April Griffin Blog

La Gaceta Endorses April Griffin

2010-07-26T22:28:00.002-04:00

La Gaceta Newspaper, Tampa
Published July 23, 2010

District 6

In this countywide school board race, April Griffin, who is completing her first term, is being challenged by Benjamin Fink, Sally Harris, and Terry Kemple. This is an easy race for us. Mr. Fink and Ms. Harris did not respond to request to talk to them and while we did not call Mr. Kemple, we believe we have his number. Mr. Kemple pushes the business approach to the school district and calls it his ABC Plan: A=Accountability, B=Budget, and C=Cooperation. That's it. The whole plan. Wow! Too bad the great minds at the school district didn't come up with that before.

What appears to drive Kemple to public service are religious issues, even though he leaves that subject out of his repertoire. The drive for Good Friday as a holiday lit his fire, but we want more than that at the dais.

April Griffin has used her outsider status to challenge the superintendent and the administration to be more accountable. She has pushed to make the school board meetings a slice of democracy instead of a choreographed pep rally. She even went as far as giving the superintendent a low grade for her it's my way or the highway style. Of course rocking the boat gets a little mess and has led to some critics in the media, but hey, what is it they say about breaking eggs and an omelet?

She is the leading voice on the board for vocational programs, knowing that college should be everyone's goal, but not everyone's reality. Her efforts have kept funding for these necessary programs and given a voice to a sometimes forgotten group of kids.

Griffin is independent, fresh and unafraid while still listening and learning.

That's why we strongly endorse April Griffin for school board, District 6.

Tampa Tribune Endorses April Griffin

2010-07-26T08:24:00.000-04:00

District 6

April Griffin, 41, of Temple Terrace is seeking a second term. Three candidates are challenging her.

They are Benjamin Fink, 34, a business owner and consultant specializing in technology, who lives in New Tampa; Sally Harris, 60, of Tampa, who owns and operates a preschool and spent 18 years in the county school system as an occupational specialist; and Terry Kemple, 63, of Brandon, president of the Community Issues Council, a Christian-based organization.

All the challengers are well-intentioned and knowledgeable about key issues. But none matches Griffin's energy, determination or attention to detail.

Griffin isn't perfect. After being elected, she pursued change with more enthusiasm than expertise, but she eventually settled down and began to work effectively with administrators and others. She pushed to change a flawed hiring policy that allowed personnel who retired to be rehired at the same pay scale.

Excited about implementing the Gates' grant, Griffin understands the need to fairly evaluate teachers, to take into account their different challenges in the classroom.

She pledges to continue championing technical and career education for students who, for whatever reason, will not attend college, as well as readying students who want to attend college.

And she says students should be screened earlier for disabilities – allowing administrators and parents to create individual education plans sooner.

Griffin, who says she spends 50 to 60 hours a week on school business, brings a useful outlook to the board: Family issues not of her doing forced her to leave home when she was 17. She got her GED when she was 24, so she has an understanding of students who don't come from model homes.

The Tribune endorses April Griffin for Hillsborough County School Board, District 6.

Tampa Tribune article.

Hillsborough school district wins national accreditation

2010-07-12T12:13:00.005-04:00

In April, a 40-member team from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools conducted more than 1,800 interviews with school board members, staff, students and community members.

The credits students earn in Hillsborough County public schools may now be recognized all over the country — and the world.

Achieving accreditation involves three steps: meeting high quality standards, implementing a continuous process of improvement, and engaging in quality assurance through internal and external review.

Benefits of accreditation include national recognition for quality, access to research-based guidance on building curriculums and improving teaching methods, and a leg up in seeking grants for education improvement, district officials have said.

Here are some of the qualities that earned the district praise:

• Effective leadership and collaborative culture.

• Willingness to try new things as reflected in the overhaul under way through the $100 million Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant.

• Strong fiscal management, supportive professional development and a sense of "empowerment to do what's best for kids and schools."

Read full story here.

College admissions now requires criminal background

2010-07-02T11:00:00.002-04:00

From the gradebook

Higher education is supposed to give people a leg up to move ahead in work and society.

But in light of some recent high-profile campus massacres, a growing number of colleges and universities have begun checking applicants' criminal histories along with their high school transcripts, Inside Higher Ed reports.

Not everyone is sold on the idea, which comes with its share of problems even as it seeks to resolve a huge concern.

Darby Dickerson, vice president and dean at the Stetson University College of Law, described criminal background checks to the publication as a "legal and policy jigsaw puzzle" of intertwined concerns about campus safety, legal risk and individual rights.

Others, meanwhile, suggested that it's the wrong approach to essentially post a Keep Out sign to people with a criminal past, people who need a fresh start as much if not more than others. Your thoughts?

Read full USA Today story here.

Turn around students

2010-04-22T15:57:00.001-04:00

The annual turn around awards yesterday, today, and again tomorrow are why I get up every morning and do what I do. I have been so moved by their stories. These students have shown determination and strength of character through some very difficult times and gotten themselves on the right track with the help of some very dedicated, caring teachers and support staff. Our district has some amazing people. Where was the media to show the stories of "kids these days"?

I stand corrected. The media did report on this story. Read the article here.

Veto SB 6/HB 7189

2010-04-11T13:05:00.005-04:00

Last Wednesday I spoke out against SB 6 and HB 7189 at a teacher rally. Last Friday I personally spoke with Governor Charlie Crist and shared my objection to SB 6 and HB 7189 and asked him to veto these bad bills. He was very gracious, listened, and asked good questions.

I told him that I understand the need for reform, but it must have teacher input. I said that the state of Florida needs to let Hillsborough County lead the way with the Gates grant, which has had teacher input and much thought, consideration, and now funding behind it.

He has 5 days to make a decision and needs to hear from more people. Call him, write him, let him know these bad bills and he needs to veto them.

If you oppose SB 6 and the matching HB 7189 call his office at (850)488-7146 and let him know.

Your voice can make a difference and he is listening. Read the SPTimes article where the Governor says "I've never seen anything like it," "I think I've gotten three people who said I should sign it compared to hundreds (opposed). It's been pretty overwhelming."

Gates questions and answers

2010-03-05T23:17:00.002-05:00

A reader asked me to put the Gates grant out there for all of you. I understand there are concerns and I would like to address them.

Please post your questions and I will answer them. I want this to be an honest productive conversation. If we keep it on that level this should turn out to be a very interesting thread.

Is Texas re-writing history?

2010-03-05T22:57:00.003-05:00

The Texas State Board of Education stirred up controversy again by dictating which history can or cannot be included included in history and social studies textbooks.

According to Carol Jones, the field director of the Texas chapter of Citizens for a Sound Economy ''The bottom line is that Texas and California are the biggest buyers of textbooks in the country, and what we adopt in Texas is what the rest of the country gets''. That is a pretty bold statement considering Florida has 3 of the largest school districts in the nation.

I'm not saying that they don't have influence. Publishers are quietly withdrawing their textbooks. But I have to note that after serving on the state instructional materials selection committee. I know that we rejected quite a few publishers who were trying to pass national standards, not our sunshine state standards, through our committee.

It is important that we stay committed to including all relevant history and not cherry picking based on our own personal bias what we teach our students.

Read this article and share your thoughts.

Students Sound Off on School Technology Use

2010-02-03T18:11:00.003-05:00

Discussions of technology in education typically center on what policymakers, academic experts, and educators would like to see happen in the classroom. Rarely heard are the voices of those who are actively test-driving new forms of technology: the students.

Read full article and watch video here.

U.S. Teen Pregnancy Rate Increases After a Decade-Long Decline

2010-02-02T21:07:00.000-05:00

For the first time since the early 1990s, overall rates of pregnancy and birth among teens has increased, according to a report released yesterday by the Guttmacher Institute. The pregnancy rate among girls aged 15 – 19 rose by 3 percent between 2005 and 2006, reflecting increases in teen birth and abortion rates of 4% and 1%, respectively. “It is too soon to tell whether the increase in the teen pregnancy rate between 2005 and 2006 is a short term fluctuation, a more lasting stabilization or the beginning of a significant new trend, any of which would be of great concern,” said Lawrence Finer, Guttmacher’s director of domestic research. The teen pregnancy rate declined 41% between its peak, in 1990 and 2005, which also resulted in declines in teen births and abortions. Researchers attribute the significant drop to better use of contraceptives among sexually active teens. This reversal in teen pregnancy rates coincides with the introduction of abstinence-only sexual education programs that prohibited the discussion of the benefits of contraception. The Obama Administration’s 2010 budget has eliminated funding for abstinence-only programs and shifted it to pregnancy prevention initiatives that are age-appropriate, medically accurate and evidence-based.

Read article here.

Kindle vs iPad

2010-02-02T19:33:00.003-05:00

I have been to several technology forums lately and just recieved a Kindle for Christmas and I am imagining the possibilities for our students.

I would love to hear your thoughts on having students carrying e-readers instead of traditional text books.

In your opinion tell me what you think. Of Apples iPad and Amazon's Kindle which one will be VHS and which one will be BetaMax? Did I just age myself?

Defusing Student Violence: A Threat Assessment Approach

2010-01-12T10:12:00.002-05:00

Join a Webinar on January 19

Prince William County Public Schools in Virginia adopted and adapted a threat assessment process that is intended to prevent school violence and increase safety. Determining the appropriate discipline, placement, and supports for students involved in these incidents can be particularly challenging when a threat occurs. The information provided through the assessment aids administrators and school board members in their decision making.

During the webinar, you will learn about the program's evolution over the last 6 years that will aid you in avoiding potential pitfalls as you apply the assessment process in your school division. Although PWCS is a large, ethnically diverse school district near Washington, DC, the lessons learned can be applied anywhere. The historical and technical overview will provide a framework for developing threat and risk assessment within your school division while maintaining reliability and validity.

Date: Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Time: 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EST

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista
Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar Seat Now Here

America's fastest growing salaries

2010-01-04T16:49:00.002-05:00

Education and healthcare is the way to go. Of particular interest is #5.

Read article here.

This blog has been invaded

2009-12-29T15:19:00.003-05:00

This blog has been invaded by bots. I have had a hard time keeping up with posts, as there are a lot of posts from bots. If your post has been deleted I apologize. I am trying to figure out a way to get this under control.

At your service, April

Building leaders through hands on experiences

2009-11-06T13:21:00.002-05:00

The Food Project is a hands on experience that teaches kids from all over, including the inner cities; not only where their food comes from, but leaderships skills, civic duty, etc. This is an interesting video and article showing some highlights from the project.

To rate or not to rate - that is the accountability question

2009-11-02T09:36:00.004-05:00

Nobody will argue against accountability. I have met with many teachers and I have heard time and time again from good teachers who realize we have teachers in the district who are just collecting a paycheck. Or teachers who are waiting until their retirement kicks in, and these good teachers don't want to teach next to those teachers, they get it. But, at what cost, are we grading our teachers? How much emphasis are we putting on things that have no impact on what or how kids are learning?

Take this experience one teacher had when her evaluator was observing her class as an example of how not to grade teachers. Kristen Amundson was teaching her English class and the students were really into the lesson. She recalls that one 16 year old boy stated that "You know, I've felt like that myself", again I say, a 16 year old boy. He got it; he grasped the meaning of a poem and related it to his own life. These are the moments great teachers exist for. And what did her evaluator observe and tell her? "You didn't call the roll". How degrading for this teacher. How is this an accurate assessment of what happened in that classroom on that day?

We need to have common sense. We need people who are evaluating our teachers in the classroom teaching from time to time to remember what it is like. We need our Hillsborough County Teachers participating and voicing their opinions as we participate in the Gates Grant we are expecting in the near future. We need your input.

Read this very interesting article in the Washington Post and let me know your thoughts.

9 Drug free appoaches to ADHD

2009-11-01T22:44:00.002-05:00

I am not advocating for one approach or another. This article just gives parents and teachers something to think about.

Act quickly - Florida KidCare Act-Out for Health Contest

2009-10-27T13:11:00.000-04:00

NEWS

For Immediate Release

Contact: Jennifer Pensy, (850) 681-3200,jennifer.pensy@saltermitchell.com

September 16, 2009

Amber Floyd, (850) 701-6166, floyda@healthykids.org

Florida KidCare Act-Out for Health Contest Returns
Students use technology to promote benefits of good healthcare
Tallahassee, Fla. – Students dreaming of a "big break" can compete for their moment in the spotlight with the Florida KidCare Act-Out for Health Contest [www.actout4health.org]. Middle school and high school students across Florida are encouraged to produce a 30-second television commercial or create a billboard advertisement promoting Florida KidCare, the state and federally-funded insurance program providing affordable health benefits for children birth through 18. Launched statewide in 2008, the Act-Out for Health contest drew more than 100 PSA and print advertisement entries from middle and high school students. This year, students will use a unique application on the contest website to create their billboard ad and lesson plans have been created for teachers.

"I am thrilled to see the Florida KidCare Act-Out for Health contest again this year," said Reggie Grant, communications technology teacher at Lincoln High School in Leon County. "It’s an amazing opportunity for students to collaborate and creatively problem solve. Not only are students required to demonstrate important skills -- planning, organization, technology, communication, media literacy -- but scholarships are available to help further their education."

All of the contest entries will be judged on originality and ability to promote Florida KidCare benefits to a diverse population. Winners will be chosen by a panel of judges and by the students themselves. This year, students can vote online for their favorite PSA and billboard ad for the Kids’ Choice winners. Grand prize winners will be chosen by Florida KidCare judges. The grand prize winning billboard design will be placed in the statewide winner’s hometown or the closest billboard location possible. The grand prize winning commercial will air on television stations and YouTube. Both grand prize winners will be awarded a $5,000 scholarship. Regional winners have the opportunity to win great prizes including gifts cards and funding for their schools.

"The Act-Out for Health contest is a creative way to motivate kids to action," said Rich Robleto, executive director of Florida Healthy Kids Corporation, a Florida KidCare partner. "We think it’s important for kids to know about quality healthcare, whether they have insurance or not. The contest has been a really good vehicle to get kids thinking about healthy lifestyles, preventive care and building awareness of the Florida KidCare program."

Florida KidCare is available to Florida children without health insurance. Children enrolled in the program receive preventive care, such as regular doctor’s visits, immunizations, dental and eye care, at a price their families can afford. Many families pay $15 or $20 per month; most pay nothing at all. A full-pay option is also available for families who may not be eligible for subsidized coverage. A recent study by the University of Florida Institute for Child Health Policy revealed the highest percentage of uninsured children in the state are kids between the ages of 12 and 18.

The contest is open to all middle and high school students across the state. To download the entry form and contest guidelines and to view last year’s winners, visit www.actout4health.org.

For questions about the Act-Out for Health contest, please call Amber Floyd, communications specialist for the Florida Healthy Kids Corporation at (850) 701-6166.

Contest entries must be postmarked or submitted online no later than Wednesday, December 2, 2009.

# # #

About Florida KidCare
Florida KidCare offers affordable, quality health insurance for children under the age of 19. Children enrolled in the program receive regular doctor’s visits, dental check-ups, and immunizations. For additional information please visit www.floridakidcare.org.

New Florida State Sunshine Standards

2009-10-09T17:52:00.002-04:00

I just got back from the State DOE instructional materials selection committee meeting in Orlando. I am exhausted from 3 grueling days of mind numbing yet intense work. Our committee worked hard and took our job to heart. I am excited about the Florida Next Generation Sunshine State Standards in Mathematics.

I am looking forward to hearing from math teachers about your opinion of the new standards.

I can't help it, I must weigh in on this debate

2009-09-03T22:39:00.011-04:00

I was reading a few articles in about the proposed September 8th speech by President Obama and was struck by the following reader comment:

Posted by ( reptaddict ) on 09/03/2009 at 09:05 pm. "Sometimes you just have to sit back and look at what lies before you. We are actually debating about whether parents should opt their children out of listening to the President of the United States, who rose from meager beginnings to Harvard Law to the highest office in the land, speak to the children about the importance of education. Dear God, what have we become? Can we as a people possibly be this pathetic? I guess on Tuesday we'll find out".

I believe parents have a right to opt out of certain controversial lessons. But as a student I remember having to write book reports on various presidents, or having to memorize speeches. Never and I mean never, did my mother have to ability to opt out of my doing school work. I would have received a zero, plain and simple.

I remember receiving topics I was strongly opposed to when we were learning to debate and I had to argue in favor of the topic. Sometimes my mind was changed and sometimes my position was made stronger (typically the latter). But the lesson did what it was intended to do; create critical, higher lever thinking skills. Isn’t that our job? Some wonderful, spirited debate could evolve out of this Presidential address.

Another point being made by the opposition is the avenue President is using to communicate with students. One statement made was "the concern here is that it's a one-way communication,"… "that's the fear of indoctrination."

His message will be delivered via web cast and broadcasted on CNN. The reality is that today’s kids spend hours searching YouTube videos and updating their MySpace. The internet is what they understand.

It is also being argued that his delivery platform is going to be unprecedented. This is absolutely true. Never before has any other president used technology the way President Obama has. He is the first president to carry a blackberry and have a Whitehouse blog. He has fully embraced technology. Remember that the TV was unprecedented at one time. Bottom line, what does it matter how he communicates his message?

I will conclude with this. I am constantly hearing people say that one of the biggest problems with our society is lack of respect for authority from our youth. Where are they learning this disrespect? One may not agree with a President and has a right to voice opposition, but he deserves respect and he has earned his place in the history books, just like all the Presidents before him. We must respect the Office of the President. Keeping students home or opting out sends the wrong message.

Read the Tampa Tribune articles here and here and the St. Pete Times article here and USA article here.

*UPDATE: As of Sunday morning prior to the speech, the argument is shifting to Education Secretary Arne Duncan's release of the lesson plans prior to the President's message. This shift has taken place because proponents have successfully pointed out that other Presidents have broadcast messages to students in the past; most notably Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. Bush. What is not being pointed out is that Duncan is a former superintendent of a public school system, and understands the impact of integrative lesson plans and how combining the lesson with real world events can make learning more relevant and meaningful for students.

What Secretary Duncan was trying to do when he suggested the lesson plans was to say, “We have a message from the President, this is the gist of the message, and here are some good ideas for lessons for various ages and grades that would make it more meaningful for students”. What has happened is that some of the President’s opposition has short quoted a few parts of the memo released to principals and has taken a life of its own and stirred up this controversy. For example in one of the suggested lessons teachers could take students to the library and research other Presidents and President Obama. When this part referenced ‘research other Presidents’ is left out and changes the context of the message from the DOE, thus creating a different meaning to the message.

A new year begins smoothly

2009-08-26T09:09:00.002-04:00

I went to bed the night before the first day of school worried about what could happen. Even with all of the changes we have made to improve on transportation problems of the past who knows what can happen.

Whew! The first day went off with hardly any glitches. I visited 5 schools and the first question I asked at each one was whether or not there were any busing issues. The answer was a resounding no.

I attribute the changes to much planning, dry runs before school started, communication improvements, and most importantly asking how we could change (and listening to the answers) from the people who are on the front lines; bus drivers, transportation workers, and parents.

Read St Pete times article here.

Why don’t students like school?

2009-07-08T21:49:00.002-04:00

I was reading a very interesting article in USA Today and was struck by something I read and wanted some input from teachers, especially AP teachers.

Daniel Willingham the author of the book ‘Why don’t students like school?’ was interviewed and got me thinking with this quote, “School is all about mental challenge, and that is hard work, make no mistake. Still, people do enjoy mental work or, more exactly, people enjoy successful mental work. We get a snap of satisfaction when we solve a problem”.

I started to wondering again about students taking AP classes who are failing. Are we setting our students up for failure by not allowing them to have that ‘snap of satisfaction when they solve a problem’ and only see failure?

Then I read the statement “But solving a problem that is trivially easy is not fun”, and I have to ask. Is traditional curriculum enough to keep students engaged and learning, or is it trivially easy?

And then I am brought back to my original thought in my first question by the statement “Neither is hammering away at a problem with no sense you are making progress”. If students are not capable of passing an AP classes or AP exams, are we creating an environment for our students where they feel like they are ‘hammering away at a problem with no sense of making progress?’

The author then goes on to say “So the challenge for a teacher is to find that sweet spot of mental difficulty, and to find it simultaneously for 25 students, each with a different level of preparation. To fight this problem, teachers must engage each student with work that is appropriate for his or her level of preparation. This must be done sensitively, so that students who are behind don't feel like second-class citizens. But the fact is they are behind, and pretending that they are not does them no favors”.

This seems to be the impossible dream. I don’t see how realistically this can be achieved. With all of the state and federal mandates and current curriculum we are using in Hillsborough County, are we giving our teachers the flexibility they need?

Read the USA Today article here and tell me what you think.

Do top teachers avoid schools with large minority populations?

2009-07-07T00:56:00.003-04:00

Do highly qualified or better yet, highly effective teachers avoid schools with a large populations of minority students?

A Journal of Labor Economics study suggests that highly trained and effective teachers tend to leave schools that have a high number of minority students. The study focused on the Charlotte-Mecklenberg school district in North Carolina using data supplied by the North Carolina Education Research Data Center.

The study found that "schools that had an increase in black enrollment suffered a decrease in their share of high-quality teachers, as measured by years of experience and certification test scores. Teacher effectiveness, as measured by teachers’ previous ability to improve student test scores, decreased in the black inflow schools as well. The change in quality for each school generally occurred in the same year that the busing program ended, indicating that teachers moved in anticipation of more black students".

Read Chicago Journal article here.

Pew research shows widening generation gap

2009-07-05T09:26:00.003-04:00

A recent poll shows that we are facing the largest generation gap since 1969. From the fast paced, ever changing world of technology, to religion, relationships, manners, and morality; we are seeing larger differences in the way we view the world between younger and older people.

Does this generation gap affect teaching? If so how can we overcome these differences and meet our students on a level where they can understand the curriculum and meet the rigorous standards mandated by the state and the federal government?

Are we headed in the right direction? Or do we need to re-assess the direction we are headed?

Important policy changes

2009-06-02T23:26:00.002-04:00

The school board is in the process of re-writing our district policies. First we have had to match existing policies to state and federal laws and create policies that coincide with new laws. Next we want to write them in a way that is easy for people outside of lawyers and academia types to read and understand. We also want to make the policies easier to access via the school district web site with links to the laws and other helpful sites as necessary.

I would like your input on policies you feel that I need to look more closely at as we continue this process. Please share your knowledge with me in the comments section of this post. If we need to have a more detailed conversation email or call me.

At your service, April Griffin

You can't teach a child in pain

2009-06-02T08:38:00.002-04:00

When I am in the community talking to people outside of education I hear on a regular basis how we are teaching too many things that are not our responsibility. We should only teach the ABC's and 123's.

If we lived in Utopia that would be true. But we don’t live in an ideal world and according to our constitution we have to educate EVERY child with a “free and appropriate education”.

That’s why I become agitated when people compare our education system to other countries. We are not like other countries who view education the way private schools do, picking and choosing which students are deserving of an education based on aptitude or class. We take every child who comes to us, regardless of any of the circumstances life has handed that child.

I believe we need to raise our children to be good citizens. Whether they are doctors, lawyers, auto mechanics, plumbers, or any career they choose. A wise man once said that being a garbage collector was one of the most important jobs on the planet. When asked why he believed this he responded by saying “have you ever gone several weeks without your garbage being picked up?”…I say “touché”.

How can we raise our children to be good citizens? Teaching them to read and write is vitally important, but what about teaching them how to think critically, or communicate effectively. Or teaching them to resolve conflict using effective communication skills. In other words, how to ‘fight fair’. Life is wrought with conflict and many of our students come to us without appropriate tools to resolve even the most minor conflict.

Then there is the student who comes from a family of addicts. How can we expect a child with no coping skills, or worse; coping skills learned from and addict, to leave all their baggage at the door of the school house and be a successful student?

Schools should be a link to services available in the community. We don’t need to re-invent the wheel, but why can’t we direct families to services already available in the community?

Working at PACE Center for Girls I saw how they referred families to existing services and employed social workers who worked diligently to get to the core of why these young women were acting out. Going above and beyond the ABC’s and 123’s helped them become good students, and above all good people.

Critical thinking skills, effective communication skills, community activism, and civic engagement are all keys to creating at great community. If the families are not providing these skills then it is our responsibility. That is just the reality of today’s world.

READ A VERY INTERESTING WASHINGTON POST STORY HERE.

Hillsborough County Schools catching up to the new millennia

2009-05-07T23:58:00.002-04:00

Technology is changing at break-neck speed and public education is struggling to keep up. Today's students do not learn, or even communicate the way many of the older (or should I say more experienced) educators do.

In the past, communication has been a weakness in this, the 8th largest school district in the nation. But size is no excuse for poor communication, and as such, has been a major focus for improvement over the past couple of years.

At the school boards urging, the superintendent has been communicating every step of the way during the budget process. It is important that people have the facts, good or bad, because if people are left to wonder rumors will run rampant, productivity will decline and ultimately students interests will not be best served. The board has made it a priority that we do not want to lay off employees and we don’t want the cuts to touch the classroom. The superintendent has communicated this along with the details of what is happening on the financial front as we receive details using email and pop up messages through our internal email system.

I am very happy that HCPS is catching up to the new millennia and using technology to communicate with our staff and the community. We have ‘Parent Link’ which sends out pre-recorded messages to specific groups or the entire universe of current phone numbers and/or email in our system, provided parents or guardians keep their contact information current. This system is used to send updates on everything from emergencies to parent/teacher conferences.

More recently we used Twitter to communicate during the swine flu outbreak that closed 3 local schools. One of the more exciting aspects about using Twitter aside from the real time communication on important updates is that it does not cost the tax payers anything because it is a free service.

Are we where we need to be? Not yet, but we are moving in a positive direction.

Quiet does not mean complacent

2009-04-17T10:16:00.004-04:00

I know I have not posted much lately. Believe me; I haven’t lost sight of the importance of sharing information about the inner workings of the school district, or the value of input from the public.

It has been quiet

The school board, the superintendent, and senior staff have been working diligently to make the budget cuts as painless as possible. This crisis is all consuming. No one ever wants to make cuts, but when they are necessary having the executives who have to make the tough decisions put past issues aside and focus on what is important is crucial.

It has been the school board’s priority from the beginning not to lay people off and to not let the budget cuts affect the classroom. We would not exist if it were not for the children. And as far as layoffs are concerned; I realize the impact we have as the largest employer in Hillsborough County on the community as a whole. We are a huge economic engine in our community and if we start laying people off the impact is going to have a much greater cost to the greater good of the community. Salaries constitute over 80% of our total budget. That means over 2.8 billion dollars feeds into sales taxes, property taxes, money spent at local restaurants, stores, etc. The importance of our impact, aside from educating our children, cannot be over looked.

Careful, considerate planning

For the past 2 ½ years or so we have been working realistically and diligently to foresee problems in advance. While other districts are closing schools, laying off employees, or giving across the board pay cuts. Through careful planning we have been able to cut almost a hundred million dollars from our budget without having to resort to any of these drastic measures. When I ran for office Hillsborough County School district had one of the highest administrative cost per student. I am proud to report that I just read a state report that list Hillsborough County School district as one of the lowest administrative cost per student in the entire state of Florida. We started cutting at the administrative level and continue to do so. This is positive progress.

The school board directed the superintendent to communicate every step of the way during these difficult times. I have received a lot of feed-back from employees that they have appreciated the communication. It has alleviated fears and kept the rumor mill to a minimum. We also understand that communication is a two way street and have afforded opportunities to our employees and the general public to share ideas on areas we could cut, and we have listened. We have used many of the ideas submitted and appreciate the input.

Please continue to feel free to share your ideas and concerns…we are listening.

Budget crisis...thoughts?

2009-03-15T13:56:00.002-04:00

I have been out of the loop recently because of this flu season. My family has been hit hard. Follow that up with a miserable allergy season and pollen counts that are through the roof. And finally top that off with sporadic internet connectivity and you get intermittent posts from me. Please accept my apologies.

I need to update you with some proposals for budget reductions to the Hillsborough County School district.

I want you to share your thoughts. We are currently in contract negotiations and some of the proposals are negotiated contract items so I can't discuss them. But please let me know your feelings and experiences.

View the proposal here post your opinions. I am listening.

Homework...when is there too much of a good thing?

2009-02-19T15:05:00.002-05:00

Broward County School board voted to limit homework for students. The new policy urges teachers to assign academically relevant homework while remaining conscious of assigning too much homework.

The school board set limits of 10 minutes of homework per grade level. Read the full article here. The policy also requires teachers to provide "timely and appropriate" feedback. I can see where the feedback would be very beneficial. How do you feel about limiting homework?

Read the specific homework plan here.

Class size amendment flexibility

2009-01-27T07:40:00.002-05:00

With the financial crisis that our state is facing, do you think the state should give districts some flexibility in the implementation of the constitutional class size amendment?

As I speak to people in the community the results are mixed. People who understand the implementation legislation and how punitive it is seem to believe there should be at least some flexibility. There are others who believe there should be no give at all.

Hillsborough County did not vote for the class size amendment or amendment 2 that was recently on the ballot. Just because people did not vote for the class size amendment does not mean they don't support smaller class size. It means they realized the financial implications of enacting such a strict law or maybe Hillsborough County voters just don't like constitutional amendments...can anyone say pregnant pigs?

Read the SP Times article here and tell me your thoughts.

A new day

2009-01-24T11:11:00.007-05:00

I recieved a question from someone about the relevance of my trip to DC on the students and teachers of Hillsborough County.

First of all the trip to Washington was a personal trip paid for by me out of my personal funds, just as this blog is supported and funded solely by me.

That being said, I came home from DC invigorated by the camaraderie of millions of people gathered together on a very cold morning to hear a message from our new President. Invigorated by the new era we were entering into.

The relevance is that we now have a new administration that has vowed to fund education appropriately. A new administration that has vowed to listen to educators before creating policies that will affect our schools. And being on the winning side of the past election gives a direct line of communication to this new administration. If you read the papers recently you would know that we just received 96 million dollars in additional federal dollars to fund areas that have been neglected by the past administration. Our Congresswoman Kathy Castor was responsible for this additional, much needed money. It is a new day in Washington and all government is connected. Part of my job is as an advocate at the federal and state level to bring funding for education programs back to Hillsborough County.

I also believe that the message of service and personal responsibility from our new President is one that is going to serve this nation and the world. It is a message our children need to hear. A message our teachers and employees need to hear. We have some very difficult times ahead and his message is one that does filter down to the local level.

I posted his speech without any additional comments because I felt his speech needed to stand alone.

Whether you supported President Obama or not, he is our President and there are going to be changes at the federal level that will affect us locally.

Inaugural Address by President Obama

2009-01-22T19:38:00.003-05:00

My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you've bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors.
I thank President Bush for his service to our nation -- as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often, the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we, the people, have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears and true to our founding documents.
So it has been; so it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost, jobs shed, businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly, our schools fail too many -- and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable, but no less profound, is a sapping of confidence across our land; a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this America: They will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics. We remain a young nation. But in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted, for those that prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried us up the long rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life. For us, they toiled in sweatshops, and settled the West, endured the lash of the whip, and plowed the hard earth. For us, they fought and died in places like Concord and Gettysburg, Normandy and Khe Sahn.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions, greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week, or last month, or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of our economy calls for action, bold and swift. And we will act, not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We'll restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. All this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions, who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short, for they have forgotten what this country has already done, what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage. What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them, that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply.
The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works -- whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day, because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched. But this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control. The nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity, on the ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart -- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers our Founding Fathers, faced with perils that we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man -- a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience sake.
And so, to all the other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born, know that America is a friend of each nation, and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity. And we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with the sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort, even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we'll work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet.
We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense. And for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken -- you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West, know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy.
To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders, nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the role that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who at this very hour patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages.
We honor them not only because they are the guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service -- a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves.
And yet at this moment, a moment that will define a generation, it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all. For as much as government can do, and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends -- honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history.
What is demanded, then, is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition on the part of every American that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world; duties that we do not grudgingly accept, but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship. This is the source of our confidence -- the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny. This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed, why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall; and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served in a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At the moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words to be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."
America: In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.

Educate me teachers

2009-01-03T20:29:00.002-05:00

I received a response on an earlier post that piques my curiosity. I want to hear from teachers about the mid-term grading curve. Please spread the word to teachers in the district because I want a big response.

Respondents are encouraged to use the anonymous posting that I allow. I can not see your IP address or anything else that would track your identity. I will not even put a guest counter on my site because it does track IP addresses and I want to ensure a truly anonymous environment.

Mid-term grading curves...thoughts?

Things we used to teach our children...

2009-01-02T09:22:00.003-05:00

Things we used to teach our children no longer seem as important as they once did. Remember always hearing how the first impression lasted a lifetime? Remember adults telling us to look them in the eyes when we were speaking to them. Remember having someone rate your handshake and give you lessons on how to correctly shake someone's hand if you didn't quite get it right the first time.

And although these lessons most likely came from our parents or grandparents, adults who may have been total strangers felt empowered to correct a child when they needed a little extra help. There was no fear that parents may step in and say they had no right to tell their little baby how to do anything. Whether we like it or not, one's attitude, appearance and overall demeanor say a lot about a person. When you make the best possible first impression, you have your audience in the palm of your hand. When you make a poor first impression, you lose credibility in the eyes of your audience, no matter how hard you struggle to recover it.

In the business community I hear too often that our recent graduates do not know how to interview. We have got to do a better job of educating students on the basics. We must fit these very basic etiquette lessons into our every day way of work, even amid all of the mandates we are saddled with.

And whether these basic skills (and yes they are skills) are an indicator of whether someone merely interviews good or if they will be good employees as stated in this article, you rarely get a second chance to make a first impression. I always compliment a student who gives me a nice firm handshake and looks me in the eyes. I also give a quick lesson on how to correctly shake someone’s hand if they don't already know how. We don't need elaborate lesson plans, we just need to keep in mind that if we only have testing in mind we are setting our students up for failure.

What kind of first impression do you make?

Girls and boys rank equally on standardized mathmatics tests...what gender gap?

2008-12-28T13:29:00.003-05:00

Girls are as talented when it comes to math as boys. In a study that focused on 7 million high school students and SAT tests, girls performed as well as boys. Janet Hyde, a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, says scores between boys and girls have become so close, the difference is not statistically significant. Her analysis was published July 25 in 'Science', a major international research journal.

For decades we have lowered the standards girls are expected to achieve in math and science because it was believed that girls and boys brains are different. This also led to a gender gap in careers that required math. We are not born knowing calculus and opportunities to take more rigorous courses were historically not available to girls at the same rate as boys. Data now proves that girls are as capable as boys at performing high function mathematics.

We need to now focus on getting girls into traditionally male dominated career fields such as science, technology, and engineering and bring pay scales in line equally.

I agree with Rebecca Coulter, who teaches at the faculty of education at the University of Western Ontario, in London who says the difference in performance is between children in richer and poorer communities. Instead of gender or race we need to start focusing more on socioeconomic factors to close achievement gaps.

When is the educational world going to break away from the calcified traditions that have ruled our children's education for decades?

Superintendent Elia shows sensitivity during financially trying times

2008-12-20T08:25:00.002-05:00

The superintendent has donated her $42,437 bonus to the education foundation to be used for teacher incentives and to support schools and students.

I commend this step which shows that MaryEllen is aware of and sensitive to the trying economic times we are in. While it may be slower than some would like I believe this is another indicator that change is happening at the Hillsborough County School district.

I advised the superintendent some time ago this would be a positive gesture towards our employees and it appears she took that advice to heart. I believe she is sincere and is showing a willingness to sacrifice along side of our employees. I think that we should show the superintendent our support and approval of this very positive gesture, rather than view it through a cynical lens.

Let's try something new

2008-12-18T23:26:00.003-05:00

I get a little sappy around this time of year and I am not ashamed to admit it.

I can be an outspoken critic when I feel I need to be, but I know we have a great district with great teachers and want to highlight some of the good in our schools.

For all you teachers out there tell me a story of a student (no names please) that warms your heart when you think of them and reminds you of why you became a teacher in the first place.

In other words...tell me about the student that makes you get up and go to work everyday.

I am asking because I just got a post from a teacher that made me smile and I want hear more stories like his.

Gee they don't seem to like my blog do they?

2008-12-09T23:49:00.002-05:00

The topic of the night at the school board meeting was blogs and how they are a place for discontents to spread misinformation and lies. What I think they want to say but won't is that blogs are are a place for malcontents to spread misinformation and lies.

The question of the validity of blogs has been circulating for a while, but has become the hot topic recently. I posted the following response yesterday on another blog moderated by a Hillsborough County teacher.

Hello all,

I am of the firm belief that whether they like it or not blogs are here to stay. Should you believe everything you read on a blog? I would hope not! I would hope that everyone takes everything you read on the internet with a grain of salt and you do your own research.

However blogs have allowed people with no voice the ability to be heard for the first time in the history of our district. Blogs, for better or worse, will change education systems throughout the world. Business as usual will not be allowed.

Light is the enemy of darkness. And blogs are shedding a light in some very dark places. If we are truly on the side of right transparency should not be a problem.

I don’t always answer postings on my blog, but I do read every one and research questions and issues raised.

I dream of a day when people don’t have to be afraid to post their name. But until that day and beyond there will be blogs.

One of my favorite quotes by Edward R. Murrow sums it up “We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. When the loyal opposition dies, I think the soul of America dies with it”. Dissent is the core of democracy.

At your service, April Griffin

My response to a question posted about Alafia

2008-12-07T21:20:00.002-05:00

7:19,

I was out of town and just arrived home. I am trying to be as informed as possible before I make any public statements. I have already read the report and I am picking up the full teacher interviews done by the assessment team tomorrow. I have had numerous conversations with the superintendent, the lead on the assessment team, teachers, parents, community members, and even an attorney engaged in the situation. I am concerned about MANY things I read in the report. Know that I am advocating for what I believe is right is behind the scenes. But this is a very delicate personnel matter where threats of law suits have been made.

Please realize that although everyone at Alafia has been immersed in this problem for over a year the first I heard of it was at the October 24th meeting. No one ever contacted me about the situation to intervene before this blew up into a public spectacle.

The superintendent has put processes in place and has requested that we give her time. I am reluctant, but I am willing to give her plan reasonable time to play out. Time lines have been given, and at the end of that time frame if Ms. Smith has not improved I will be the loudest board member calling for her removal. Something should have been done a long time ago and that is another issue that needs to be dealt with. But this is where we are now.

Understand that with the make-up of this school board timing is everything, so is being as informed as possible. I must have my ducks in a row. I hope you can respect that.

I pray that everyone involved does their part in helping heal this situation. Please hear me again…if Ms. Smith does not dramatically improve I will be the loudest board member publicly calling for her removal.

At your service, April Griffin

Content Area Reading Professional Development (CAR-PD) Incentive

2008-12-07T15:35:00.002-05:00

To: All Middle/High School Principals
All Middle/High School Assistant Principals
All Middle/High School Teachers

From: Wynne Tye, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction

David J. Steele, Ph.D., Chief Information and Technology Officer

Subject: Reading Endorsement Incentive and Teaching Supplement

Content Area Reading Professional Development (CAR-PD) Incentive

Reading is the District’s #1 priority. We recognize the importance of providing scientifically research-based reading instruction in all classrooms and therefore encourage all teachers to earn the state-approved Add-On Reading Endorsement.

The Highly Qualified Teacher requirement mandates that teachers of state-coded reading courses in Grades 7-12 earn either the Reading Endorsement or Reading Certification to be considered highly qualified in the field of reading. This mandate went into effect July 1, 2007.
Given the importance of developing highly qualified reading teachers, the Reading Endorsement Incentive and additional Teaching Supplement were proposed and accepted as part of our District’s Comprehensive K-12 Reading Plan and will be funded in the 2008-2009 school year.

All Grade 6-12 teachers who successfully complete the state approved 300 inservice hour district Add-On Reading Endorsement, complete Reading Endorsement for English for Speakers of Other Languages (REESOL), or complete a University Approved Add-On Reading Endorsement program by May 30, 2009, are eligible to receive a one-time program completion incentive of $1,000.

In addition, all Grade 6-12 teachers who have satisfactorily taught a state-coded reading course for the 2008-2009 school year AND have successfully completed one of the following --- District Add-On Reading Endorsement, REESOL, University Approved Add-On Reading Endorsement program (at any time prior to May 30, 2009) or are certified reading teachers --- will be eligible to receive an additional $500 teaching supplement.

Grade 6-12 Content Area Reading Professional Development (CAR-PD) teachers, who complete the CAR-PD 150 inservice hour qualification by May 30, 2009, are eligible for a one-time program completion incentive of $500. (CAR-PD teachers have not received the Reading Endorsement and are not eligible for the $500 Teaching Supplement.) Grade 6-12 CAR-PD qualified teachers may provide reading intervention to specified FCAT Level 2 students within their content and/or elective courses.

Applications requiring documentation of program completion will be made available beginning April 2009 in FirstClass email. The application will be located within the "District" icon under "District Forms." The Reading Endorsement Incentive and Teaching Supplement as well as the CAR-PD Incentive will be awarded at the end of the 2008-2009 school year.

We value all of our teachers and the added training required to raise student reading proficiency levels. Thank you for being a partner in providing outstanding literacy instruction to our middle and secondary students. If you have any questions, please contact one of the following:

District Add-On Reading Endorsement Candidates and CAR-PD Incentive Candidates:
Sandra Tune, Staff Development DRT for Reading Endorsement, 840-7016
University Add-On Reading Endorsement Candidates:
Karen Davis, Office of Educator Certification, 840-7180

Bill Daggett corrects educators

2008-12-07T10:02:00.004-05:00

I just returned from the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) conference. There were many wonderful and informative sessions and I learned a lot. From how much we are doing right where our career and technical (CTE) instruction is concerned to changes we can make to improve on what we are doing. I will write a report for my fellow colleagues and meet with the head of our CTE programs to follow up.

However, one thing that was very revealing for me was when Bill Daggett pointed out that his original intent when he coined the phrase 'relevance and rigor' has been reversed by the educational community to ‘rigor and relevance’. I must note that Bill Daggett has the order in 'rigor and relvance' which is contrary to his statements at the meeting.

I know it sounds trivial, but the order of these two words has huge implications on the curriculum and instruction for our students. If we focus on rigor first we get a focus on structure instead of instruction. We create students who know how to go to school and that does not necessarily translate into being prepared for the real world and the workplace.

If we focus on relevance first and rigor second we focus on instruction, de-emphasizing structure. Doing this will show students real world applications for the curriculum they are learning.

While this is anecdotal, it strikes me as funny that our current education system is a by- product of the industrial revolution. The bell system was designed to prepare students for shift changes and breaks at industrial plants. We are no longer preparing students for assembly line jobs and in this global economy the American strategy is to position our citizens to be innovators and managers for the workforce. I think it is time the educational community catches up.

Business is telling us that graduates from public schools do not know what to do when they don't know what to do. Common sense and problem solving has got to be at the forefront of instruction.

All of this being said CTE teachers do need to be more in touch with the academic world and academic language. They need to know that they can not operate the way they did in the 80’s and 90’s. CTE teachers need to be a part of helping students excel in reading, math, and science. They need to recognize that when a student is struggling in these areas there is no one better to make the lessons ‘relevant’.

Whistle Blowers

2008-11-26T16:11:00.005-05:00

I received this question on a different topic post and felt it deserved a discussion thread of it's own.

QUESTION:

April, I know that this is not the proper forum for this question or comment, but what do you think about the growing number of education blogs dedicated to the many serious problems within the HCPS?

What advice can you provide those bloggers who want their stories to come out but are afraid of being retaliated against. These are your constituents and they need your help. Any suggestions?

MY ANSWER:

As you can see I support blogs. You are protected by the 1st amendment of the US constitution.

I am very supportive of any medium that encourages transparency. That being said I would hope that the intent of any blog is to create a better school district in the end, not just to hurt the district or individuals without the ultimate goal being continuous improvement.

As for advice for bloggers I would say to try to resolve problems through proper channels with the blogs as the last avenue of attempting to have your story heard.

One of the channels available is the whistle blowers policy. I will list it below.

Also, my contact information is listed on this site. Do not hesitate contacting me or any other board members you trust for aid.

Here is policy for reporting violations:

6.31 -- REPORTING OF VIOLATIONS SUMMARY OF PROCEDURES -- (Adopted: 6/18/02)

Definitions:As used in these procedures, the following words or terms shall have the meanings indicated:

Agency means the school board, any official of the school board or any public school. Employee means any person hired by the school board after completing the personnel procedures required.

Independent contractor means any person or company, other than a school board employee, who provides goods and/or services to the school board and enters into a contractual agreement with the school board.

Adverse personnel action means the discharge, suspension, or demotion of any employee or the withholding of bonuses, the reduction in salary or benefits, or any other adverse action taken against an employee within the terms and conditions of employment by an agency or independent contractor.

Gross mismanagement means a continuous pattern of managerial abuses, wrongful or arbitrary and capricious actions, or fraudulent or criminal conduct that may have a substantial adverse economic impact.

Protected Individuals:

Employees of the school board, independent contractors for the school board or other persons who disclose information on their own initiative in a written and signed complaint, or who are requested to participate in an investigation, hearing or other inquiry conducted by any local, state or federal governmental agency, or who refuse to participate in any adverse action prohibited by this policy are protected by the policy.

Nature of Information Disclosed:

The information disclosed under this section shall include:

Any violation or suspected violation of federal, state or local laws, school board policies, procedures or regulations committed by an employee, an agent of the school board, or an independent contractor that creates and presents a substantial and specific danger to the public's health, safety, welfare or to the school board's interests.

Any act or suspected act of gross mismanagement, malfeasance, misfeasance, gross waste of public funds or gross neglect of duty committed by an employee, an agent of the school district or an independent contractor.

To Whom to Disclose Information:

The written signed complaint shall be disclosed to the superintendent of schools, or designee, or to an appropriate school board entity having the authority to investigate, police, manage or otherwise remedy the violation or act.

Confidentiality:

1. The name or identity of any individual who discloses violation information in good faith is confidential. This identity shall not be disclosed to anyone other than the department or agency empowered to investigate unless: The identity disclosure is necessary to prevent a substantial and specific danger to the public's health, safety or welfare. If it is determined that the disclosure of the information is absolutely necessary for this reason, it may be disclosed only to persons who are in a position to prevent the danger or to prevent the imminent commission of a crime based on the disclosed information; or The disclosure is unavoidable and absolutely necessary during the course of the investigation; or The disclosure is otherwise required by law; or The disclosure is necessary in order for the school board to defend or prosecute an employee regarding the subject matter of the employee complaint.

2. All information received initially and produced from fact-finding or investigations related to the disclosure is confidential and is exempt from a public records request while the investigation is active.

Employee Obligations:

1. It is the obligation and essential duty of an employee to report any and all suspected acts of criminal conduct, mismanagement, unethical behavior or any other inappropriate conduct, act or failure to act by any other employee or independent contractor.

2. The failure to make such report shall be grounds for disciplinary action against the employee.

Actions Prohibited:

1. The school board, agents of the school board or independent contractors are prohibited from taking retaliatory action or adverse personnel action against any employee who reports violations or discloses information covered under this policy.

2. The provisions of this subsection shall not be applicable when an employee or person discloses information known by the employee or person to be false.

3. No remedy or other protection under this policy applies to any person who has committed or intentionally participated in committing the violation or suspected violation for which protection under the policy is being sought.

What do you think about 4 day work week during the summer?

2008-11-25T19:34:00.003-05:00

I fully realize we need to save money in this economic crisis that we are facing. But we have HOST programs parents count on so they can work. I still have not decided if I can support this. If this passes we have got to start communicating to the community immediately.

Read the Gradebook article and tell me what you think.

The election is over...

2008-11-10T07:31:00.003-05:00

And I want to congratulate Carol Kurdell for her victory. Now let's move forward and work toward student achievement.

Groupthink...I'll pass thank you

2008-10-24T06:23:00.009-04:00

During a debate this past Tuesday the chairwoman threatened to have me removed because I refused to yield the floor during a debate.

Today's Tampa Tribune editorial highlights what I have been trying to shine a light on since the team building exercise when awry in 2007.

None of this would have taken place if I just 'went along to get along'. That's not what I promised my supporters and that's not what I am going to do. When I ran for office people who have been attached to the system for years told me of the intimidation and retaliation that permeated the district and I promised to work to change that.

I very carefully planned inexpensive, close to home (driving back and forth not staying overnight at some) conferences focused on achieving a balance between college focus and career focus and the committee of 3 members two of which are not my biggest fans...Jennifer Faliero and Carol Kurdell tried to deny my travel. Nobody else on the board was denied and my travel was not the most expensive.

As the editorial stated "Democracy is about the free exchange of ideas without fear of intimidation". What is so hard to understand about this and what are people fighting so hard to protect?

To quote Edward R. Murrow "We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. When the loyal opposition dies, I think the soul of America dies with it". I believe in this district and the possibilities that lie within it. At the end of the day it is not my job to be disloyal to Hillsborough County students and the taxpayers of this community. The legislature created school boards to oversee a bureaucracy that spends tax dollars. It's time for the Hillsborough County School Board to wake up and execute their legislatively mandated duty.

It's about the kids and the community...let's get back to focusing on them and quit telling other members how to serve their constituents.

'tis the season...for homecoming

2008-10-18T09:42:00.002-04:00

And with the economy being what it is we need to think about how families in our community are affected. At the last board meeting I brought up the cost of homecoming and how we need to cut cost for our students as well as the parents and taxpayers.

I was amused by the St. Pete Times Sue Carlton's article in todays paper. Thanks for the props Sue.

College Prep and Career Tech Prep are not mutually exclusive

2008-09-23T23:25:00.003-04:00

I have written about the concern I have for the college prep path we are forcing many students down with the Collegeboard curriculum. This focus is causing enrollment to drop in career tech programs. When enrollment runs too low the programs are dropped all together in some cases. Which means students do not have access to certain classes.

People must understand that we must have a balance between college prep and career prep if we are going to afford opportunities for success for all of our students. And I don't believe the two paths are mutually exclusive.

We are doing our students and our community a dis-service by putting all of our focus on one or the other.

Read the article in Farm and Ranch News highlighting this issue and share your thoughts.

Update: September 25, 2008 Tampa Tribune editorializes about CollegeBoard.

SpringBoard or is it SpringBored?

2008-09-20T22:24:00.005-04:00

What do you think? You've been doing for over a month now. So tell me how it is going.

What do the kids think? Have you been getting feed back from them?

Here are some posts on SpringBoard from a blog posting I did on another subject:

Anonymous said...
Now that I am personally using SpringBoard, which takes up about 75 percent of classroom time, so far, I can say that it is as poor as I thought it would be. Yes, there are some lessons that, if adapted, I would use. But the majority of those lessons are not challenging and not entirely appropriate for every population of students that are in this county. Also, some of the stories and poems use to be in the middle-grade classrooms. Guess what? I teach 9th grade honors. I don't believe that placing lower level literature in the honors classroom is one of the best practices. I would still like to see the research that “proves” that this curriculum really does improve student-achievement in every type of classroom, whether it is varying grade-levels, honors, regular, inner-city, suburban, etc.Teachers are afraid to speak out. I haven’t spoken to a single English teacher that believes that SpringBoard is better for all students. They are all concerned. Most teachers believe it should be a tool for the classroom, not obligatory to the extent that it is. It is sad that the only people in the classroom everyday are the very people that are not listened to and are afraid to speak up. It speaks volumes about the climate of this county. We will all have to wait and see what happens. Sadly, some of the very best teachers may not be around to find out. What's even sadder, is I am afriad to post this...

September 7, 2008 12:17 PM

Anonymous said...
Anonymous-- I'm feeling your pain --and mine. We will not only lose teachers, but students. I teach E4 Regular. I feel sick every day with the crap I'm pushing. Yes--some activities are good, however, I can't see this class prepping my kids for college--or life after high school.My seniors will "only" lose a year--what about those starting this in 6th grade? God help us all--no one downtown is! anonymous, too

September 10, 2008 6:55 PM

Anonymous said...
You know it's bad when the children themselves are saying they don't like it. Here are some comments I got from some of my students:"I don't feel like I'm learning anything""Why is this all about CHOICES? This is dumb""I can't even remember what we learned about yesterday""We're doing a lot of stuff"Here's my take on it...my analogy...I once felt like a gourmet chef serving up 5 course, 5 star meals to my hungry students. I put my heart and soul into each and every one of customized recipes, and always took special requests when necessary. Now, with Springboard, I feel like a cashier at a fast food drive thru, dishing out pre-cooked, re-heated meals that are quick, easy, and ready to serve, but not all that filling or healthy in the end. :(

September 12, 2008 4:50 PM

Anonymous said...
SpringBoard has essentially broken my spirit and my love of teaching. Sucks.Double sucks that I, too, feel the fear of repercussion if I speak out.Triple sucks that our school TOLD us not to say anything negative to the supervisors when they come and randomly observe us this year.Quadruple sucks that the parents HAVE NO CLUE about what's going on and that WE have to spin this garbage into something good.I swear, when my child hits 6th grade, home schooling's-a-coming!

September 12, 2008 4:56 PM

I believe...

2008-09-04T11:48:00.002-04:00

This is an amazing message and an amazing key note speaker at a back to school conference.

Please take the time to watch.

It was a good night...on to round two!

2008-08-27T14:57:00.003-04:00

Thanks to all who supported and voted for Susan Valdes and Stephen Gorham for school board.

Susan Valdes won her seat easily and Stephen Gorham is in a run-off. The night ended exactly the way I knew it would and I feel very comfortable with where we are at right now.

Read the St. Pete Times article here.

On to round two where the work begins again. Real change is going to require real work.

If you are interested in helping email info@stephengorham.com and let him know you read about him on sound off and be heard.

Vote!

2008-08-25T10:41:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow is election day. Don't forget to vote! Also, get your family, friends, and co-workers to vote.

If you want change then this is how you can have a voice.

I support Susan Valdes and Stephen Gorham for positive change.

I hate to say "I told you so", but...

2008-08-16T14:46:00.007-04:00

...I told you so.

The following comment was posted on another topic and I thought it deserved it's own thread.
-----
Re: Bus fiasco.I may be a little shaky on this, but if memory serves me right…A former bus driver led the problem-plagued transportation office and the Boss was very reluctant to demote with pay loss. I think she created a job for him for a little less $. The $350,000 to $500,000 “consultant” payoff results in the rudimentary suggestions of parking the buses in more centralized areas and buying software. Thanks for all of the help! As if that was not enough, my guess is that transportation has probably a half-dozen supervisors that make $100,000 or more a year. Great work! I wonder if the media will be blamed like they were during the Good Friday fiasco?After quite a while searching the newspapers of the larger districts nation-wide and the rest of the large districts in Florida, it seems that only Hillsborough is not “up to their usual standards”. We must be suffering from some malady that no one else on planet Earth is dealing with, such as parent meetings about changes and lightning strikes twenty days ago. Those excuses are pathetic.The fun has only begun. MaryEllen
-----
When I ran for office I said that I would be an agent for change. I questioned the hiring policies that simply moved educators into business-oriented jobs without making sure they had the proper skills. I pointed to the facilities and transportation departments as examples.

Back when we started this transportation re-org everyone had to re-apply for their job. I insisted on a nation wide search to replace the person in charge of that division who was responsible for losing the district millions of dollars and creating the mess we were in.

After finding someone from outside the school district the superintendent then recommended the person who had previously been in charge for the number two position. I was the sole vote against that recommendation. I did not believe at the time someone being demoted would want their replacement to succeed and felt the person we had hired to take on an awesome responsibility should hire his own staff. And now it looks as if I was right.

I have received information that has led me to the opinion that the current busing fiasco is at least partly attributable to this individual and as of Friday has left the district.

State revenue going down...again

2008-08-15T10:58:00.007-04:00

Even more state spending cuts may loom after Florida economists update their revenue estimates for the current and future budget years.

$1.6 billion to $1.8 billion less than previously expected for the current budget year that began July 1. For the next budget year, the preliminary numbers are about $2 billion less.

The economists have repeatedly reduced their revenue forecasts over the past two years because Florida's economy has been sinking faster and deeper than they'd expected.
As a result, state spending has been cut by $6 billion over the past year and the new estimate could mean more reductions.

Gov. Charlie Crist asked state agencies to hold back spending by 4 percent.

What do you think of schools?

2008-08-12T16:08:00.003-04:00

According to a study by by Education Next magazine and Harvard’s Program on Education Policy and Governance only 24 percent of black adults give their local public schools an A or B grade, compared to 44 percent of whites and 39 percent of Hispanics.

I don't know how to take this study. When I look at the national polls this presidential election cycle education is not even on the list of American's priorities. Fuel prices, the recession, the war, and other fiscal concerns top the list.

It seems to me that people are not even pretending to care about education as they have in the past. We have got to get our priorities straight.

This is what they want you to forget

2008-08-10T10:10:00.006-04:00

As this political cycle has developed into a particularly nasty event I wanted to remind everyone of what we are doing and why they don't want us to keep doing it.

Below I am going to paste just a few reminders of circumstances where we are challenging the status quo on with the ultimate goal of changing the culture of the Hillsborough County School District. I know there are some that feel the entire board is a rubber stamp for the administration, but I am no body's patsy and I am going to continue asking questions and pushing for real change, whether they like it or not. When you don't hear me making noise it doesn't mean I am not fighting. I sometimes have to get people in the community motivated on certain issues behind the scenes and then we will rise up and fight when we have more power in numbers.

No bid contracts

Compilation of information on no bid contracts

I endorse Stephen Gorham *see post below for more details

Uncomfortable conversations

I WILL NOT go along to get along My mom used to say "if it feels wrong it is wrong" and if the conversation makes you uncomfortable maybe you should assess what is making you feel that way.

District hiring needs to be addressed

Superintendent Evaluation

2008-08-05T09:42:00.004-04:00

There is still much work that needs to be done...much. However, I can not deny improvements that have been made in certain areas that I noted the superintendent needed to work on in my 2006/2007 evaluation.

Read Tribune article here.

I endorse Stephen Gorham for school board

2008-07-06T09:54:00.008-04:00

The focus of my blog has changed a bit since its creation. I meant for it to be strictly a place for employees, students, and taxpayers to voice their opinions and concerns. I wanted to allow employees to post from district computers and have since been told by the school board attorney that employees are not allowed to access my blog while at work.

All of that being said the direction of this blog has shifted and I can do what I want without worrying about any of the school district rules. Hence this post about politics.

As you may already know the St. Pete times published an article in today’s paper formally announcing my endorsement of Stephen Gorham’s campaign against incumbent Carol Kurdell. And The SP Time's Sue Carlton's take on the race. I know this is going to sound trite, but I must say it. It is nothing personal against Carol Kurdell or the other candidate Jason Mims whom I consider a friend. As I was quoted in the Times article "This is not anything personal against Carol Kurdell, but just my belief in Stephen Gorham as someone who can help move this culture change forward… It's very difficult for people who have been there for a long time and have close relationships to be change agents."

Stephen Gorham is an astute candidate who be another voice for the people and will maintain a separation between himself and the administration we are bound by law to oversee. He understands the issues and the needs of this community and people are recognizing this. He has secured the endorsements of the Hillsborough Classroom Teacher’s Association, the Hillsborough School Employee Federation, and the West Central Florida Federation of Labor AFL-CIO. For the informed observer that Stephen has earned the endorsement of both represented employee unions speaks volumes. One would have never expected that these unions would not endorse a 16 year incumbent.

Since elected I have come to realize there is only so much that can be done to bring about real change given the prevalence of the insider mentality on the current board. When I was told by the superintendent after her 2007 evaluation “That’s fine you are only one of seven” it was evident to me she had not taken my evaluation in the spirit it was given and after experiencing the subsequent backlash from her allies on the board as they rallied around their superintendent, I knew I had nothing to lose by going against the grain and endorsing against an incumbent I am serving with.

Rumors abound and I have been told Carol is aware of my support of Stephen Gorham. I refuse to play the game by their rules. True to form administration rules require that everything be done in a hushed manor behind the scenes so they may have plausible deniability. I don’t want to be hypocrite and have prided myself on openness and accountability and after great deliberation decided to publicly endorse Stephen Gorham.

Contrary to rumors within the administration I did not recruit Stephen Gorham to run against Carol Kurdell. I actually tried to convince him not to run, but he has since convinced me that he is the right person to serve this community to help bring true accountability that I have been working so hard for. Together Susan Valdes, Stephen Gorham, and I will be able to continue to bring about the change that this community wants.

I am going to take a personal privilege

2008-07-01T23:15:00.004-04:00

This is a blog for education, but I am going to take a personal privilege.

A friend of mine passed away recently and I felt compelled to write about my unexpected friendship with Ralph Hughes. I have worked for more than one candidate who was on the losing side of Ralph. He had a reputation, one that I had heard about for most of my years in local politics. You didn’t want to be on the other side of Ralph. But because of political parties that is where I found myself for many years.

That changed when Ralph saw my primary debate and called to tell me he was impressed with me and wanted to meet to discuss supporting my candidacy. Preconceived notions made me hesitant to meet with him. But at the insistence of my husband and advisors I agreed to talk to him.

During our meeting I told Ralph that whether he supported me or not he could always call and I would always listen. I told him that we would not always agree, but we could always try to change each others minds. We talked about and agreed on problems we felt existed in the school system. We talked and listened and made no promises to one another.

Ralph supported me and I won the office I sought. At first I saw Ralph as a supporter. But it didn’t take long to see him as a friend. He called to critique me, and ask how I felt about issues coming before the board. He stated his opinions and listened to mine and we debated when we didn’t agree. We had lunch and he introduced me to people he thought I could team with to make our community better. I took grief over accepting Ralph’s support. I even had people in my own party tell me to refuse his support. I have no regrets.

During one of our long debates he ended our conversation with “You know April, you have a point, I hadn’t thought of it that way”. I felt like I had just moved a mountain. But now know it wasn’t much of an accomplishment because he was a much more reasonable man than people gave him credit for.

We shared a mutual respect. I feel so very privileged to have been able to know Ralph the way I did and feel proud that I earned his friendship, a gift he didn’t give lightly.

He liked to say he was glad he was smart enough to know how dumb he really was, and always knew he could learn more. He taught me a lot. I feel a profound sense of loss, both personally and for the community. I never would have thought I would call Ralph Hughes a friend, and am honored to have been able to do so. I will miss him greatly.

No matter whether you agreed with Ralph or not I believe he was involved in politics because he truly believed he could make the world a better place.

One of our own wins prestigious award

2008-06-06T08:40:00.002-04:00

One of Hillsborough county’s very own agriculture teachers has won a statewide and national 2008 EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING ABOUT AGRICULTURE AWARD.

Susan Carpenter of Mulrennan Middle School in Hillsborough County won for the middle school agri-science level. Ms. Carpenter is the only middle school teacher to receive this award. Two other Florida teachers will receive the award for elementary and high school.

“These teachers exemplify what Florida Ag in the Classroom is looking for in
teachers who strive to teach students about the important role the Florida agriculture industry plays in these students’ daily lives,” said Cara Martin, chairman of Florida Ag in the Classroom and assistant director of government and community affairs for Florida Farm Bureau.

Ms.Carpenter and an administrator or school board member will receive all expenses paid trips to the National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference “The Most Bountiful Place on Earth” June 25-28 in Costa Mesa, Calif., and will be honored at Florida Ag in the Classroom’s State Teacher and Volunteer Workshop “Oceans of Learning: Florida Agriculture” June 12-14 at the Hutchinson Island Marriott in Stuart.

Ms. Carpenter, a teacher for 25 years and an agri-science teacher at Mulrennan Middle School in Tampa for two years, has used Florida Ag in the Classroom curricula, materials grant money and other programs to educate her students about the commodities produced in Florida and the issues farmers face who produce these commodities.

I am very proud of Ms. Carpenter. I have met students who have had Ms. Carpenter as a teacher and they are a testament to her love of teaching.

Read an article in the Tampa Tribune Brandon News.

I prefer to use my voice instead of taking moment of silence

2008-05-26T09:35:00.009-04:00

On this memorial day, before the day of shopping, trips to the beach, or barbeques begin I want to take time to honor those who serve and have served our country. A moment to think about the significance of American men and women, especially those who gave the ultimate sacrifice of their lives for this country.

My father was a Marine and served in Vietnam...semper fi. My husband was a soldier a in the US Army and served during the first Persian Gulf war (he almost missed the birth of our first born because he was in a war zone). Needless to say after my marriage to my husband holidays were always interesting. The two were always bantering with each other over the rivalry that exists between the different branches of military. It was always in good humor and fun to watch.

Fortunately for our family we never received the visit from the military delivering the horrible news that we had lost a loved one. My heart goes out to all of the families who have had and will get that dreadful visit. I can’t even imagine how horrendous that would be.

I also want to pay tribute to the families who sacrifice precious time with their loved ones who serve. I do know full well how much time together families of soldiers are deprived of. How many births, first steps, weddings, graduations, and all the other significant days for families that are missed because of sense of duty.

It seems like obligation to one’s country is something that is sorely lacking by a majority of private citizens in America. Today we fly our flags and take a moment of silence, but I wonder how else we can honor these brave men and women and their families who have sacrificed so much.

Let’s take a moment and consider these numbers, remembering they are approximate and vary from one election cycle to another and one state to another.

Hillsborough County has about 50 percent of it’s over 1 million residents registered to vote. That’s approximately 650 thousand people registered. In a Presidential cycle approximately 40 percent of those 50 percent registered actually cast a vote. That is approximately 260 thousand people. Remember that in presidential elections more people vote. Only 25 to 30 percent vote in a gubernatorial election cycle. That is 162,500 people. Those numbers dwindle dramatically when you get into special elections or local elections that don’t fall during a presidential or gubernatorial election.

Taking those numbers into account, don’t you think we owe it to all of those people who give so much of themselves to this country to vote in EVERY election? The irony of the numbers stated is that America was founded on democracy. We have implemented it better than any other nation in the world. Why does every citizen not feel an obligation to honor these people every election cycle?

I hope being a part of the powers that be in Hillsborough County Public Schools I can work to change that. We can and must do better. I feel that exercising our right to vote is the most fitting way to show respect for all those who have sacrificed everything.

Hillsborough County needs to learn that college is not for everybody

2008-05-16T10:34:00.004-04:00

One of the main reasons I ran for office was to be a voice for the 'mid-kids'. Those who choose, or are not able to go to college. At least they may not choose to go to college the traditional route, right after graduating high school. Many enter the work force and continue their education in the university system years later and are very successful individuals.

Striving to prepare all students for college is a noble, yet unrealistic goal. And I believe we are doing a disservice to our students, the university system, and our community by pretending that every student is college material. By making students think that they are prepared for college when they are not is only setting them up for disappointment and defeat when they learn the cold hard facts of how difficult, demanding, and expensive college is.

My concern with the direction we are currently moving in is that we are losing programs that can give students options for success beyond high school. Programs that are sometimes the only reason some kids get up and go to school in the morning.

Call it a plan B if you will. What if they don’t want to go to college? What if they can’t go to college? For whatever reason, college is not an option…what is their plan B that will set them up to be productive, tax paying citizens?

I am driven in this post this article because of a story in the Sacremento Bee pointing out the importance of career and technical programs.

Are the results any different than we thought they would be?

2008-05-11T14:21:00.005-04:00

The results from the survey about the schedule change are out. Did we think the results would be any different?

I do not think the results are biased. I believe they are honest. I'm glad teachers were honest about the affects of the change

Read the St. Pete Times story here.

We have to be willing to listen to our employees understanding that people on the front lines can help us understand how to improve our school district.

The 2008 legislative session is over...finally

2008-05-05T15:05:00.003-04:00

Here are some recaps of the bills the passed and the bills that didn't pass and a summary of the session in regard to education. And possible lawsuits in the future..remember the phrase "we will hold education harmless"? Looks like legislators forgot that one. Hillsborough County Public School's budget for the coming fiscal year is $43-million less that what we had this time last year.

Recently we announced plans to cut $15-million from our budget, with the cuts coming at the district level. We are doing everything in our power to not lay off our employees or have to cut pay like other school districts are proposing. We have been planning for this for the past two years and have a lot of work to do, but not as much as many other school districts.

We will do everything we can to avoid the drastic kinds of measures other districts are having to resort to.

This was an intresting perspective on Springboard

2008-04-24T21:12:00.003-04:00

This post was left by anonymous in reference to a SpringBoard posting I wrote a while back.

As one of the teachers who "created" the learning schedule for this year's implementation of Springboard in Hillsborough County, let me assure you that we did not create the schedule. We were given printed calendars and suggested "Pathways" and instructed to fit the Pathway into the calendar. We were told to leave NO days for individual choice of lessons. We were allowed to leave a few days each quarter to "Reloop and Reteach" concepts. Our district had a very strong curriculum for the high school English classes. I felt that I sent my students to college prepared to be successful. In fact, several of my previous students have become English teachers in this district. The students I as sending away to college this year have no idea what "Beowulf" is or who Chaucer was. They don't know what a Romantic poem is or why the Victorians wrote the way they did. They do, however, know how to identify camera angles in popular movies, how to identify critical perspectives, and a great deal about the Congo. The Springboard curriculum in English works well with my "regular" level students who were struggling with the more literary curriculum. My "honors" level students are being disadvantaged by a curriculum that does not provide them with a common basis of knowledge shared by other students across the nation.

Anonymous who posted this please email me at april@voteapril.com I want (need) to talk to you.

Couldn't have said it better myself

2008-04-20T09:33:00.002-04:00

I read the article that is in my previous post before reading this editorial in the Tampa Tribune. Thank you Tampa Tribune editorial board for paying attention to such an important issue. Together we have opened the door to a much needed conversation. There will be more to come on this issue...stay tuned.

This highlights perfectly why I have been voicing concern

2008-04-20T08:51:00.004-04:00

An article today on the front page of the Tampa Tribune highlights perfectly one of the reasons I have been voicing concern for this college push that in my and some members of our community’s opinion is de-emphasizing career and technical education.

During board member comments I expressed concern over the CollegeBoard programs that are being heavily pushed in our schools. With the classroom size reduction amendment and all of the assessments we have to comply with (not that accountability is a bad thing), but FCAT is driving our curriculum and we are losing sight of career training. This concerns me greatly.

These are some of my comments from the last board meeting:

"College enrollment is going to be down because of the budget crisis we are facing as well as Bright Futures scholarships due to people are not buying lottery tickets because people don’t have disposable income right now".

"The unintended consequences are that we are eliminating classes that are important for hooking kids into school. With classroom size reduction we have already lost a lot of career tech units".

I made these and other statements to start the conversation with the rest of the board about this CollegeBoard emphasis.

Pushing kids that are not going to further their education in a four year university is doing them a disservice and taking away opportunities to expose them to classes that could lead them to a high paying career. This hurts the community too.

Don't get me wrong I want more students going to college, particularly non traditional students, but not at the cost of losing programs that could help students go on to successful, necessary high paying careers.

Florida Bills that could affect schools

2008-04-18T09:20:00.001-04:00

Here is a link to a listing of bills that could affect schools if passed.

Tell me what you think.

We have to talk about it

2008-03-31T23:46:00.002-04:00

First and foremost that 99.9% of teachers are wonderful, caring people who want nothing more than success for their students. Teachers are one of the most important professions in our world and they do not receive the credit or respect they deserve. These teachers are making the majority look bad.

That being said...I can not let these pedophiles continue to prey on our children without attempting to do something.

I am confident in our background checks and know that our school district handles every accusation of inappropriate behaviour consistently. Could our training use some tweaking? This is something we are going to look at. When we have inappropriate behaviour come to our attention we investigate, if the accusations are true we turn the case over to the appropriate law enforcement agency. This is where it is out of our hands.

I believe the disconnect is in the sentencing phase. When you look at recent cases, with the most famous being Debra Lefave, there are huge discrepancies in the way pretty, blonde teachers are handled compared to men. Debra Lefave got, in essence, a slap on the wrist (for being to pretty to go to jail) with house arrest and probation and a man one county over got over 20 years in prison for the same thing. If I were a man I would be furious about the injustice. It is molestation anyway you look at it and in my opinion these teachers who have been entrusted with our children are predators.

Should we consider mandatory minimums for people who work with children and are in a position of trust who abuse that power? Is the school disticts ethics training enough? Are we seeing so many teachers in Hillsborough arrested because we take the accusations seriously and don't cover up? Is this happening more now than in the past and we just hear more because people are less afraid to report it? Is this isolated to Hillsborough County or is this a nation wide problem?

I don't know the answers to these questions yet. Rest assured I am asking them. But we need to start having the conversation sooner than later. I also understand that whatever we do we need to protect not only the students from this type of thing happening. But also our teachers so they are not falsely accused and have their lives and careers ruined because of a disgruntled student. There is a very delicate line to walk on this issue.

Good Friday

2008-03-31T23:42:00.006-04:00

I have been too busy to post regularly. This is an important issue I know people want to hear from me about and want to comment on the events of Good Friday.

I have called the Good Friday debacle the perfect storm of situations and events that led to the high absenteeism of students, teachers, and support staff.

I understand that for many this is an important religious holiday. There are many however, (just look at the malls and beaches on that day) that don't observe it as a high holy day and were using religion as an excuse. As a woman of very strong faith I personally take exception with that argument. If this is a debate about the day being a traditional family day, or a day for travel, or preparing for Easter then let’s have that discussion. I want to hear what people have to say. But this has turned into ‘us’ against ‘them’, and for me that is not what this is about.

Again, I know there are many who observed the holy day and I respect their right to observe that day with no penalty. But there were some who were protesting for other reasons. I heard from many employees in our district and they referred to what happened as the ‘Good Friday flu’.

There was confusion in communication from the district and we need to look at what mistakes were made in order to solve those problems for any similar issues in the future. That being said, the media played a big role in all the hype and high absenteeism that ensued because of the added confusion. When students found out they would not be penalized for missing the day they jumped at the opportunity and convinced their parents to let them miss school. Again, we could have communicated better.

People have also referenced fair day in complaints about the calendar. Two years ago when we originally voted for the academic calendar. I voted against fair day and lost (only Candy Olson and voted against it). I upset some people with that vote, but I voted against it because I could not justify taking away very important religious holidays and giving fair day off.

There were some people who put in time off request in advance. However, there were many who decided a week or less (some as little as two days) that they were taking the day off. And where our bus drivers are concerned we needed much more time to plan for the absences. I am upset that there was even the most remote possibility that any of our students were put in harms way. If we would have had advanced notice of the absences we could have planned better.

I am an activist at heart and I don't have a problem with people standing up for their rights. But there is a right way and a wrong way to do that and when the children are used as pawns to make a point I have a real problem with that.

I also told the media that concerned teachers and parents should lobby their state legislators, as our calendar is being driven in large part by the Save Our Summers (S.O.S.) legislation. By state mandate we are not able to start our school year any sooner than two weeks before labor day. We need to have the authority to set our own calendar as we know what is best for our community. Let's fix the problem at the core.

Our board will be discussing this issue in much greater detail and I will consider all factors for the future, but I personally need untainted data to make my decision, and the 'Good Friday Flu' does not leave me with the feeling that this is unmanipulated data.

I will make my decision first on what is best for the students and second on what is best for the taxpayers. Mistakes were made and we will be analyzing the situation and will move forward accordingly.

I love reading this

2008-03-11T21:34:00.002-04:00

My campaign centered on career and technical education. So to hear the people at the top talking about how important they think these programs are excites me.

Read the SP Times article here and tell me what your thoughts are.

Again I say that not every student is college bound and these programs can help keep kids in school. With programs like Excelerator and SpringBoard that are geared towards teaching students college skills we must be even more mindful that we don't forget students who are not college bound. Not every child is able or willing to go to college right out of high school. Some may never go, and some may go later in life. We need to get away from the one size fits all approach.

Playing catch up

2008-03-10T16:26:00.006-04:00

I have been busy and have not kept up with my blog lately. So I am going to try to catch up on some top issues.

Abridging the first amendment
The school board chair has dropped the no name rule. I did bring up my concerns at the first available opportunity, and was told then that there was no statute supporting that rule. At the following board meeting the chair placed the approval of these board guidelines on the agenda.

I was very concerned about number four on the guidelines being too stringent and made an amendment to the motion to accept the guidelines. My amendment was to strike the word 'require' in the third sentence of number four and replaced it with the word 'request'. It passed unanimously.

Read the Tampa Tribune editorial here and the SP Times editorial by Sue Carlton here.

SpringBoard
I am still listening to teachers and bringing up SpringBoard at board meetings and in one on one meetings with upper level staff. I have concerns that we are going to push students out of career and technical classes into college prep classes. I have always said I want more students going into college, however our sole focus can not be college bound. We have to prepare those who do not want or unable to go to college with trades and skills that can help them become productive citizens.

I am also concerned that teachers are losing even more flexibility in the classroom. I have been assured that SpringBoard days are going to be revised and we are going to re-vamp the schedule which will give creativity and flexibility back to teachers. There have been many changes over the last decade and we need to be aware that the classroom environment is very different. Between NCLB (No Child Left Behind for non-educators), FCAT (everyone knows this four letter word, there is no need to explain this one) and all of the other state and federal mandates, people downtown need to realize how important it is to get buy in from teachers and allow some flexibility and freedom in the classroom.

Cell phones in the classroom
My statements in reference to cell phones and electronics in the Tampa Tribune were taken out of context.

This is what I said. “My son took his PSP to school it was wrong I admit that, I didn’t know he had it. It was taken away. His teacher did not secure it. It was stolen. The school offered to pay for it, but I didn’t hold them responsible, and I didn't hold the teacher responsible. His consequence was that his father and I did not replace it.” He does not have it to this day and it was taken last school year.

I understand we have a serious problem with cell phones. On a day-to-day basis, they are disruptive to the educational environment. Cheating, taking pictures and videos and posting them on MySpace. Texting is causing major distractions in the class room. These are just a few examples. We need to solve these problems. I want to work with the board, administration, and teachers to figure out how to do this with common sense, keeping both teachers and parents in mind. I want more consequences for students who break the rules than just having their phone taken away.

I do not think teachers need to be held financial responsible if the proper chain of custody is followed. In my opinion the problem is that there is no clear procedure for chain of custody.

What would teachers and administrators think of students violating the rules getting ISS or some type of detention? I know there are some teachers that don't want to deal with taking student's cell phones away because of a lack of time to go to the office and turn it in. They also may not have locking drawers or cabinets in their room and don't want to be responsible. I also know students sometimes become disruptive when their phone is taken away. I have spoken to some of these students and they don't understand why there is not consistency. We must have consistency from teachers enforcing the rules and administrators must support teachers who enforce the school board policy.

What would teachers and administrators think calling the office when there is a violation and have the office send a student volunteer with a pre-printed form that the teacher signs when they turn over the phone? When the student volunteer turns the phone over to someone in the office that responsible adult signs the form and puts the equipment in a safe place in the front office until it is picked up.

This would eliminate teachers having to leave their room when they don't have enough time and it takes the burden of responsibility off teachers. That way there is a standard procedure in every school, so when teachers leave one school for another there won't be any confusion. This would also eliminate teachers having to deal with irate parents because they would go to the office to retrieve the equipment.

Abridging the 1st Amendment

2008-02-21T06:48:00.004-05:00

After the last board meeting I have not been able to stop thinking about the events that took place at the end of the meeting after public comment. I have heard from several people, including the press, and want to make a brief statement.

I have a phone call into the superintendent to address Tuesday's meeting. Because of sunshine I can't speak to the board about my concerns until the next time we are in a publicly noticed meeting next week. But it is my intention to raise my concerns at the first available opportunity. I have been an advocate for the 1st amendment for a long time and do not condone abridging any one's constitutional rights. I may not agree with what people say, but will fight for their right to say it. Please stand by for more on this issue.

Springboard Info

2008-02-19T21:49:00.007-05:00

I have received some questions, some accusations, and heard much passion from teachers in our district in regard to a new CollegeBoard curriculum called SpringBoard. I have shared your concerns and this is what I know thus far.

Each department head as well as principals and APC's have been given information about SpringBoard by Mr. Eric Bergholm, General Director, Advanced Academic Access.

SpringBoard is CollegeBoard's replacement for Pacesetter and was instituted as a pilot program in some of Hillsborough County Schools. It is my understanding that Mr. Bergholm would like to have SpringBoard in all Hillsborough County middle and high schools by next school year.

The learning schedule was written by our teachers for their colleagues to use and after they attended the training for SpringBoard they may have been overly enthusiastic about the schedule they created. Right now out of 180 teaching days about 175 days are planned. We are going to re-vamp this schedule which will give creativity and flexibility back to teachers. The schedule can be anywhere from 60 to 180 days of Springboard curriculum. What we will most likely end up with is 90 days. It is not intended for every day.

Trainings will be held in June, July and August and I have been told both privately and publicly at tonight’s school board meeting that teachers will be compensated for attending the trainings.

The short of the story is that teachers were involved in the adoption and planning phase and lessons have been learned and mistakes will be corrected.

Please continue to share your concerns. They are being heard.

Hillsborough School Board re-writes its mission

2008-02-15T11:35:00.003-05:00

I am excited to be moving in a positive direction. I've said it before. I know this does not seem very important to some, but this process is a very important element in changing the culture of the school district as the vision and mission set the tone for the school district for the next ten years.

The Hillsborough County School District is in the process of crafting new mission, vision, and values statements. Today, the seven School Board members, Superintendent MaryEllen Elia, and her staff of chief officers and assistant superintendents held a workshop to set strategic goals for the school district.

Read the entire WMNF story here and/or listen to the entire story here here.

Coleman middle students care

2008-02-15T10:43:00.004-05:00

...about the future of the environment. Coleman middle school students encouraged parents waiting in the pick up line not to idle while waiting for their children to be released from school.

As we restructure our transportation department and are not offering as much courtesy bussing more parents are driving their children to and from school. The unintended consequences of this is more cars in the pick up line in the afternoon.

What a great thing these kids are doing in getting people to think about the impact of sitting idling for 15 minutes to half an hour in front of the school every day.

Read the SP Times article here.

Senator says schools must cater more to business

2008-01-31T09:39:00.000-05:00

The Tampa Bay area is poised to become a statewide leader in education, state Sen. Don Gaetz told a gathering of educators and business leaders at a Wednesday luncheon hosted by the Consortium of Florida Education Foundations.

"The problem with school districts is that they teach what they want to teach," said Gaetz, who chairs the Senate Education Committee. "The curriculum we're offering is not based on what the business community needs."

Career and technical education was my primary platform issue when I ran for office. I have spent my entire time in office trying to get the rest of the board and the administration to understand the importance of not letting the mid-kids fall through the cracks anymore.

I am very excited to hear others saying the same thing. We are on the forefront of an exciting movement. Our community will only be better for it.

Read full SP Times article here.

The voters have spoken

2008-01-30T07:14:00.000-05:00

Amendment 1 has passed. The school board took a unified and vocal stand against it.

As I said, I approached my opinion from two perspectives. The first as a property owner and I, like every other tax paying citizen want real tax relief. However I believe amendment 1 is not enough to cure the problem. It will not help homeowners on the verge of losing their homes. In a time when foreclosures have doubled in Hillsborough County we need more.

The second perspective was as an elected official tasked with overseeing the budget of the 8th largest school district in the nation and knowing what we and other government bodies are going to have to do in the future.

I believe government should be more efficient. We will now move forward with the voters will and do what is necessary to live within our means. What this will do to our schools and community is yet to be seen, but it is what it is and we will make it work.

As the burden of taxation has now been shifted to local municipalities I will do everything in my power to cut expenses before we go to the voters with our hands out and ask for more.

I am proud that people exercised their right to vote.

School Board says "no" to Amendment 1

2008-01-22T15:00:00.000-05:00

I have approached my research on the property tax amendment from two perspectives. The first being as a property owner. As a property owner I am not satisfied with the amount of money we will be saving. In my opinion more time needs to be put into a better solution. Let me clearly state "As a tax paying citizen I want tax relief" I just do not believe what has been proposed is good enough.

The second perspective is as an elected official. The onus of taxation will only be shifted from the state to local municipalities. We will be robbing Peter to pay Paul. And regardless of promises made, the money is going to have to come from somewhere.

I believe we need to cut cost where ever we can before we ask the citizens of Hillsborough County for anymore money, but the reality is we will lose money if this amendment passes.

The Hillsborough County School Board voted 5-1 this morning to take a stand against Amendment 1, the property tax reduction measure going before voters Jan. 29.

VOTE NO ON AMENDMENT 1!

Read full article in the Gradebook.

Read another Gradebook article here.

Re-writing policies

2008-01-20T11:01:00.001-05:00

This is very important to the direction of school district. We are currently in the process of re-writing our policies. I would like some input on our policies good and bad.

Our policy handbook can be found here.

I have had several parents talk to me about a policy that allows law enforcement to sometimes go beyond their legal authority when interrogating suspects while they are in school.

Read the St. Pete Times article and let me know your thoughts on this policy. When principals stop being advocates for the student in the parents absence and start becoming the accuser the child has no legal representation. Do children have the same legal rights as adults?

Are there any policies you feel need to be looked at? Let me know.

Access to blogs on school computers

2008-01-18T09:43:00.001-05:00

I have recently had some concerns posted on access to blogs on school computers on another topic. If you have concerns please post them here.

Autistic License

2008-01-11T07:31:00.000-05:00

Autism is a serious issue that affects 1 in every 150 children born. That is an overwhelming number. One that deserves more attention from the government, educational community, and the medical research community.

From a societal perspective one of the things that makes autism so difficult to deal with is that the children look so normal and it is hard for people not familiar with autism to understand what is going on internally with kids suffering with it. Add family stresses to the equation and we have a powder keg. Like alzheimer’s, autism greatly affects almost every aspect of a families existence.

I have been educating myself on autism in order to make the best decisions for our children, families, and teachers and ran across this story on channel 10. View channel 10 video here.

An award winning play called “Autistic License” is written by Stacy Dinner-Levin runs Thursday, January 10 and through Sunday the 13th at the TECO Theatre at the Patel Conservatory in the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Tickets $10 for Thursday and Sunday; $15 Friday and Saturday with all of the profits going to Autism Speaks and will stay in the Tampa Bay area. You can reserve tickets at www.autisticlicense@gmail.com cash or check only and tickets will be available at the door.

I am going to try my best to make it this weekend. I hope if you are an educator you can make it.

To view a great movie called "Autism Every Day" click here and scroll to the bottom of the page. This film is 13 minutes long and well worth the time as it will help you understand what the families with autistic children go through.

Just Listen gets a reprieve

2008-01-10T07:54:00.000-05:00

UPDATE: Just Listen book challenge

Just Listen was challenged by a parent recently and per our school board policy a review committee met yesterday to make a determination on whether the book could remain in circulation or not. Marilyn Brown with the Tampa Tribune was there and documented the meeting. Read the article here.

I posted a review of the book. After reading the book I came to the conclusion that Just Listen was a well written with vivid characterizations and a meaningful, moving plot and felt the different scenarios faced by the characters (including the one read aloud at the School Board meeting) are all unfortunate realities our children are facing everyday. I feel confident this book could be beneficial to students for a number of reasons and do not believe it should be removed from our libraries.

I stated that I had confidence that the committee of intelligent, thoughtful people would no doubt see the merits of the book. I am pleased that the review committee came to the same conclusion I did and will allow the book to remain in circulation.

Don't I know it

2008-01-09T00:42:00.001-05:00

I have two boys so I found the following article about boys and organizational skills particularly interesting.

With girls performing better than boys academically, education professionals have been debating whether or not there is a crisis in the education of boys. Some say single-sex schools is the answer, some say they need male role models or new teaching techniques. There are some who believe physical changes in classrooms encourage boys to move around, rather than trying to anchor them to their seats is key to their success.

But as they deliberate, tutors that charge as much as $100 an hour and college counselors have stepped up to the plate to help boys be successful.

Tutors say their main focus is organizational skills because boys generally have more difficulty getting organized and multitasking than girls.

It’s about time the education community realizes the difference in learning styles between boys and girls. That being said, I don’t believe there is a magic bullet. The solution is going to be a multi pronged approach.

Read the article here.

Back for the new year...here's some interesting stuff

2008-01-08T19:53:00.000-05:00

OK everyone...time to get back to work. After time off to decompress and spend time with the family I am ready to go.

Here are some interesting articles I found as I was perusing the web:

- Shermon Dorn's predictions for top stories to watch in 2008

- Tampa Tribune's In Case You Missed It - 2007 50 Things We Know Now (That We Didn't Know This Time Last Year)...not educational, but interesting and great conversation starters nonetheless (these things make you sound a whole lot smarter than "how about that Britney?")

- Court Revives Lawsuit Against No Child Left Behind Law

- St Pete Time's Darwin survives another debate

I know that's a lot to pack in to one posting, but I had some catching up to do after a long, much needed break.

Teen birth rates on the rise

2007-12-30T11:05:00.000-05:00

Touchy subject I know...but as I have said we need to talk about them to figure out solutions.

Check out recent CDC findings:

Total births in the U.S. were 4,265,996, a 3 percent increase -- or 127,647 more births -- than in 2005.

Birth rates increased for women in their twenties, thirties and early forties between 2005 and 2006, as well as teenagers.

Caesarian deliveries also rose again in 2006, to 31.3 percent of all births, a 3 percent increase from 2005 and a new record high.

The preterm birth rate rose slightly, from 8.2 percent in 2005 to 8.3 percent in 2006.
The low birth weight rate also rose slightly in from 8.2 percent in 2005 to 8.3 percent in 2006.

Source of preliminary birth statistics: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

I wrote about health education a while back and asked for input. Read a couple recent articles in Florida Today and the Washington Post and give me your suggestions and opinions.

1/8/08 UPDATE: For a more recent story on Gradebook with 43 comments from readers click here.

1/11/08 UPDATE: This has been a hot topic lately click here for a more recent article on the Gradebook and here for a full university report published in the American Journal of Sexuality Education.

Just Listen

2007-12-16T22:37:00.000-05:00

After the book Just Listen by Sarah Dessen was challenged in Hillsborough County Schools this past week I felt compelled to read it. And to my husbands chagrin I spent our 18th wedding anniversary weekend doing just that… I thoroughly enjoyed it and had a hard time putting it down.

Just Listen is well written with vivid characterizations and a meaningful, moving plot. The different scenarios faced by the characters (including the one read aloud at the School Board meeting) are all unfortunate realities our children are facing everyday. I feel confident this book could be beneficial to students for a number of reasons and do not believe it should be removed from our libraries. However there should be a mature reader label due to the graphic depiction of rape, underage drinking, eating disorders, and other issues thrust upon our youth.

It is not the School Board’s responsibility to review challenged books. This is just my opinion. The current policy for reviewing a challenged book is to have a school site committee review the book and render a decision. I will leave it up to them, as I have confidence that they are intelligent, thoughtful people who will no doubt see the merits of this book.

Exams after winter break...an update

2007-12-12T14:14:00.000-05:00

I recently asked for input about giving exams before or after winter break.

I've listened to concerns both on this blog and in person in the community. The general consensus is that high school students, teachers, and parents want exams before the break for a myriad of reasons.

We are going with an academic calendar proposed last year and have tried our best to accommodate their request. Unfortunately because of the Save Our Summers (S.O.S.) legislation and the fact that we can't start our school year any sooner than 2 weeks before Labor Day we will not be able to have exams before break for the 2009/2010 school year. Labor Day starts 1 week later and there will not be enough instruction time in that semester to have exams before break.

This will only take place for one year, and we will give students 1 week for review upon their return from winter break. We will be able to return to the schedule with exams before break the following 2010/2011 school year.

Watch channel 10 news report here.

No bid contracts

2007-11-30T08:55:00.000-05:00

In these times of very tight budgets we must do everything we can to be wise stewards of tax payer dollars. My comments at past board meetings and in the media are not meant to disparage any employee of the district. I truly believe that a majority of our employees have the children's best interest at heart.

However, I am personally accountable to the public and I take that charge very seriously. We as a board with staff input need to have a conversation about these no bid contracts and make some changes in how we do business.

There have been several situations lately that have raised public concerns about the way Hillsborough County Schools awards consulting contracts.

Read Tampa Tribune Marilyn Brown story here.

Read St. Pete Times Leticia Stein story here.

View Channel 10 Mike Deeson story here.

Read Channel 10 Mike Deeson story here.

What are your thoughts on no bid contracts?

Update on IRS 'annualized income' post

2007-11-27T22:07:00.000-05:00

I recently posted about a new IRS code and said I would post updates as soon as I knew anything more.

*UPDATE: I found out some preliminary information tonight and will post more as I get it. Hillsborough County Teachers do not need to worry about this new code. We hold out taxes unlike some school districts. This code applies to teachers in districts that do not withhold taxes. Again there is no need to worry based on what I have been told. I will post specific information later, but I thought this was important and wanted to ease concerns as soon as I found something out.

Is it time to dump Voyages?

2007-11-26T20:17:00.000-05:00

Voyages math has been quite controversial and has supporters and detractors. I would like to have a conversation about Voyages and need input from parents with Voyages experience and teachers in the district who have taught Voyages.

Read some articles here, here, here, and here.

Thoughts? Pro and con...post your opinions here.

Florida Supreme Court Report: Transforming Florida's Mental Health System

2007-11-26T09:09:00.000-05:00

On November 15, 2007, the Florida Supreme Court issued a 170-page report entitled "Transforming Florida's Mental Health System: Constructing a Comprehensive and Competent Criminal Justice/Mental Health/Substance Abuse Treatment System" (see attached links to executive summary and full report). The report finds that the needs of persons in the justice system who have mental disorders are not currently met by Florida's social services systems, courts, jails and prisons.

Are their needs met by the education system? How can we be more proactive? What kind of funding and resources are necessary? Can we be part of the solution?

Yes, this is an educationally related blog. However, society dictates we take many different approaches on how we educate all children. This is why I found the report from the Florida Supreme Court interesting. My questions are in relation to how we as educators can help students avoid the juvenile justice system all together? I want our students to be successful in life, whatever success means to each student, and I know that jail and/or prison is not success.

There are many who believe it is our job to teach only academics and not worry about all of the societal issues we are faced with. Is that realistic? I don't think so. We are obligated by law to educate ALL children. Not only are we dealing with students who have mental disorders, we have students who are coming from homes with parents suffering from mental disorders.

Teachers and parents do you have experiences with these types of students? Do you have ideas and suggestions? Please share them here.

This is important for teachers...it's about your pay check

2007-11-25T22:52:00.000-05:00

Suzie Creamcheese uncovered a very important story about a new IRS code regarding what they call 'annualized income'. This is very important for teachers who spread their paychecks over the entire year.

I have asked our staff to research this and publicize the information to our teachers. I will post the information as soon as I get it.

Please post information if you find it before me.

*UPDATE: I found out some preliminary information tonight and will post more as I get it. Hillsborough County Teachers do not need to worry about this new code. We hold out taxes unlike some school districts. This code applies to teachers in districts that do not withhold taxes. Again, there is no need to worry based on what I have been told. I will post specific information later, but I thought this was important and wanted to ease concerns as soon as I found something out.

Exams after winter break?

2007-11-23T17:53:00.001-05:00

Let me preface this post by telling you that the Superintendent has not made her recommendation and the School Board has not voted on this proposal by the calendar committee.

I would like input from high school teachers and students on delaying exams until after the winter break. The challenge that the committee faced in coming up with the recommendation is that with Save Our Summers (S.O.S.) law the Florida Legislature passed last year we can not start our school year any sooner than one week before labor day and we also have union contracts that need to be adhered to.

Read the story published on the Gradebook and let me know your thoughts and suggestions.

UPDATE: 12/12/07

I've listened to concerns both on this blog and in person in the community. The general consensus is that high school students, teachers, and parents want exams before the break.

We are going with an academic calendar and have tried our best to accommodate their request. Unfortunately because of the Save Our Summers (S.O.S.) legislation and the fact that we can't start our school year any sooner than 2 weeks before Labor Day we will not be able to have exams before break for the 2009/2010 school year. Labor Day starts 1 week later and there will not be enough instruction time in that semester to have exams before break.

This will only take place for one year, and we will give students 1 week for review upon their return from winter break. We will be able to return to the schedule with exams before break the following 2010/2011 school year.

Watch channel 10 news report here.

Two-minute rule

2007-11-23T17:49:00.000-05:00

From the Gradebook by Leticia Stein

Anyone who's suffered through the five-plus hour meetings of the Hillsborough School Board will appreciate a rule change:

Board member Candy Olson proposed at Tuesday's meeting a new procedure: She and the other board members should observe a two-minute time limit on routine agenda items.

Not surprising, it generated talk. (Eight minutes, 50 seconds, to be exact.)

Other board members were concerned about not being able to respond to comments. So April Griffin proposed an amendment that would allow one-minute response time. It proved rather divisive, passing on a 4-3 vote, with the support of Griffin, Carol Kurdell, Doretha Edgecomb and Susan Valdes.

Now the question is who's keeping time? Anyone want to loan the Gradebook a stopwatch for the next meeting?

Conversations need to happen to facilitate change

2007-11-16T09:56:00.000-05:00

There has been a lot of media attention on the school district recently. Most of it has not been very positive. There are some who would say that I am the reason for this. They may or may not be right, but I will say this..."conversations need to happen to facilitate change".

I'll give you a little insight to my past and what has helped to shape me. I was primarily raised by two women (my mother and my grandmother) and learned my core communication skills from two distinctly different personalities and generations.

My grandmother was from the generation where unpleasant things were not discussed. They were brushed under the rug (metaphorically speaking) never to be discussed again. She would brush her hands, as if to wipe off dirt, and say "over, done with, gone" and that was the end of the conversation. At times this only served to magnify certain problems, because they didn't go away. They were left to fester and cause misunderstandings and such.

My mother was a product of the 60's and was the polar opposite of my grandmother. She talked about everything and as a little girl I can remember covering my ears and singing the the la la song to drown out things I did not want to hear.

I have tried to find a happy medium between the two generations. I fully realize you must have conversations in order to find a solution to problems and issues. Once the solution is found then my grandmother's saying "over, done with, gone" can be applied and it's on to resolving the next issue.

This has been my approach in life and on the school board and has a tendency to make people with my grandmother's personality uncomfortable. It is my belief that if we all stay in our comfort zone no meaningful changes can happen. So I will continue to do my homework (and homework consist of more than just asking staff if a recommendation is good and having them explain to me why they think it is good), and force conversations by asking questions.

Wayne Garcia has a very realistic perspective and recently wrote about the recent climate in the school district. Read what he wrote on his blog for creative loafing here.

Sound off and be heard's reading level

2007-11-15T07:57:00.000-05:00

I thought this was interesting...with my background in politics and marketing I have always been told to write for an eighth grade level. Plain english that doesn't lose an average reader's interest.

On this blog I am outspoken and forthright and I save my more eloquent, expressive prose for my personal journals.

Imagine my surprise when, just for fun, I tested this blog's readability and it was rated as

Get a Cash Advance

I don't place too much stock in this, but like I said, it was fun. Test your blogs reading level here. Let me know how you rate.

FCAT overhaul? Long overdue

2007-11-11T09:54:00.000-05:00

Florida House of Representatives House Schools and Learning Chairman Joe Pickens, R-Palatka, is leading a bipartisan delegation of Florida legislators and Board of Education members to New York for a look at the Empire State's own end-of-course assessment test, called the Regents Examinations.

There is talk of Florida education leaders shifting emphasis off of the Florida Assessment Comprehensive Test (FCAT). This trip is being hailed as a bipartisan effort among Florida legislators to shift emphasis off of the highly criticized FCAT.

Senate K-12 Education Chairman Don Gaetz of Niceville said "I believe we must get beyond the FCAT in mastering academic performance in Florida”. The New York Regents Examinations, or other end-of-course tests, are "one more way of getting beyond the debate of 'FCAT good, FCAT bad”.

There is also talk of revamping the classroom size amendment implementation legislation to make the classroom size amendment make more sense.

This is all very encouraging to Florida school districts. Before now there was not even acknowledgment that there could be flaws in our current system.

We all know that FCAT is not going away. But that doesn't mean changes and improvements can't be made using data and information collected from teachers, students, and parents since it's implementation.

There are some who would argue that this is a dumbing down of education. What do you think? I will be following this new development very closely.

Read more in the Orlando Sentinel here.

I'm not very happy this week

2007-10-28T16:34:00.001-04:00

I shouldn't be discussing these things because they will most likely come before the board. But I feel I owe the public a sense of my feelings on some things that have happened in the past week and we don't have a board meeting until November 6th. So I am going to 'sound off and (hopefully) be heard'.

First is the situation at Middleton where one of our teachers entrusted with our children's well being was arrested for having a sexual relationship with a special needs student. The story gets even worse when another student came forward and did the right thing in reporting this relationship. The student that reported this crime to the school administration was not believed and ultimately sent home from school pending a conference with her mother for 'rumor mongering'.

As a parent and a school board member I am appalled by this teachers violation of her students' and the public's trust. I am also very upset that a student who stepped up and did what we are constantly trying to teach our children to do was punished.

I hope the rest of the school board feels the same way I do and does not make excuses for this horrible situation and steps up to the plate to ensure this never happens again.

Read more about this story in the St. Pete Times here.

Another situation that has angered me this week is the blatant disregard for the policy set by this board in the hiring of an outside consultant. In my opinion we were misled and this serves to validate my lack of trust of this administration. There are some (not all) in upper level administration who will omit information and feed us half truths in order to get the votes they want. How can this board make thoughtful, informed decisions without all the facts on the table?

Some of our administrators may not care about how your money is spent, but I do and I am highly upset at this situation.

You have frequently heard me talk about culture change and how desperately it is needed. This is precisely one of the reasons I ran for public office and why my opponent had so many of the who's who of ROSSAC administration on his finance report.

This is S.O.P. for some and will not be tolerated by me. It is this very lack of tolerance and impatience that has attracted so much venom towards me in the past, as I am sure you have read about on blogs and in the papers.

Read more in the Tampa Tribune article here.

Stay tuned; you will be hearing more on these issues in the near future.

Career and Technical education is making a comeback

2007-10-23T10:22:00.000-04:00

For years our society realized the intrinsic value of career and technical education. When you look at the data one can only conclude it is good for our students and community to offer a comprehensive career and technical educational path to students who can't or choose not to go to college. The reality is that a majority of our students are not going to college and of the ones who do go only about half are graduating from a four year institution with a degree. And of those students that are graduating with a degree how many of them are working in their degree field?

Then the pendulum swung towards an emphasis on college placement. I can't disagree with wanting our children to go to college. I want more students to go to college. I want more non-traditional students going to college. However I am pragmatic and understand the reality.

I am happy to see a swing of the pendulum towards a more realistic philosophy of multiple educational paths that will ultimately lead to a successful future for our students (and our community).

Read a good article on the Grade book here.