Sir Patrick Stewart is the chancellor of a university.
The actor Sir Patrick Stewart is best known in the United States for his roles on stage and on screen. But you might be surprised to learn that the man who played Captain Jean-Luc Picard is chancellor of the University of Huddersfield, a 20,000-student university in England.
Stewart was in South Florida this past week for Going Global, an international higher education conference sponsored by the British Council.
Unlike university heads in the U.S., British university chancellors hold more of a representative than an administrative position. It’s a role Stewart takes seriously.
“I made a condition at the time that I was not interested in being a celebrity status symbol for the university, I wanted to be as active as possible,” says Stewart.
Stewart himself finished school at 15 years old. When he later started acting, he found himself surrounded by bright, well-educated artists. He did end up attending drama program, but he was self-conscious about his own schooling—which made the Huddersfield opportunity all the more meaningful.
“This invitation was significant to me because I had no higher education whatsoever,” he says.
Stewart sat down with StateImpact Florida to talk about how one teacher influenced an entire career:
And watch him recite a bit of one of his favorite Shakespearean verses, as well as address what line of the Bard’s Florida is most like: Continue Reading →
Starting at age 16, students in England take between 15 and 20 big exams each year. If they do well, they’ll get another round of exams the following year. Do poorly, and students aren’t likely to get into the university of their choice.
Finland students face up to 40 hours of tests in order to graduate high school. And universities require their own entrance exams.
The effort, known as Quality Education for All, is intended to help improve schools that have been the center of education-related lawsuits for decades.
The money will pay bonuses to teachers who choose to work in the three-dozen schools, with additional bonuses if teachers improve student performance. The money will also be used to hire Teach For America trained teachers, create a teacher residency program, develop a new district data system for teachers and administrators and more.
Those grades depend a lot on student FCAT scores. So Hillsborough Superintendent MaryEllen Elia took a moment pump up students at West Tampa’s Graham Elementary School before this week’s testing.
“Next week you’re going to have an opportunity to do great again, right?” Elia asked.
“Yeeesssss,” the kids responded.
“Who’s gonna do great?” Elia asked.
She got silence in response.
“You better all have your hands up,” another teacher cut in, drawing laughs from the room.
Florida students are taking FCAT math, reading and writing exams for the final time this year. The test started as a way to measure student progress. But anger with FCAT has grown as state policies added more consequences to the test scores.
Some parents say the pressure is too much. That one bad day testing could have long-term consequences. A small group of parents are pulling their kids out of the FCAT and encouraging other parents to follow.
Photo by Norm Robbie (Flickr) / Illustration by Sammy Mack
This is the last year Florida students will sit for the FCAT.
The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test is dying, say Florida education officials. By this time next year, the FCAT will be replaced with a new, Common Core-aligned assessment.
FCATÂ was born in 1995 in the humid June of a Tallahassee summer.
The Florida Commission on Education Reform and Accountability under Gov. Lawton Chiles gave birth to the test. It was part of a series of recommendations that were meant to give local districts more control and a better sense of how their schools were doing.
“At some point we may look fondly at the FCAT and wish we had it back,” says Andy Ford, president of the Florida Education Association — the umbrella organization for Florida’s teachers unions.
Eventually, Ford and the FEA would become outspoken rivals of FCAT, but the relationship didn’t sour immediately.
“It gave me information as a classroom teacher,” recalls Ford. “Unfortunately it was used as a political football to be the decision-maker for every decision that anybody wanted to tie to a test.” Continue Reading →
It’s report card day at Miami Carol City Senior High, and sophomore Mack Godbee is reviewing his grades with his mentor, Natasha Santana-Viera.
The first quarter on Godbee’s report card is littered with Ds and Fs. This quarter, there are more Cs and Bs. He’s got an A in English.
“Congratulations on that,” says Santana-Viera. “When you need help, do you know where to go?”
“Straight to y’all,” says Godbee.
Lots of teachers talk to their students about their report cards. But this conversation is the result of a school initiative to monitor student data—looking for dropout risk before the obvious signs that a student is struggling. It’s part of a national program called Diplomas Now, which operates in several schools in Florida.
Talking to Godbee about his report card and his goals for the next quarter is just one piece of a strategic plan to make sure he stays in school.
Florida lawmakers are currently considering a proposed bill that would, among other things, create similar early warning systems in middle schools to flag students who are at risk of dropping out.
While both budgets would set a record for total state education spending, both budget fall short of the per-student high water mark of $7,126 set during the the 2007-2008 school year.
Schools are also likely to receive more money for maintenance after several years with almost nothing in the state budget to fix roofs, replace equipment and take care of other long-term repairs. The House budget includes $50 million for district school maintenance, while the Senate includes $40 million.
Chief Ian Moffett of Miami-Dade County Public Schools supports the state's new standards.
Florida’s Common Core standards have a new group of supporters: law enforcement.
The national anti-crime group Fight Crime: Invest in Kids released a position paper in favor of Florida’s new standards for English language arts and math. The group argues that assessments and higher standards can prevent crime.
Here’s the paper’s summary of the connection:
“Florida’s law enforcement leaders see the Florida Standards as integral to the effort to ensure that all students are college- and career- ready, and essential if we are going to successfully prevent future crime. What works to help all our young people be employable and succeed will also work to bring down crime. That is why we in law enforcement support the Florida Standards and aligned assessments.”
You can hear more from the organization and law enforcement here:
FRIDA'S SURPRISE: Senators learned from Miami resident and FIU grad Frida Ulloa that state resident tuition is already available for some undocumented immigrants.
The Florida Senate Judiciary Committee got a big surprise this week.
Turns out, in-state university tuition rates are already available for some undocumented immigrants. That’s the case at Florida International University.
It may have strengthened the hands of opponents of an in-state tuition bill, but not enough to defeat it.
Rick Stone from member station WLRN has the story:
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