The University of Florida is expanding their involvement in the county and at Jackson High School in particular. They either don’t understand that if we don’t have rigor, discipline and teacher buy in, things that we are lacking in Duval County we will never have success, they either don’t understand that or they don’t care.
When I hear about all these blue ribbon panels and prestigious organizations celebrating how they are going to get involved I have learned to sigh and shrug my shoulders because until we address our problems we will always have our problems. To me these organizations are more interested in adding something to their resumes than doing anything of real value.
Kids cannot be pushed along without a work ethic and discipline and be successful, we cannot overburden and treat our teachers like second class citizens and expect them to be successful either.
From the districts press release about Jackson High School:
The University of Florida (UF) will expand its partnership with the district by making Andrew Jackson a Florida Flagship School, providing an extensive support system for Andrew Jackson by offering professional development and additional advanced degrees, free to Andrew Jackson teachers and by conducting on site research. UF will also identify area Gator Nation volunteers to help sustain an extensive mentoring network of support and job internship sites to enhance the medical and business academies.
"The University of Florida prides itself on building and equipping leaders," said Director of the Lastinger Center for Learning Don Pemberton. "The partnership will allow UF and its alumni to give back in ways that will have a lasting impact on teachers and students."
A few years ago UF offered degrees to teachers who agreed to transfer to Raines and Ribault and it didn’t work then. What teachers need is support and respect. They need to have learning environments uncluttered by superfluous work and maladaptive students.
If UF wants to be a leader, if UF wants to help kids then they should stop enabling the county. They should say, hey we’re not going to have anything to do with you as long as student accountability is nil and your teachers are second class citizens. Fix those things then we are all in but until then anything we would do is just a waste of time.
Thanks UF, for nothing.
I remember when UNF tried to pull this at Englewood HS well over a decade ago. They tried to implement "research based", inquiry/discovery learning strategies generated from Ph.D's in their School of Ed. I can remember the students literally eating them alive while they stood in front of the class. It was funny to watch the Ph.D's who were tring to be teachers with all their "strategies" and no experience fail miserably, be publicly humiliated and leave. It will be worse now. There was no grade recovery then and referrals were written freely and acted upon. Those conditions of control are gone. I hate to say it but Englewood was in better shape then than Jackson is now. Just wait. How long will it be before they fail. Start your own pool. Pick a date. Make some money just like the TFA people. By the way, are the TFA people the 4 left of the 50 they hired this fall. Survivor, DCPS style.
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