{"id":23836,"date":"2015-07-27T11:16:14","date_gmt":"2015-07-27T15:16:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/?p=23836"},"modified":"2015-07-27T11:16:14","modified_gmt":"2015-07-27T15:16:14","slug":"jacksonville-group-connecting-teachers-to-improve-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2015\/07\/27\/jacksonville-group-connecting-teachers-to-improve-training\/","title":{"rendered":"Jacksonville Group Connecting Teachers To Improve Training"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Schultz<\/a>

The Schultz Center<\/p>

Schultz Center president Deborah Gianoulis.<\/p><\/div>\n

At one point, the Schultz Center<\/a> had state funding and a big, multi-million dollar contract with Duval County schools to help teachers improve their craft.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Schultz Center has trained thousands of teachers since it was founded in Jacksonville in 1997. But when state revenues declined, the Schultz Center funding was cut.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe recession happened,\u201d said Deborah Gianoulis, president of the Schultz Center<\/a>. \u201cThat [state budget] line-item was never restored.\u201d<\/p>\n

And \u00a0Duval schools decided to provide their own staff development<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So the Schultz Center had to change. The non-profit is expanding beyond Northeast Florida to offer training to teachers statewide, both in person and online. And they\u2019re building an incubator for education entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re also helping teachers adjust to big changes in the classroom.<\/p>\n

Common Core, or — a variation of it like Florida is using<\/a> — is a roadmap of what students should know at the end each grade. But the standards have also changed the way teachers plan and present their lessons.<\/p>\n