The Florida Council of 100 (C100), a statewide organization of business leaders, recently released a study showing a “rigor gap” between student grades and standardized test scores (specifically in Algebra I and English Language Arts) for high school students. It seems students are scoring low or failing standardized tests while passing classes for those same … More The “Rigor Gap” and Pandemic Schooling
Will the Covid pandemic be used to fundamentally alter public education in Florida? That’s a great question, asked recently by blogger Sue Woltanski of Accountabaloney. While nobody saw COVID coming, our education commissioner Richard Corcoran has not been quiet about his desire to privatize our public school system. Given that, it doesn’t seem too out … More Back to school 2020 and the long view for public education
K-12 schools, universities and businesses across the nation are using an online app called Zoom for video meetings to help facilitate connections while working/learning remote. Every day, new information is coming out regarding the privacy concerns of this well-known app. Below is a compilation of the issues we have come across that we think everyone … More Not worried about Zoom? We think you should be. Here’s why.
A new bill titled HB 7079 was introduced in the Florida House last week. This bill has already passed through one subcommittee, and is expected to continue to move through the committee process very quickly. All parents of children in Florida public schools should be concerned about this bill. It has the potential to disrupt … More HB 7079 – Closing Schools Hurts the Community
As this parent learned, and most parents and teachers know, children are much more than test scores. Tests can’t predict how successful a child will be in life. They can’t measure independence, resilience, kindness, diligence, or all of the other qualities we all want our children to master. Why then, does Governor DeSantis want to … More Tests Don’t Make Kids Smarter: A Letter to Governor DeSantis
You may have heard about the Governor’s Executive Order to remove Common Core from the Florida Standards earlier this year. This order led the FL Department of Education on a path with a very aggressive timeline, to complete a full revision within one year. What is Common Core? Common Core is a set of Standards … More The FL DOE is listening…are you speaking?
Thank you Mike Gondolfo, (President of Pinellas County Teacher’s Association), for your message to the Pinellas County School Board. It’s time for lawmakers to step up and stop the unfunded mandates and abusive high stakes tests attached to teacher pay, along with larger class sizes! It’s time to listen to those speaking up for what … More Speak up in support of teachers!
The teaching profession is one of the most important jobs in our country. Teachers help shape the lives of our children, which in turn impacts our own lives when we grow older, as well as those of future generations. The impact they have on society cannot be underestimated or underappreciated. The way we treat and … More Urge legislators to increase teacher pay
The Florida Education Association hosted a statewide gathering of education advocates on May 18 titled: Bringing Voices Together: An Education Summit for Florida’s Public Schools. Over 1,000 teachers, parents, school board members, superintendents, and students, came together in Orlando for conversations about how to save our public schools. Emerging themes included: Educate the public – … More Bringing Voices Together: 100 conversations about public education
by Heide Janshon There has been a great deal of “I doth protest” from districts and superintendents when the case is made attaching the Common Core State Standards (or any standards for that matter) to the high stakes standardized tests used to evaluate teachers, give schools a grade, and of course, determine standards mastery by … More Separating Testing from the Common Core State Standards is like tearing muscle from bone
