OFF TOPIC

Is the State Board of Education trying to make schools fail? They are set to approve radical changes to the current school grading system at their meeting, Tuesday, February 28. According to the FDOE’s simulations, these changes will: ·         Increase the number of “F” schools from 38 to 158 – a 500% increase and double the “D” schools from 143 to 310 ·         Decrease the number of “A” schools by 30% from 1,636 to 1,197 Among the DOE’s “fixes” are: ·         Requiring a “reading trigger” – if 25% of the students do not score at grade level in reading, the school receives an “F” no matter how well the students do in learning gains or on FCAT Math ·         Including FCAT scores of English Language Learners (ELL) in school for one year in the school grade ·         Including FCAT scores for profoundly disabled students in the school grade If the SBOE approves the school grade changes, they will be applied this year.  Also, the SBOE wants to give the Commissioner of Education the authority to raise the requirements if too many schools make “A’s”. Eight school superintendents sent a letter to DOE Commissioner Robinson proposing sensible alternatives to the DOE’s ill-advised changes. What can you do?  Call Governor Scott at (850) 488-7146, SBOE Chairperson Kathleen Shanahan at (850) 245-9661, and Commissioner Robinson at (850) 245-0505.  Tell them to: ·         Stop changing the school grading rules this year ·         Implement the superintendents’ alternatives ·         Make reasonable changes in a sensible time frame of 2-3 years ·         Include teachers in the development of rule changes that impact students and schools

Florida Education Association 213 South Adams Street Tallahassee, FL 32301 www.FEAweb.org Stay United With the FEA: http://fightforflorida.com THIS ADMIN since the election of Scott has been TRYING TO DESTROY the Florida school system  and this is just another one of his attacks on it.