Jason Fischer weaves a tangled web about vouchers.

Okay Fischer is pushing a voucher resolution. It's common knowledge that Tampa millionaire John Kirtley is the driving force behind vouchers, well not only has Kirtley contributed to him but since Fischer now works for Uretek holdings he hired him too.

From Context Florida:

Uretek Holdings, a “foundations stabilization company,” (think engineering, not philanthropy) lists none other than voucher-program founder John Kirtley as its Director. The company’s chairman and CEO, Kathleen Shanahan,served as chief of staff for former Gov. Jeb Bush, as well as for former Vice President Dick Cheney when he was Vice President-elect. Floridians know Shanahan from her days as a member of, and as chairman of, the Florida Board of Education.

To say that Fischer has ties to high profile privatization proponents, and that those ties might influence his opinion on local board matters, would be understatements.

http://contextflorida.com/julie-delegal-board-member-opposes-lawsuit-stop-voucher-program-denies-conflict/

I think one can easily make the case that Fischer is doing the bidding of a pro-privatization millionaire and since District 7 has little need for vouchers but other pressing needs not the people who elected him. 

More on this to come. 

Florida's Required Assessments

Florida's Required Assessments

Assessments	Requirement	Statutory Reference
Florida Standards Assessment      English/Language Arts (ELA) – Grades 3 – 11	Must PASS to be promoted to 4th grade. Must PASS 10th Grade Assessment to Graduate from High School	1008.22 1008.25 1003.4282 1012.34
Algebra I EOC	Must PASS to Graduate from High School	1008.22 1008.25 1003.4282 1012.34
Florida Standards Assessment      Writing (incorporated into ELA) – Grades 4 - 11	Must TAKE as part of ELA	1008.22 1008.25 1012.34
Florida Standards Assessment      Mathematics – Grades 3 - 8	Must TAKE	1008.22 1008.25 1012.34
FCAT 2.0 Science – Grades 5 & 8	Must TAKE	1008.22 1008.25 1012.34
Geometry, Algebra II, Biology 1, U.S. History, Civics EOCs	Must TAKE; counts as 30% of final course grade.	1008.22 1008.25 1012.34
FL Kindergarten Readiness Screener (FLKRS) enter on FAIR (Florida Assessments for Instruction in Reading) System within first 30 school days	Must TAKE	1002.69
FAIR – Grades K-12 – 2 times year; 3 times for K-3 and lowest achieving students required as part of Comprehensive Research-Based Reading Plan	Must TAKE	Rule 6A-6.053
IB, AP, AICE, Cambridge	Must TAKE and PASS based on program requirements	1008.22 1012.34
PSAT, SAT, ACT, and Industry Certification	Depends on use of Assessment – could be for concordant scores to replace FSA or credit for industry certification	1008.22 1003.4282
SAT 10  for Grades 1 and 2 and for Grade 3 Level 1 Students	Must TAKE	1008022 1008.25
Dual Enrollment Exams	Must TAKE and PASS based on program/course requirements	1003.4282
Postsecondary Education Readiness Test (PERT)	Must TAKE if 11th Grade Student in Reading Achievement Levels 2 and 3 and/or Math Levels 2, 3, and 4.	1008.3
Semester Exams	Must TAKE	District Requirement and expected as part of assessment/evaluation/pay for performance 1008.22 1008.25 1012.34
Comprehensive English Language Learning Assessment – K-12 (CELLA)	Must TAKE	Federal, Title III Required Rule 6A-6.0902
Alternate Assessment for Students with Significant Disabilities (FAA) – K-12	Must TAKE unless granted waiver/exemption	1008.22 1012.34
Formative Assessments/Progress Monitoring/Differentiated Accountability (low performing schools) – K-12	Must TAKE	1008.33
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)	Optional and Selected Students	Federal/State Request
Local assessments – Measurement of Student Performance in ALL SUBJECTS AND GRADE LEVELS Required – K-12	Except for subjects/grade levels measured under Statewide, Standardized Assessment System; each district SHALL ADMINISTER for EACH COURSE offered a local assessment	1008.22
Various VAM Assessments and EOCs generated by teachers, principals, districts, consortia or purchased – districts required to develop from 200 – 1200 EOCs; used for teacher/principal evaluations.  These may or may not be duplicative of the local assessment referenced above	Must TAKE	1012.34

1002.69 - Statewide kindergarten screening, kindergarten readiness rates; state-approved prekindergarten enrollment screening; good cause exemption

1003.4282 – Requirements for a standard high school diploma

1008.22 – Student assessment program for public schools

1008.25 – Public school student progression; remedial instruction; reporting requirements

1008.3 – Common placement testing for public postsecondary education

1008.33 – Authority to enforce public school improvement

1012.34 – Personnel evaluation procedures and criteria

Rule 6A-6.053 – K-12 Comprehensive Research-Based Reading Plan

Rule 6A-6.0902 – Requirements for Identification, Eligibility, and Programmatic Assessments of English Language Learners.

Public Education can't survive four more years of Rick Scott and Gary Chartrand.

MarryEllen Elia the superintendent of Hillsborough county representing the states school superintendents asked the State Board of Education for a moratorium on the state's high stakes testing accountability system. This is a sentiment echoed by the Parent Teacher Association and the states teacher unions among other groups. They represent millions of the people closest to education. The State board which I remind you does not have one true educator on it and instead is made up or Rick Scott donors and supporters gave them a collective shrug of their shoulders.

You see despite being charged with running our pubic education system Scott and the board neither believe in nor support our public schools. If they did rather than trying to privatize our public schools with charters that as a group perform worse and vouchers which resist accountability they would be working to improve our public schools. If they did they would listen to the concerns about testing, accountability, a lack of resources and privatization and attempt to address them. I am completely befuddled how Rick Scott an insurance executive and Gary Chartrand the chair of the board and a grocer by trade who sent his children to exclusive and expensive private schools, can dismiss the experts in education. How is it possible that they think they know better?

Some of you might be saying what about the board and Scott's proposal to fund education at a previously unseen level, to which I reply isn't it good to be education in an election year. The problem is last time Scott ran he promised not to cut education and then did so by 1.5 billion dollars and coupled with the damage he and the board did the last four, I am not sure public education can survive four more years of him and a state board who would rather dismantle our public schools rather than work to improve them.

To read more click the link: http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/gradebook/florida-testing-debate-moves-to-state-board-of-education/2199936

Gary Chartrand opens a can of worms. Invalidates teacher code of conduct.

Teachers are supposed to behave to an elevated code of conduct and I know some of you might think I break it every Florida Georgia weekend and a few other times throughout the year but this isn't about me. Where not public citizens they have a lot of responsibilities as you can see here.
http://www.fldoe.org/edstandards/code_of_ethics.asp

Gary Chartrand however has just blown all that out of the water because teachers according to his logic can now claim whatever they have done they did as a private citizen. 

From the Times Union

Gary Chartrand, the Jacksonville-area executive who chairs the state Board of Education, recently wrote a letter “as a private citizen” to each board member decrying the lawsuit and its threat to the voucher program, which he said helps tens of thousands of low-income students afford private educations.

“The lawsuit is about shutting down the program,” he said. “It’s unconscionable to do that.”

Chartrand has in recent years donated to the election campaigns of at least three of the seven Duval board members and has given more than $5 million through a family foundation to school district efforts. He said he does not believe his financial contributions will influence School Board members’ votes.

http://members.jacksonville.com/news/2014-10-01/story/diverse-coalition-urges-florida-education-association-drop-lawsuit-challenging

Get drunk in public and make a scene, hey just exercising my right as a private citizen.

Make fun of disabled children and jokes about minorities, private citizens do it all the time.

Write hate mail to the school board, president or anybody else, that is just what private citizens occasionally do.

Say Gary Charrand is crazy pants, I'n not doing it as a teacher, I am doing it as a private citizen.

If the chair of the state board can turn private and public on and off then we all can.

Wow, how is this guy in charge of anything? Now check this out.

Longtime board member Mark Gregory stepped down on Thursday as chairman of the Williamson County school board — a position he was appointed to two weeks ago — for making a butt shaped bottle opener..

Why didn't he just say he was using it as a private citizen, after all Gary Chartrand thinks you can turn private and public on and off!

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/10/tn-school-board-head-steps-down-over-controversial-buttleopener-invention/

Florida's testing system is spinning out of control!

A round up of the weeks stories as Florida's testing system unravels.

Utah flames and burns on Common Core tests.

Utah students took their state's new Common Core tests this spring, and they struggled so badly that a majority of Utah schools could end up graded D or F. Despite the more than 2,000 miles that   separate the two states, what happened in Utah could resonate in Florida. This spring, Sunshine State students also will be taking Common Core standardized tests filled with questions from Utah's exams.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fl-b-testing-florida-utah-worries-2-20141003-story.html

It turns out kids don't play a role in why teachers leave, tests do.

Contrary to popular opinion, unruly students are not driving out teachers in droves from America’s urban school districts. Instead, teachers are quitting due to frustration with standardized testing, declining pay and benefits and lack of voice in what they teach.
http://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2014/high-stakes-testing-lack-of-voice-driving-teachers-out/

The State Board of Education doesn't seem to care about testing concers.

Less than six months from the start of testing aligned with the Common Core State Standards, known as the Florida State Assessments, the state Board of Education barely blinked this week when Hillsborough County school superintendent MaryEllen Elia warned again that the state's public schools aren't prepared to give the tests, scheduled to start in March. Speaking on behalf of her peers, Elia expressed concerns as basic as schools lacking the computers needed for the test and students lacking the skills to use them. The tests the state will use have only been field-tested in Utah, which has a far more homogeneous population, and Florida has no chance to adjust questions for cultural considerations.
http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-school-testing-chaos/2200312

A whole lot of unanswered questions about the tests.

My conversations with the Department of Education and AIR continue to replay in my head. How long is the test? We're not really sure yet. What types of passages will students have to read? We're not really sure. Why can't we see samples? They're coming soon — maybe. Will the public ever see these tests? Confidentiality hasn't been determined yet, but generally the tests are for students' eyes only. Are third-graders going to be testing for six hours? I don't have that answer. Why can't we get more sample passages and test items? They haven't been demanded by the public.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/os-ed-standardized-tests-100214-20141001-story.html

Florida's parents are pushing back.

Across Florida, parents are pushing back on standardized tests. Some say schoolchildren are taking too many exams. Others have concerns about the quality of the tests, and the way the results are being used.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article2261678.html

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article2261678.html#storylink=cpy

Gary Chartrand says there is just one you?!?

Below is a video WJCT made to celebrate their local champions of education an event that had just one teacher and one of the biggest advocates for privatization around, pay particular note to the Gary Chartrand parts, I think after the part where he talks about his dad he sounds sound crazy pants, telling us about how eggs need sunlight and God's plan!



Gary Chartrand has given quite a bit of money to education and he has been able to get his friends to donate too. I am not so jaded to think that none of that money has not done any good but at the end of the day the harm he was wrought far outweighs it.

Now the district cares about ESE kids?

I personally brought ESE problems to the districts attention this time last year and the districts response was to rewrite IEPs to take away services to save money.

Then last Christmas numerous teachers brought attention to problems at an ESE workshop that the district had, at the time I applauded it as better late than never. I might not have been so charitable had I known the districts responce was going to be to ignore their concerns. 

Fast forward to last Saturday when all the employees in the district received the e-mail below.  

District Employees,

 

In an effort to increase transparency in our organization with all aspects of Exceptional Student Education (ESE) services we have developed an ESE Solution Center. The Solution Center has been established to create an open and safe line of communication for parents, employees, and the community to report any concerns related to ESE staff, support, or services district-wide from individual classrooms, schools, and the district office.   This is to ensure compliance with IDEA requirements and to improve transparency, accountability, and customer service.  When calling you may choose to remain anonymous or provide contact information.  Every email and call will be addressed.  

 

All concerns that are routed to the Solution Center will be investigated by staff. All calls and the results of each investigation will be reported to me monthly. I have included the email address and phone number for your reference.  We will promote the information district-wide and to parents and the community.  

 

ESE Solution Center

—  Email address esesolutioncenter@duvalschools.org

—  Telephone number  904-348-7853

 

Please take advantage of this resource so we can collectively own the improvement process of ESE services.

 

Nikolai P. Vitti, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

First let me say an e-mail sent on a Saturday says low priority to me but lets give that the benefit of the doubt.

I have heard two reactions to the e-mail and neither were, great the district finally cares and is going to take ESE issues seriously. The first was this was going to be used as a gotcha moment and it could come back to bite teachers.

The second was the district created all these problems mostly by ignoring problems and it's going to take more than an e-mail to prove the district really cares after all the ESE director after a state investigation revealed systemic problems got a promotion.

Do you see another problem here perhaps as big as treating ESE like an unwanted step child? The district has a credibility problem, teachers don't believe in what it is doing. Vitti got a bump when he arrived, people were optimistic that things would change but now less than two years in teachers are more fearful and distrustful than ever.     

If we are to be successful, if we are going to turn this around then it's going to take a lot more than an e-mail sent on a Saturday.

Guns in Duval School

By Greg Sampson

Unbelievable, but it really happened: http://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/news/local/two-14-year-old-boys-arrested-bringing-guns-jeb-st/nhbTy/

And now the post, and understand that I am looking at more than my school, I am thinking about incidents across a 166 or more schools urban school district:

We were asked not to discuss specifics, etc. and I am going to honor that. But I have some general observations based on this ongoing problem of students bringing weapons to school. As someone who works in a secondary school, the issue interests me greatly. I read and follow each story as it appears in the media. I have been thinking about this for years.

Observation 1: Overall, the schools remain safe. Despite students having weapons, I can recall only one incident where a weapon was used. (It was not a gun.) That was in defense after the student tried to walk away from an aggressor. It is very important that we understand that weapons are being found on campus, but they are not being used.

Observation 2: The incidents involve student disputes. They are about individual, specific situations that are not related to what is going on at school. Problems come in from the neighborhood. Therefore, parents should allow their fears to lessen unless they know that their child is involved in a dispute that the adolescents will not resolve or get past. If that is the case, the parents need to notify the school so intervention can take place before a student decides he/she needs to carry a weapon.

Observation 3: Each time it happens, the student involved expresses fear in relation to aggression from another student. Usually that fear is for times of transition to and from school. At school, with School Resource Officers, security personnel, active administrators, and alert staff, students feel safe. They leave the weapon in their vehicle or otherwise hide it. It is on the way home when they fear for their safety.

Observation 4: Punishment won’t solve the problem. If a student is in fear for his/her safety, is the threat of a suspension going to have an effect? There has to be consequences: expulsion and prosecution for the severity of the offense. But we must also recognize that we need alternatives thataddress root causes before a student brings a weapon. Putting intervention and counseling programs only at the alternative school is not working. We need to get support programs into neighborhood schools.

Observation 5: The new student code of conduct, which standardizes consequences, was an improvement. But it cannot stand on its own. On its own, students get (and have gotten) the idea that there is no punishment for misbehavior. Embedded in a comprehensive approach of encouragement and reward for appropriate behavior, intervention and support for problematic behavior, and consequences for infractions, the student code of conduct will perform at the desired level of effectiveness. However, while terms like positive behavioral support and restorative justice are thrown around, implementation is wanting.

Observation 6: Academics and conduct are part of the same continuum like space and time are one continuum. Few people understand this. Much of classroom misbehavior stems from bored students entertaining themselves inappropriately. Then someone gets mad, a dispute or altercation breaks out, then teachers complain about no support, then administrators blame teachers for a lack of management, and the cycle goes on. If we improve student engagement, misbehavior goes down and what does occur happens at lower levels of severity. This is not only a teacher problem, though; administrators need to be active and visible in classrooms every day. When they are not, even when they say other concerns occupy their time, things spiral down.

Observation 7: Student conduct, at all levels of severity, is a systemic problem. Systemic problems are not solved by focusing on one aspect such as code of conduct, transitions, or punishment policies. Systemic problems demand a comprehensive approach or else the displaced bad energy reappears somewhere else in the system. Problems move but they are not solved. Changing people does not work. The problems persist under new leadership because they are systemic.

Observation 8: The Jacksonville Journey is an example of a systemic approach to a severe problem of misconduct (murder rate). When it was implemented fully, the misconduct diminished in frequency. Something of the same approach and commitment needs to happen in our schools.

Gary Chartrand attempts to bully school board members.

From the Times Union

Gary Chartrand, the Jacksonville-area executive who chairs the state Board of Education, recently wrote a letter “as a private citizen” to each board member decrying the lawsuit and its threat to the voucher program, which he said helps tens of thousands of low-income students afford private educations.

“The lawsuit is about shutting down the program,” he said. “It’s unconscionable to do that.”

Chartrand has in recent years donated to the election campaigns of at least three of the seven Duval board members and has given more than $5 million through a family foundation to school district efforts. He said he does not believe his financial contributions will influence School Board members’ votes.

http://members.jacksonville.com/news/2014-10-01/story/diverse-coalition-urges-florida-education-association-drop-lawsuit-challenging

Notice the Times Union wrote, executive not educator, it should be troubling to everyone that the chair of the state board of education is not an educator. 

So let me get this straight he can just turn on and off being a private citizen? He then thinks even though he donated to several of their campaigns, gives millions of dollars and has his friends do too (and more about that in a moment) and he serves as the chair of the state board of ed that none of that matters, that he is the same as Joe public writing a note? Is he dumb or does he think we are?

Some of you might be thinking, hey he gives a lot of money cut him some slack, well friends like Race to the Top gave cash strapped states money and proved to be a disaster, here is a big fat ditto for Chartrand who by the way doesn't even live in Jacksonville.

Him writing each board member a letter has to be construed as a threat, vote my way or who knows what will happen next.  

Is anybody buying Vitti's principal switch excuse. What the beep is going on?

First the paper reported two principal switches but there were three. The principal at Alden Road who I am told was dumped there by the district and didn't want to be there in the first place also was replaced. Maybe since the school just serves special needs children the media doesn't think it is worth reporting.

Second I think it is important we remember that Vitti has been on the job for less than two years and he's still feeling his way. I try and think about this every time he does something that makes me slap my head and groan, which lately has been happening with greater and greater frequently.

Okay with all that out of the way does anybody buy his excuses for moving the two principals just seven weeks into the school year? 

From the Times Union: Duval Superintendent Nikolai Vitti on Monday reassigned the principals at two low-performing schools and appointed new administrators to head the schools.

Shilene Singleton, principal of Jefferson Davis Middle School for about six years, was reassigned to be an assistant principal at Mandarin Middle School.

Jeff Royal, principal at Hyde Grove Elementary, became an assistant principal at Beauclerc Elementary.

Nidia Ashby, a vice principal at Miami-Dade’s Northwestern Senior High, was introduced to Jefferson Davis’ staff as the new principal Monday. Contrina Isidore, an assistant principal at Gregory Drive Elementary, will take the helm at Hyde Grove.

When asked why he made the move now, after the school year had started, Vitti pointed to school report card data from recent years.

Hyde Grove has had two consecutive F’s in the past two years, Vitti said, and the state has asked him why he retained the principal.

Royal, Vitti said, is a relatively young principal and Hyde Grove was the first school he ran. But turning it around may have been too difficult for someone with his experience level, Vitti said.

Isidore was instrumental in moving Gregory Drive’s grades from a low D in 2012-13 to a “solid C” in the 2013-14 school year, Vitti said.

http://members.jacksonville.com/news/metro/2014-09-29/story/duval-schools-superintendent-vitti-switches-2-school-principals-6-weeks

Um didn't he know about those things before the start of the school year? Did a piece a paper fall under his desk that he just discovered and he was like, oh man I have to do something quick?

Also what's up with bringing in a lady in from Miami? Is she better than EVERYBODY else we have in the district? What's that say about what he thinks about all the APs in the district. 

It's my bet she called him up and asked, hey Nikolai, do you have anything in the district, and the next thing you know she's on a slow train from Miami.

And if the district really cared anything about climate surveys how is Brennan at First Coast high still employed. As bad as these two may have been they have to junior league when compared to him.

Then as bad as all that it gets even worse!

Also from the Times Union: Shilene Singleton, principal of Jefferson Davis Middle School for about six years, was reassigned to be an assistant principal at Mandarin Middle School.

Jefferson Davis has had steady declines in grades and enrollment since 2008-09, when the school had a B. It fell to an F.

The school also went from 1,426 students enrolled in 2008 to 809 students now. Many were able to transfer to better performing schools because of the F, Vitti said.

Well does that sound familiar to anyone? I have two words for you, Iranetta Wright! 

Their records are practically identical but Wright is now running the QEA schools making well over six figures while Singleton is the AP at a middle school. Mrs. Wright please tell me where the bodies are buried so I can get a promotion too!!!!

Now please excuse me as I go slap my head and moan!