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Collier County Fights Over Textbook Bill
by Judy Palay, Collier County
Is it OK to read Harry Potter in school? Collier County has a fight on its school board over the review of instructional materials in schools. Parents on both sides have organized.
There is a bill in the legislature that removes district control of instructional materials. Judy Palay reports on the conflict and the reasons why many parents oppose SB 1018/HB 899 and others support it.
Feedback Wanted on Proposed Constitutional Amendment for School District Changes
Representative Caldwell and Senator Brandes are looking for feedback. Their bill HJR 530 would allow cities to withdraw from county school districts and form their own district. Of course, cities have the revenue. Thus, the remainder of the counties would be strapped for cash. There is criticism about the proposal even among other Republican party members. The bill, if passed, would become a constitutional amendment.
Since the legislators have asked for feedback, we should provide some.
Send your thoughts to:
A Dog Fight for the Soul of Education
Last week the Alachua County school board faced some harsh realities. The teacher shortage has hit home. We now have long term substitutes for positions we cannot fill. Board members attended the Rally in Tally to support our schools and teachers. They announced that 4,000 people were there.
Perhaps the most hopeful moment at the board meeting came when a parent, Kanh-Lien Banko spoke.
VAM Scores FACTOID
I saw a bit of trivia in the Tampa Bay Times the other day. It made me laugh or cry, not sure which, at life’s absurdities.
Based on VAM achievement gain scores only, 32 teachers in 18 districts had highly effective evaluations and 5 districts had elementary teachers who consistently earned unsatisfactory ratings over 4 years. Such small numbers can only mean that VAM scores are worthless.
There are 175,006 teachers in Florida. Could it just possibly be that VAM scores reflect which students are assigned to a teacher rather than which teacher is assigned to a class? It does not take high level critical thinking to answer this question.
The Florida legislature could come up with a better evaluation system. Almost any one of the options would be better if laced with a little common sense.
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- League Members visit the office of Senator Marco Rubio
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- League Members wait to see Senator Bill Nelson
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- Education Team at the Department of Education
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