and Aaron Sharockman of PolitiFact Florida and the Tampa Bay Times.
Q: Across-the-board raises for state teachers were one of Gov. Scott’s two top goals this session. He got the money, but the Legislature decided how it would be spent. Is this a victory or defeat for Gov. Rick Scott? Continue Reading →
K12 is the nation's largest online education company and serves Florida students in 43 school districts.
The Florida Center for Investigative Reporting and StateImpact Florida have obtained internal emails and a recording of a company meeting that provide new insight into allegations that K12 Inc., the nation’s largest online education company, uses teachers in Florida who do not have all of the required state certifications.
Department of Education investigators did not find teachers without state certification, as a complaint filed by the Seminole County School District had claimed. But the investigators did find teachers without necessary subject certifications. The draft report attributed the problem to sloppy paperwork at Virginia-based K12, rather than intent to skirt the law.
If that’s true, then paperwork for Florida classes has been a problem at K12 since 2009, according to the internal emails and the recording of a company meeting.
K12 operates in 43 Florida school districts, including in Miami-Dade, Broward, Hillsborough, Orange and Duval counties. The company teaches everything from art to algebra to students in kindergarten through high school.
A recent study says that schools are emphasizing math which few students will use in their careers. Readers argue advanced concepts are essential because they improve logic and reasoning.
And schools were not spending enough time on more fundamental concepts in elementary and middle school which were more likely to be used by workers.
The authors argue schools need to ensure students master elementary and middle school-level concepts, and that the more advanced subjects, such as Algebra II, are less vital.
Just five percent of workers will use the math taught in the sequence of courses typically required by K-12 schools: Geometry, Algebra II, Pre-Calculus and Calculus.
“To require these courses in high school is to deny to many students the opportunity to graduate high school because they have not mastered a sequence of mathematics courses they will never need,” the authors wrote.
The study drew strong reactions from readers who feel that advanced math courses are essential to logic and reasoning:
Florida kindergartners are already being taught using Common Core standards thanks to curriculum created by their teachers.
Florida teachers and school administrators will get help this summer understanding how to implement Common Core State Standards.
The new standards are designed to make sure high school graduates are adequately prepared for college or the workforce.
The standards are based on international benchmarks at each grade level. Common Core assessments will be given at least twice a year, and students must be able to explain their answers.
But teachers are still trying to figure out how to teach the standards.
A poll released last week by the American Federation of Teachers finds that three-quarters of public school teachers surveyed support CCSS. But only about a quarter say their districts have given them the resources and tools they need to successfully teach the standards.
As a result, AFT is pushing for a moratorium on Common Core assessments until educators are better “trained and equipped to help their students master this new approach to teaching and learning.”
The Florida Department of Education is trying to help.
And the study also found that many high school graduates are not learning subjects they will need to use in their careers.
The study was produced by the Washington, D.C.-based National Center on Education and the Economy and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
“What these studies show is that our schools do not teach what their students need,” the authors wrote, “while demanding of them what they don’t need; furthermore, the skills that we do teach and that the students do need, the schools teach ineffectively. Perhaps that is where we should begin.”
Joanne Land, right, and Lowry Elementary teacher Kimberly Henriquez, sort vocabulary words into tiers to learn more about how Common Core standards work. Land was one of hundreds of parents who attended a recent Parent University session. Many parents said they wanted to learn more about Common Core standards and testing.
The small group of parents hovered over a list of words, deciding where to sort “cloud,” “photosynthesis,” and “google.” They paid particular attention to words indicating facts, evidence or conclusions.
Words such as analyze, convince or insight. Students will use these words to support their conclusions, analysis and opinions.
“This is the key category,” said Hillsborough County reading teacher Jane Mertens, explaining the significance of what she called “Tier 2” words. “This is college and career readiness. This is the vocabulary – that common language of comprehension.”
This is Parent University, and these students are studying new education standards known as Common Core. Florida and 44 other state have fully adopted Common Core standards, which will be used in every Florida grade beginning the fall of 2014.
The bill would allow parents at schools earning a failing grade to choose how to restructure the school, including firing staff and administrators, closing the school or converting to a charter.
It’s the last option that drew criticism. Opponents argued Florida was passing the bill just prior to new standards kicking in which would ensure more Florida school earned a failing grade. The Florida PTA, the NAACP and other advocacy groups fought the bill.
The Foundation, started by former Gov. Jeb Bush, backed the bill along with national advocacy groups StudentsFirst and Parent Revolution.
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