Becki Couch, school board member Duval County public schools, pointed out a few weeks back that when the state raises the FSA concordant math scores, more kids will fail and graduation rates will go down, but the same kid who would have failed could go to a private school on a voucher that doesn't have a recognized curriculum or certified teachers and never have to take a standardized test and graduate. She then asked, how is this fair?
Well it's not and where last week they came for public school students, this week they came for the public school teachers.
I teach life skills to post grads at a center school for profoundly disabled children and adults, since the post grads can stay in school until they are 22.
Today I was informed that the state was changing the certification requirements for ESE teachers. It used to be that ESE k-12 was good enough to teach, Now they want all the ESE teachers to get certified in K-6 as well. This itself is a change because a few years back in addition to my ESE cert I had to get certified in middle school science as well. Why? I taught ESE science at a comprehensive high school and because the state often makes up things as they go among.
Okay, the state wants teachers to get more certifications but here is the problem, teachers at private schools that take public money don't have to be certified in anything, they don't have to have degrees and heck they can even be felons.
From the Orlando Sentinel:
Last year, the Orlando Sentinel exposed scandals, violations and gaffes galore at voucher schools in this state.
Well it's not and where last week they came for public school students, this week they came for the public school teachers.
I teach life skills to post grads at a center school for profoundly disabled children and adults, since the post grads can stay in school until they are 22.
Today I was informed that the state was changing the certification requirements for ESE teachers. It used to be that ESE k-12 was good enough to teach, Now they want all the ESE teachers to get certified in K-6 as well. This itself is a change because a few years back in addition to my ESE cert I had to get certified in middle school science as well. Why? I taught ESE science at a comprehensive high school and because the state often makes up things as they go among.
Okay, the state wants teachers to get more certifications but here is the problem, teachers at private schools that take public money don't have to be certified in anything, they don't have to have degrees and heck they can even be felons.
From the Orlando Sentinel:
Last year, the Orlando Sentinel exposed scandals, violations and gaffes galore at voucher schools in this state.
There were teachers without degrees, schools caught falsifying safety reports, schools run by people accused of crimes and schools that were such financial messes they were evicted from their campuses in the middle of the school year.
Demonize public schools all you want. There won’t be a day when you take your kid to an Orange County school only to find the school is no longer there.
It was a culture of dereliction at private schools funded with public resources.
And now the Sentinel has found more problems.
As reporters Annie Martin and Leslie Postal reported Sunday, Florida’s voucher schools are also hiring convicted felons — some of whom are supposed to be barred from teaching under state law.
Florida's mantra is, tear down, burden, kneecap, harass and harm public school teachers and schools in every way we can while we let private schools do whatever the %$#& they want.
Friends is this what you voted for, the destruction of public education? Well if not stop voting for people whose goal is to tear down public education, while quite often profiting themselves.
Come on Florida, we can, should, and have to do better.
Teacher certification for Public Schools is too strict, and for Private Schools nonexistent.
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