Shanahan
A close ally of former Gov. Jeb Bush, Kathleen Shanahan has been a leading voice for education reform and school choice in Florida, arguably the leading state for both. And coincidentally or not, as her second and final term winds to a close on the state Board of Education, she’s been increasingly critical of ed policy shifts under Gov. Rick Scott.
This week, Shanahan voted against another extension of a “safety net” for school grades, calling it “sad” the board was “voting on something that’s going to have no integrity.” She also lit into the Department of Education’s reticence to use the term “Common Core,” dubbing it “sort of mushy.”
What else does the outspoken Shanahan think about the past, present and future of education in Florida? Ask her. She’ll be our guest next week for a live, written chat.
As we’ve said before, the chat is like a press conference with a typewriter. We ask questions. You ask questions. Our guest types furiously. 🙂
To participate, come back to the blog on Thursday, Oct. 24. We’ll start promptly at 10 a.m., so click in to the live chat program – which you’ll find here on the blog – a few minutes before then. In the meantime, if you have questions for Shanahan that you’d like to send in advance, you can leave them in the comments section, email them to [email protected], tweet them to @redefinEDonline, and/or post them on our facebook page.
Charter schools: “One size fits all doesn’t work for all children so now it’s about letting parents choose what’s best for their children,” Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi says about a new charter school for children with exceptional needs that her late father helped start. The Tampa Tribune. A new Pasco County charter devoted to serving high-level Title I students, wins preliminary district approval. Tampa Bay Times. Pinellas school officials say a new St. Petersburg charter school has kept key information from the district, jeopardizing student safety. Tampa Bay Times.
Private schools: An Episcopal private school in Clearwater celebrates its 45th anniversary. Tampa Bay Times.
Pam Stewart: Florida's new education chief will have to address Common Core, but she also needs to focus on school funding, a shaky school grading system, teacher evaluations and more, writes the Sun Sentinel.
Jeb Bush: ProgressNow New Mexico asks the IRS to look into Jeb Bush's nonprofit Foundation for Excellence in Education's spending on travel, hotel and other expenses for government officials. Palm Beach Post.
Common Core: The second public hearing on the new benchmarks pits critics against supporters in another heated showdown. Miami Herald. A little fact-checking and context on the first hearing on the standards from StateImpact Florida. Florida is moving ahead with the Common Core. Florida Times-Union. Leaders in Florida should stand up to misguided and ill-informed political attacks and demand answers from both liberal and conservative critics, writes Michael J. Petrilli and Michael Brickman for the Tampa Bay Times. (more…)
Chartrand
The wild debate about Common Core veered into unexpected territory Tuesday, with the board that governs education in the nation's fourth largest state having a lengthy debate about whether to actually use the term.
In response to mostly-Tea Party-driven objections, Florida Gov. Rick Scott directed the Florida Department of Education to take public input on the standards, both on its website and at three public forums. But the DOE doesn't refer to them as Common Core State Standards, instead describing them on the site as "Florida’s currently adopted English language arts and mathematics standards."
That's technically true. The Florida Board of Education adopted the standards in 2010. But board member Kathleen Shanahan raised objections to the term "Florida standards," saying it could create confusion with the public and "disenfranchise" thousands of Florida teachers who are already teaching Common Core State Standards.
At one point, Shanahan asked the department's communications director if DOE was going to use the term Common Core State Standards in its communications efforts. When she indicated she wasn't satisfied with the answer - "Is that a yes or a no?" - Commissioner Pam Stewart offered that until the department is finished getting public input and making recommendations to the board, "I don't know that we know what we're going to call it."
Shanahan, who has close ties to former Gov. Jeb Bush, continued to object: "We have instructional people in classrooms teaching (CCSS) and we're all of a sudden going to walk it back and be sort of mushy about it until we get more input."
Stewart then explained that technically, teachers in grades K-2 were teaching Common Core this year, but teachers in other grades were still teaching a blend of Common Core and the previous state standards.
Board Chair Gary Chartrand weighed in next: It's okay to say Common Core State Standards.
"We're doing the right thing" by getting public input, he said. "But until such time, I believe Common Core State Standards is not a dirty word. It's something people understand. And it is a lightning rod. I understand. There's a lot of emotion around it. But let's not back away from it."
Sally Bradshaw, a Florida Board of Education member with close ties to Jeb Bush, abruptly resigned over the weekend.
Sally Bradshaw
Appointed by Gov. Rick Scott in 2011, Bradshaw said in a two-paragraph letter to Scott on Sunday that "family obligations" would prevent her from serving out the remainder of her term, which was set to expire in December. "I appreciate your efforts to ensure that Florida's K-12 system continues to lead the nation in reform and accountability," she wrote. The resignation was effective immediately.
A former Bush chief of staff, Bradshaw and other board members with strong Bush allegiances have been critical of the board's direction in recent months on school grades and Common Core. In July, she was on the losing end of a 4-3 vote to continue a safety net that prevented schools from falling more than one letter grade this year. "I don't understand when it became acceptable," she said at the time, "to disguise and manipulate the truth simply because the truth is uncomfortable."
"We are grateful for Sally's service and commitment to ensuring the highest quality in our education system," Scott said in a statement. "She has worked hard to continue the legacy of high standards that began under the great leadership of Governor Jeb Bush."
Board of Education members are appointed by the governor and subject to confirmation by the state senate.
Other coverage: Associated Press, Gradebook, The Buzz, Sarasota Herald Tribune.
The News Service of Florida contributed to this report, which was updated to include Scott's statement and the links to other coverage.
Common Core: Gov. Rick Scott should have stood up and said that Florida won't back away from Common Core because it's the right thing for students, writes Beth Kassab for the Orlando Sentinel. The push is on from opponents aiming to halt Florida's implementation of the new standards. Ledger Media Group. Jeb Bush has dismissed those who protest Common Core’s increasing federalization of local control over schools as conspiracy-mongers, writes Michelle Malkin. Despite Scott's efforts to assuage concerns, opposition to the new education standards isn't dying down. Miami Herald.
Ed chief: StateImpact Florida talks to former Florida education commissioners about the pressures of serving as the state's top schools chief.SATs: Florida's students continue to perform below the national average on the SAT college entrance exam, mirroring results from the ACT test. Orlando Sentinel.
Race To The Top: Manatee County schools is hoping to win a $28.7 million grant through Race to The Top to expand the Manatee Technical Institute and add more STEM to elementary schools. Bradenton Herald.
Charter schools: Three of six charter school applicants are still vying for approval to open schools in the 2014-15 school year. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Pay raises: Escambia County school leaders and union officials agree to a possible 4.92 percent raise for teachers, and a 4.2 percent raise for support personnel. Pensacola News-Journal. (more…)
Gov. Scott
Common Core is okay. But the new, multi-state tests aligned to them may have to go.
So suggests Florida Gov. Rick Scott in documents set for release today.
In a draft executive order, Scott says "Floridians will not accept Federal government intrusion into the academic standards that are taught to our students." The order then says the tests being put together by the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, better known as PARCC, "do not meet the needs of our students or the expectations of state leaders" in terms of cost, test length and testing requirements - and constitute "excessive involvement by the United States Department of Education." It says the state education commissioner shall recommend to the state Board of Education that the board terminate Florida's role as the fiscal agent for PARCC and establish a competitive bidding process for new tests.
In a draft letter to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Scott also criticizes PARCC, saying it "has become a primary entry point for the involvement of the federal government" in many state and local education decisions.
But the letter also notes the state BOE adopted Common Core standards in 2010 after a process that began under former Gov. Jeb Bush and continued under former House Speaker Marco Rubio.
"This process resulted in the highest academic standards that could move our students and teachers away from 'teaching to the test' and toward a more independent, analytical approach to reading, writing and math," the letter says.
Here is a copy of the letter to Duncan. Here is a copy of the executive order. And here is a letter to BOE Chair Gary Chartrand.
Statement from Patricia Levesque at Foundation for Florida's Future here. Statements from six of seven BOE members here.
Other coverage: Tampa Bay Times, Tampa Bay Times (editorial), Education Week, Sunshine State News, South Florida Sun Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Orlando Sentinel, Associated Press, Pensacola News Journal, Gradebook, The Buzz, StateImpact Florida, Daytona Beach News Journal, Fort Myers News Press, Sarasota Herald Tribune, John Romano, The Answer Sheet, Florida Current, NPR, Bridge to Tomorrow, Wall Street Journal.
Common Core: Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush confronts criticism of Common Core, blasting it as "purely political.'' The Buzz. Florida Gov. Rick Scott considers an executive order to address the growing controversy with a move that might involve new assessments. Miami Herald. A vote to support the new standards shows the Board of Education is still doing its job of looking out for schoolchildren, writes the Tampa Bay Times.
Trayvon Martin: The slain teen's mother speaks to a group of students at a Broward County alternative education center: "I need to tell you all how special you are and how very much needed you are.'' Sun Sentinel.
Charter schools: The Palm Beach County School Board officially closes iGeneration Academy charter school, after a student goes missing on a field trip. Sun Sentinel. More from the Palm Beach Post.
School boards: School Board members in Orange, Lake, Seminole, Volusia and Osceola counties are getting nearly 4 percent raises this year. Orlando Sentinel. The Hernando County School District has missed out on roughly $2.2 million while impact fees were reduced, then suspended in recent years. Tampa Bay Times.
Early learning: Education experts, senior White House officials, and business and nonprofit leaders from across the country meet in Miami to discuss early learning within the Hispanic community. Miami Herald.
Achievement gap: Pinellas County will roll out a new plan called Bridging the Gap that targets the academic differences between black students and other groups. Tampa Bay Times.
STEM: A Hillsborough County private school opens up a wing with a focus on science, technology, engineering and math. Tampa Bay Times.
Stewart
Florida has a new education commissioner: Pam Stewart, a career educator widely viewed as capable and accomplished but not a crusader.
The state Board of Education voted 7-0 Tuesday to hire Stewart to replace Tony Bennett, the nationally known former commissioner who resigned abruptly last month after media reports suggested he rigged school grades in Indiana to benefit a politically connected charter school.
For a full decade, Florida education leaders flexed their ed reform muscles when it came to landing commissioners, choosing either big names or politically potent ones or both. But with Stewart, they opted for a more low-key leader - one they hope will offer a steady hand during a turbulent time.
"We're at a pivotal time in Florida education, and so we're going to look to you to work diligently to lead us through," said BOE Chairman Gary Chartrand.
"I'm cognizant of the times that we're in and the critical nature of the work that we're doing," Stewart said immediately after the vote. "We've got to get it right. I am committed to getting that right."
Stewart, who was appointed interim after Bennett’s departure, is the fourth permanent commissioner under first-term Republican Gov. Rick Scott. She is arguably the least polarizing schools chief since Florida went to appointed commissioners in 2003; the one with the deepest ties to what reformers sometimes call the “education establishment"; and the one with the least direct connections to former Gov. Jeb Bush. In Florida, commissioners are technically appointed by the BOE but none have been hired without the blessing of the sitting governor.
Unlike with the last three commissioners, the board opted Tuesday not to do a national search. The past two searches yielded fields that many education observers considered weak, and a third sub-par pool would have put a deeper stain on Florida’s ed reform rep. Over the past 15 years, Florida students have netted some of the sharpest gains in the country with NAEP scores, AP results and grad rates. But in recent years, their often-overlooked rise has been further overshadowed by high turnover in the commissioner’s office and highly publicized problems with the state’s accountability system.
"This is a critical year. We've had our changes and some people might want to call it turmoil," said board member Barbara Feingold. "I think you can get us with stability and with clarity to the right place."
Stewart faces serious challenges. (more…)
Common Core: On Hernando County School Board members' discussion of the new standards: "If there was one bright spot in board members' critique of Common Core it was that they accidentally made a beautiful argument in the standards' favor,'' writes columnist Dan DeWitt for the Tampa Bay Times. Jeb Bush's Foundation for Excellence in Education reaches out to the Pasco school district get the word out to parents about Common Core. Tampa Bay Times.
School nurses: School health clinics re-imagine the role of school nurses with more programs that could help students earn better grades. StateImpact Florida.
Conduct: A former Hillsborough County elementary school principal receives six consecutive life sentences after pleading guilty to two murders, four counts of attempted murder and two counts of aggravated battery. Tampa Bay Times.
Bus fees: Thousands of Lake County students who lost their bus service to school this year will soon be able to pay a fee to ride while others will get free rides if their walking route is considered dangerous by a new school board-created standard. Orlando Sentinel.
Teacher pay: Manatee County school leaders and the local teachers union reach an agreement that will restore some of the salaries frozen or cut in past years. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Conversion charter: Manatee County School Board leaders approve the district's first conversion charter school - Monroe Rowlett Academy of Arts and Communication, which will open next fall. Bradenton Herald.
Budgets: The Manatee County School Board postpones the final vote on the budget to give the public time to review it. Bradenton Herald.
9/11 tribute: Two Providence Community School students in Manatee County promote a 9/11 project to make sure their community and fellow students never lose awareness of the tragic day. Bradenton Herald.
Science fair: A Leon County middle school student has been named a finalist in the Broadcom MASTERS national science fair. Tallahassee Democrat.
Hess
For those who dismiss the potential upside of for-profits in education, Rick Hess asks them to consider virtually every other aspect of their lives.
"Think about other big investments people make: their house, their car, their tablet or smartphone," wrote Hess, director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, in a live chat on redefinED today. "If you told folks that they could get a house or car made by a nonprofit, they wouldn't think it was better - odds are, they'd look at you like you were nuts."
"Fact is, in most of American life, something being a for-profit is generally regarded as a good thing - and government-provided services are frequently regarded as mediocre, or suspect. It's not immediately clear to me that it ought to be expected to be different in education."
We asked Hess to join us because he has co-edited a new book on for-profits in education, “Private Enterprise and Public Education.” But over the course of an hour, he weighed in on a wide range of topics. Among the highlights:
On Jeb Bush, his presidential ambitions and Common Core: "Jeb's got a remarkable track record on education. But, especially in GOP primaries, his full-throated backing of Common Core could trump the rest."
On President Obama and his administration's lawsuit against vouchers in Louisiana: "It's a good move if Obama is trying to score points with the teacher unions and traditional education establishment, or if he's trying to extend the reach of the federal government in education. It's a bad move for the affected kids in Louisiana or if he's interested in trying to claim bipartisan support for his education agenda."
On Florida, Common Core and PARCC: "I think it's likely Florida will drop PARCC. Will be interesting to see what follows. ... This is the fascinating thing about the Common Core; for it to deliver on its promise, a ton of stuff has to go right. For it to not deliver, only a couple little things have to go south."
On a criticism school choice supporters should take to heart: Don't dismiss suburban parents who don't want their schools to invite in low-performing students through choice plans. "Choice advocates have denounced such parents and communities, and even implied they're racist. It might be useful to recognize that they've worked hard, played by the rules, and sought to provide their kids a good education ... Empathetic reform would start by taking these issues seriously, and asking how to frame a win-win agenda."
You can replay the chat here:
