tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39635857939385020992024-03-13T23:24:05.229-07:00Conversion to Charter K-8 Center WE ARE THE FIRST FLORIDA PARENTS TO EXERCISE OUR RIGHT UNDER PARENT TRIGGER LETTER LAW OF 2004. (1002.33 3(B) . THIS LAW ALLOWS PARENTS TO CALL A VOTE TO CONVERT A DISTRICT SCHOOL TO CHARTER RUN SCHOOL . WE HAVE CHRONICLED & EXPOSED THE LAWS FLAWS THROUGH TRAVAILS AND TRIAL OF LEGAL PROCESS TO CALL THE VOTE . IT MUST BE AMENDED SO TEACHERS CAN NOT HOLD SCHOOL CHOICE PARENTS HOSTAGE .THIS IN ESSENCE RENDERS THE FLORIDA CLASS SIZE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT MEANINGLESS. THIS IS OUR STORY MacontheRockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364320056572047521noreply@blogger.comBlogger70125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3963585793938502099.post-62038042034734007252021-03-12T08:02:00.002-08:002021-03-12T08:05:49.286-08:00Another Cancer Cluster Amongst Teacher in Cottage Grove School in Minnesota<p>I wasn't exaggerating back in 2013. Read posts back in 2013 blog posts. ó</p><p><br /></p><p> <u><a href="https://www.startribune.com/cancer-cases-prompt-cottage-grove-teachers-to-demand-investigation/567027692/">https://www.startribune.com/cancer-cases-prompt-cottage-grove-teachers-to-demand-investigation/567027692/</a></u></p><p><br /></p><div class="l-article-topper" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 525px;"><h1 class="article-headline" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Whitman Display Condensed Bold", Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 42px; line-height: 42px; margin: 12px 0px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Cancer cases prompt Cottage Grove teachers to demand investigation</h1><div class="article-subhead" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Poynter Serif RE", Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 22px; margin: 3px 0px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">She suspects "something in building" may have played role in nearly 30 cancer cases. </div><div class="article-byline-mod " style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; 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background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">By <a data-linkname="Jennifer Bjorhus" data-linktype="author" data-modulename="Article" data-moduletype="zone1-content" data-position="0-1-author" href="https://www.startribune.com/jennifer-bjorhus/6370514/" rel="author" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgb(46, 115, 184); background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Jennifer Bjorhus">Jennifer Bjorhus</a></strong> Star Tribune</div> <div class="article-dateline" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #909090; display: inline-block; font-family: "Benton Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.5px; line-height: 12px; margin: 12px 0px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: baseline;">JANUARY 16, 2020 — 10:22AM</div></div></div><div class="l-article-body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; display: inline-block; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 525px;"><div class="article-featured-media-wrapper is-photo " style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; 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padding: 0px; text-align: right; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: baseline;">RICHARD TSONG-TAATARII • STAR TRIBUNE</span><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><figcaption class="tease-photo-caption toggle-photo-caption" style="-webkit-line-clamp: 3; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; display: -webkit-box; font-family: "Benton Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.1px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 24px; max-height: 63px; outline: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-overflow: ellipsis; vertical-align: baseline;">Megan Diediker, a geometry teacher at Park High School in Cottage Grove, had her breast cancer first diagnosed at age 34.</figcaption></div></div></div></div></div><aside class="article-share" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #bcbcbc; font-family: "Benton Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 8.5px; font-weight: bold; margin: 9px 0px 0px -116px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: baseline; width: 115px; z-index: 2;"><div class="share__textsize" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; 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outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">When Megan Diediker was first diagnosed with breast cancer at age 34, the high school geometry teacher wondered whether something in the environment could have played a role.</p><p class="Text_Body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">But she eventually let the questions go, she said, to focus on getting better.</p><p class="Text_Body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Then a colleague fell ill last year with an aggressive brain cancer. It was the seventh cancer diagnosis among staff at Park High School in Cottage Grove in six years, Diediker said — nearly all in people under age 50. Before long, she and some colleagues had drawn up a list of nearly 30 current and former Park High staff who contracted various cancers since 1990, some of them twice. Two — one of whom since died from the cancer — shared the same classroom.</p><p class="Text_Body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"I revisited everything and thought 'What is going on here?' " Diediker said.</p><p class="Text_Body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Minnesota Department of Health reviewed the matter and concluded it is not a cancer cluster. Proven cancer clusters are rare.</p><p class="Text_Body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Even so, Diediker sees red flags. She and another teacher have retained a lawyer and plan to submit individual workers' compensation claims to the South Washington County School District, along with three other current and former employees.</p><p class="Text_Body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Diediker says they don't know whether something in the school played a role in their cancers, but they hope that the process of vetting the workers' comp claims will shed light on the situation. Diediker, who coaches girls basketball and lives in Mahtomedi, said she loves working at Park High and just wants to know that the people who work there are safe.</p><div class="ad-mod dfp-ad-container" id="zone-1-block-7-inline-body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: 0;"></div><p class="Text_Body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">As it happens, Cottage Grove is ground zero in Minnesota for water contamination from a set of compounds known PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), the cancer-linked "forever chemicals" that are the subject of a 20-year remediation project. 3M Co. manufactured the original chemicals for decades at its Chemolite Plant there and dumped contaminated waste in four nearby landfills. Washington County is the focus of an $850 million court settlement the state reached with 3M in 2018 for damage to drinking water and the environment.</p><p class="Text_ChapterHead" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 16px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Lawsuit a possibility</p><p class="Text_Body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">If the workers' comp investigation establishes a link between the diseases and some third factor, the teachers may consider a lawsuit, said Dean Salita, the personal injury lawyer they retained. Salita said the worker's comp claims should be filed within two months.</p><p class="Text_Body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The cancers just seem too coincidental, Salita said. "Mother Nature is not that unkind to that many people in one school."</p><p class="Text_Body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Keith Jacobus, superintendent of South Washington County Schools, said he's taking the matter seriously. He discussed it with the district's facilities staff last fall and directed them to contact the state Department of Health, where officials said they didn't think there was a health risk at the school.</p><div class="ad-mod dfp-ad-container" id="zone-1-block-12-inline-body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: 0;"></div><p class="Text_Body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"We have to follow the expertise of people who know this, versus making judgment calls of our own," Jacobus said.</p><p class="Text_ChapterHead" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 16px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">'Our water is clean and safe'</p><p class="Text_Body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Salita and the teachers say they can't point to a culprit in the cancers. Diediker mentioned PFAS. One idea they've floated is asbestos.</p><p class="Text_Body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The school's asbestos abatement was carried out by a state-approved contractor in 2008-2010 while school was in session and involved the installation of a new ventilation system. But asbestos is primarily associated with lung cancer, and only one employee on the Park High list was stricken with that form.</p><p class="Text_Body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Several of the city wells that serve the school, wells No. 3-9, have tested above the current Minnesota health limits for different PFAS compounds over the last decade, according to a Star Tribune review of state Department of Health well testing data. In some of those tests, concentrations were more than twice the state's safety limit.</p><div class="ad-mod dfp-ad-container" id="zone-1-block-17-inline-body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: 0;"></div><p class="Text_Body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">But city officials say they're confident the school's water is not an issue; the wells that supply Park High are regularly tested for PFAS, and the city has dealt with the wells that have tested above the state's health-based values for various PFAS compounds.</p><p class="Text_Body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Well No. 3, for example, was outfitted with a carbon filter system. Wells No. 4 and 6 were shut down in 2017 when the state tightened safety benchmarks for certain PFAS. Concentrations of certain PFAS in three other wells have spiked a few times in recent years, but that water is blended with the water from a safe well and is within all thresholds, according to City Engineer Ryan Burfeind.</p><p class="Text_Body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"Our water is clean and safe to drink," Burfeind said.</p><p class="Text_Body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It might not have been in years past, however.</p><p class="Text_Body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Margee Brown, a research scientist at the state Health Department, said she doubts the Park High case meets the American Cancer Society definition of a cancer cluster: "a greater-than-expected number of cancer cases that occurs within a group of people in a defined geographic area over a specific period of time."</p><div class="ad-mod dfp-ad-container" id="zone-1-block-22-inline-body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: 0;"></div><p class="Text_Body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Brown said the Park High list includes people with several different types of cancer over nearly 30 years, which suggests no single environmental cause. "It does not appear that unusual, based on what we know about cancer and how common it is," she said.</p><p class="Text_Body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"Roughly four out of 10 of us will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in our lives,'' Brown added. "I think a lot of people are not aware of that."</p><p class="Text_ChapterHead" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 16px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Dozens of inquiries</p><p class="Text_Body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Health Department fields dozens of inquiries about perceived community cancer clusters each year but has confirmed only two in the past 40 years that were linked to environmental or occupational exposures: mesothelioma related to asbestos exposure on the Iron Range, and lung cancers and mesothelioma in northeast Minneapolis related to asbestos from a W.R. Grace & Co. vermiculite processing plant.</p><p class="Text_Body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Brown said she empathizes with the fear and anxiety that cancer provokes. "People make these associations, naturally," she said.</p><div class="ad-mod dfp-ad-container" id="zone-1-block-27-inline-body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: 0;"></div><p class="Text_Body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Brown's findings echo the department's <a href="http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6657007-REPORT-MNHealth-CancerEastMetro-2018.html" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgb(46, 115, 184); background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #003366; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">larger investigation of health outcomes</a> in areas of Washington County contaminated with PFAS. It found no clusters of cancer, premature births or low-birth-weight babies.</p><p class="Text_Body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">But an expert witness hired by then-state Attorney General Lori Swanson when she sued 3M came to <a href="http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6656997-REPORT-Sunding-2017-09-22.html" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgb(46, 115, 184); background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #003366; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">different conclusions</a>. David Sunding, a natural resources economist at the University of California, Berkeley, concluded that Washington County residents have elevated rates of cancer, infertility and low-birth-weight babies.</p><p class="Text_Body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Not all the Park High cancer survivors see a connection between their illnesses.</p><p class="Text_Body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Retired teacher Christine Norton, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1990 and co-founded the Minnesota Breast Cancer Coalition, said that 28 cases "just does not seem like a high number" for a school of that size. "People want an explanation," Norton added.</p><p class="Text_Body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Diediker is not persuaded. She strongly disagrees with the state's finding.</p><div class="ad-mod dfp-ad-container" id="zone-1-block-32-inline-body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: 0;"></div><p class="Text_Body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"I think it's totally [wrong], and the lawyers agree," she said. "There's something in the building."</p><p class="Text_Endnote" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Staff writer MaryJo Webster contributed to this report.</p></div></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>MacontheRockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364320056572047521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3963585793938502099.post-3746303443692851192021-01-10T10:11:00.000-08:002021-01-10T10:11:02.025-08:00Parent Guardianship School under Governing School Act <p><span class="Number" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Let's Change the Conversion to Charter Statute to the Parent Guardianship School </span></span></p><p style="text-indent: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px;">As the KBK8 Center Parent who in 2013 fired the first ever Parent trigger in US History thus, establishing the legal precedent for the state below, it must be amended as it is an Un-American law. My daughter's fifth grade experience as the daughter of the Parent Proponent and KB PTA President at the time asked to resign , I can tell you the law's voting guideline not have veto power for Teacher's Union over parental vote instilled in the law's language. Not only only does this determine that this Teacher's Empowerment Law when executed by further more facilitate student reprisal during class by teachers in opposition but create a campus environment that is not conducive to improving circumstance both in the physical plant of school buildings but also Parent intimidation during the campaign event to establish a financial authority over the school's administration finances replacing the County School District Superintendent. When amended as we suggest it will be the single most important school reinvention parents have demanding doe last 65 years of Teaching Collective bargaining rights ruined public schooling during the progressive regressive era. This is how the law reads today: </span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span class="Number" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 13.3333px;">(b) </span><span class="Text Intro Justify" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0.1em; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.3333px;" xml:space="preserve">An application for a conversion charter school shall be made by the district school board, the principal, teachers, parents, and/or the school advisory council at an existing public school that has been in operation for at least 2 years prior to the application to convert. A public school-within-a-school that is designated as a school by the district school board may also submit an application to convert to charter status. An application submitted proposing to convert an existing public school to a charter school shall demonstrate the support of at least 50 percent of the teachers employed at the school and 50 percent of the parents voting whose children are enrolled at the school, provided that a majority of the parents eligible to vote participate in the ballot process, according to rules adopted by the State Board of Education. A district school board denying an application for a conversion charter school shall provide notice of denial to the applicants in writing within 10 days after the meeting at which the district school board denied the application. The notice must articulate in writing the specific reasons for denial and must provide documentation supporting those reasons. A private school, parochial school, or home education program shall not be eligible for charter school status.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span class="Text Intro Justify" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0.1em; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.3333px;" xml:space="preserve"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>The Following is the Amended law based on our negative experiences in bold: </b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span class="Text Intro Justify" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0.1em; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.3333px;" xml:space="preserve"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">(a) An application for a new Parent Guardianship School may be made by an individual, teachers, parents, a group of individuals, a municipality, or a legal entity organized under the laws of this state. (b) An application for a conversion charter school shall be made by the district school board, the principal, teachers, parents, and/or the school advisory council at an existing public school that has been in operation for at least 2 years prior to the application to convert. A public school-within-a-school that is designated as a school by the district school board may also submit an application to convert to charter status. An application submitted proposing to convert an existing public school to a charter school shall demonstrate the support of at least 50 percent of the teachers employed at the school and 50 percent of the parents voting whose children are enrolled at the school, provided that a majority of the parents eligible to vote participate in the ballot process, according to rules adopted by the State Board of Education. <i><b>The vote for conversion shall be required to be completed within ninety (90) days from the date the school administrator receives the written request for a vote. The local school district shall be required to make certain mandatory disclosures once a school administrator receives the written request to conduct a vote. Within seven (7) days of receipt of the written request, the local school district shall provide to the person requesting the vote the following items (1) a detailed budget showing all expenses and all state and federal revenues generated over the previous three years for the particular district-operated school for which a vote for conversion has been requested, and (2) a list containing the public mailing address of each household with child enrolled at the school at that time. At least fourteen (14) days prior to the commencement of any vote, the local school district shall permit the person or persons requesting the vote to utilize the school cafeteria or other indoor equivalent facility, at the school that is the subject of the vote, to hold a meeting at a reasonable time to provide information to the parents in support of the vote. The person or persons who requested the vote shall be entitled to organize and lead the meeting and to provide on the premises where the meeting will be held written educational material to the parents who attend the meeting. The person or persons who requested the vote shall be entitled to have a designee assigned to work with the school administrator to confirm that the initial notification has been mailed to all eligible voters and that all ballots have been mailed to the eligible voters and to be present at the time of balloting in order to confirm the voters eligibility and witnessing the voters casting the ballot. The person or persons who requested the vote shall be entitled to draft the content of the initial notification to the parents, describing the purpose of the vote and the conditions for the balloting process as well as the content of the ballot itself. A district school board denying an application for a conversion charter school shall provide notice of denial to the applicants in writing within 10 days after the meeting at which the district school board denied the application. The notice must articulate in writing the specific reasons for denial and must provide documentation supporting those reasons. A private school, parochial school, or home education program shall not be eligible for charter school status.</b></i></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span class="Text Intro Justify" style="background-color: white; display: inline; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0.1em; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.3333px;" xml:space="preserve"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><i><b style="font-size: 13.3333px;">TheEntirety of the law is as follows from Florida's State </b><span style="font-size: 13.3333px;"><b>Statutes</b></span><b style="font-size: 13.3333px;">:</b></i></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span class="Text Intro Justify" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0.1em; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.3333px;" xml:space="preserve"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span class="Text Intro Justify" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0.1em; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.3333px;" xml:space="preserve"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">https://www.flsenate.gov/laws/statutes/2011/1002.33</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span class="Text Intro Justify" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0.1em; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.3333px;" xml:space="preserve"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span></span></p>MacontheRockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364320056572047521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3963585793938502099.post-88242534431490392492020-02-22T04:59:00.004-08:002020-02-22T05:01:44.988-08:00Mike Bileca Termed Out but his Educational Reform Law HB 7069 is in the CourtsIt looks Like School Schioce Hypocrite Mike Bileca has some explaining to do. I forgot he is termed out. Another pitfall of Term limits. Proponents Parent Guardianship School .com are left out of Reform Bill. Stay Tuned.<br />
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Florida schools and state battle over HB 7069's constitutionality in appeal hearing</h1>
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'The constitution puts it very plainly'</div>
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<span class="accent" style="font-weight: bold;">Posted:</span> 5:51 PM, Jun 11, 2019</div>
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<span class="accent" style="font-weight: bold;">Updated:</span> <span class="last-updated-date" data-bsp-plugin="Module65834">5:51 PM, Jun 11, 2019</span></div>
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<span class="accent" style="font-weight: bold;">By:</span> <a href="https://www.abcactionnews.com/forrest-saunders" style="color: #005687; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.4s ease 0s;">Forrest Saunders</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/state/florida-schools-and-state-battle-over-hb-7069s-constitutionality-in-appeal-hearing" target="_blank">Mike Bileca's HB 7069 Goes to Court over constitutionality</a><br />
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It was round two in the battle over whether a controversial Florida education bill is unconstitutional.</div>
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The law in question, was adopted in 2017 and created a charter program known as “Schools of Hope” for low performing districts.</div>
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The law was upheld in a lower court— but Tuesday, a panel of appellate judges from Florida’s First District Court of Appeal heard from lawyers arguing whether the law gives the state too much power over school districts.</div>
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In their push to throw out HB 7069, lawyers representing 10 Florida districts argued the state’s ability to create charter schools and give them local dollars, without a district’s OK, was a violation of Florida’s constitution.</div>
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Attorney Steven Brannock, representing the districts, cited a section from the 60s.</div>
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“The constitution puts it very plainly,” Brannock said. “The school boards ‘shall operate, control and supervise all free public schools within the district.’”<span style="text-align: center;">Lawyers for the state dismissed control concerns, saying districts can still approve and terminate charter contracts.</span></div>
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Attorney Rocco Testani, representing the state, also aimed to make a bigger point, saying a constitutional revision from the 90s gave the state power to “make adequate provision for the education of all children residing within its borders.”</div>
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“What these districts are saying, what these boards are saying— we want to be left alone,” Testani said. “They don’t want to perform the duties that have been enacted in law. They’re not being prevented from doing anything.”</div>
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HB 7069 was narrowly approved by lawmakers and heavily criticized in 2017. Some doubted whether then-Governor Rick Scott would even sign the bill after reports suggested Floridians were calling for a veto by a margin of 3-to-1.</div>
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The three-judge appellate panel ended the hearing without comment— though they did question whether the districts had authority to challenge the law at all.</div>
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While attorneys for the state declined comment outside the courtroom, Brannock said he was uncertain what the outcome would be.</div>
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“It’s awfully hard to tell from the questions from the court,” Brannock said. “I think we gave the best answers that we had. Now, we’ll see what the court does with that.”</div>
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Attorneys believed it likely judges would want to write opinions about the case, meaning it could take months before a decision is announced.</div>
MacontheRockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364320056572047521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3963585793938502099.post-85355187802864593622019-10-31T10:33:00.001-07:002019-10-31T10:54:49.469-07:00REASON.ORG Says Parents Shpould have the Money For Public School. But How? Without Florida Direct Ballot Parent Trigger Spreading Nationwide?<h3 style="text-align: right;">
<span style="color: #2b2c30; font-family: "graphik web" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 18px; text-transform: uppercase;"><u>THIS IS AN IMPOSSIBILITY UNTIL PARENTS ARE THE ACTUAL GUARDIANS OF DISTRICT OPERATED SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION BUDGET OF FACILITIES IS NEIGHBORHOODS THAT CAN CALL THE VOTE AS PER DIRECT BALLOT PARENT TRIGGER</u></span></span><span style="color: #2b2c30; font-family: "graphik web" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 18px; text-transform: uppercase;"><u><br /></u></span></span><span style="color: #2b2c30; font-family: "graphik web" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 18px; text-transform: uppercase;"><u><br /></u></span></span><span style="color: #2b2c30; font-family: "graphik web" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 18px; text-transform: uppercase;"><u><br /></u></span></span><span style="color: #2b2c30; font-family: "graphik web" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 18px; text-transform: uppercase;"><u><br /></u></span></span><span style="color: #2b2c30; font-family: "graphik web" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 18px; text-transform: uppercase;"><u><br /></u></span></span><span style="color: #2b2c30; font-family: "graphik web" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 18px; text-transform: uppercase;"><u><br /></u></span></span></h3>
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<span style="color: #2b2c30; font-family: "graphik web" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px; text-transform: uppercase;"><u>TheHill.com</u></span></span></h3>
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<span style="color: #2b2c30; font-family: "graphik web" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px; text-transform: uppercase;"><u>Why we should send education dollars directly to schools</u></span></span></h3>
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<span style="color: #2b2c30; font-family: "graphik web" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px; text-transform: uppercase;"><u>BY AARON GARTH SMITH, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR — 10/29/19 07:00 AM EDT 98THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS ARE THEIR OWN AND NOT THE VIEW OF THE HILL</u></span></span></h3>
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Ask an education expert about school finance and they’ll likely give an opinion about whether there’s enough funding. But two new studies suggest that another issue deserves attention: Who gets to decide how <a href="https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/school-finances.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(42, 83, 193); box-sizing: border-box; color: #2b2c30; display: inline; outline: none; position: relative; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$694 billion</a> is spent on public education each year? </div>
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A recent survey by <a href="https://www.people-press.org/2019/09/19/why-americans-dont-fully-trust-many-who-hold-positions-of-power-and-responsibility/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(42, 83, 193); box-sizing: border-box; color: #2b2c30; display: inline; outline: none; position: relative; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Pew Research Center</a> gauged Americans’ perceptions about eight groups of leaders including legislators, journalists and tech executives, and the results paint a gloomy picture. For example, 81 percent responded that members of Congress act unethically, and fewer than half indicated that journalists cover all sides of an issue fairly. </div>
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But America’s trust in institutions isn’t entirely broken. Public school principals shined brightly, with the vast majority of respondents indicating that principals care about students and provide the public with fair and accurate information. Most importantly, more than eight in 10 believe that principals handle resources responsibly; local elected officials and members of Congress ranked at the bottom of the list.<br />
Surely, this is great news — but there’s a catch. Although the public trusts principals, they don’t give them much power. Principals control only a fraction of education dollars. Most spending decisions are made by district officials and legislators. </div>
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A <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/opepd/ppss/reports.html#school-finance" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(42, 83, 193); box-sizing: border-box; color: #2b2c30; display: inline; outline: none; position: relative; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">new study</a> by researchers at American Institute for Research and the U.S. Department of Education drives home this reality, finding that, in the districts examined, schools have discretion over a paltry 8 percent of operational spending. Decisions over things such as hiring, curricula and contracted services are made by those furthest removed from students. This is especially worrisome since <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/the-funding-of-school-education_9789264276147-en" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(42, 83, 193); box-sizing: border-box; color: #2b2c30; display: inline; outline: none; position: relative; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">research</a> also suggests that limiting school-level autonomy over spending decisions creates inefficiencies. <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/title-i/weighted-funding/report.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(42, 83, 193); box-sizing: border-box; color: #2b2c30; display: inline; outline: none; position: relative; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">As one principal puts it</a>, “I know what’s best for my school because I’m in the school.”</div>
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So what can be done to push funding decisions to those closest to kids? Here’s a bold idea for state policymakers: send education dollars directly to schools. </div>
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Currently, education dollars are funneled through districts, which then dole out staffing positions and other resources based largely on one-size-fits-all models. Not only does this approach to funding restrict local autonomy, but it often <a href="https://www.crpe.org/sites/default/files/roza_hill.withindistrictinequities.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(42, 83, 193); box-sizing: border-box; color: #2b2c30; display: inline; outline: none; position: relative; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">creates funding inequities</a> since it fails to account for salary differences across schools. Sending dollars directly to schools would solve both of these problems by empowering principals with spending decisions and ensuring that funds reach the students they’re intended for. </div>
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Some districts in cities such as Indianapolis, Boston and Denver have taken positive steps toward putting principals in the driver’s seat by adopting <a href="https://reason.org/wp-content/uploads/weighted-student-formula-yearbook-2019.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(42, 83, 193); box-sizing: border-box; color: #2b2c30; display: inline; outline: none; position: relative; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">student-based allocation systems</a> that give schools more financial autonomy. While this is encouraging — under this model principals typically have discretion over roughly <a href="https://reason.org/wp-content/uploads/weighted-student-formula-yearbook-2019.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(42, 83, 193); box-sizing: border-box; color: #2b2c30; display: inline; outline: none; position: relative; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">45 percent of operating dollars</a> — the overwhelming majority of districts are reluctant to move in this direction, thanks in large part to bureaucratic inertia, local politics and restrictive collective bargaining agreements.<br />
The fact is, most districts can’t be counted on to give principals the discretion needed to align spending with school needs. </div>
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Surely, going around the district-middleman will strike some as a radical idea, but it isn’t. Most principals in private schools and charters have this level of financial autonomy, and districts largely have failed to address funding disparities across schools. It would, however, require a radical re-examination of districts’ role in public education. Central offices still could support schools with services such as transportation, payroll and technology while superintendents and other leaders still could serve in supervisory and coaching capacities. </div>
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For their part, school board trustees could focus more on compliance, accountability and capital needs, rather than school operations, about which they often know little. But principals finally would be the CEOs of their schools, rather than the middle managers they’re often treated as. </div>
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To be sure, sending dollars directly to schools could present legal challenges in some states and teachers’ unions undoubtedly would fight to protect the status quo. That’s why policymakers might start by sending just a portion of operating dollars directly into principal empowerment accounts that principals control. Companies have <a href="https://www.classwallet.com/about-us-team/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(42, 83, 193); box-sizing: border-box; color: #2b2c30; display: inline; outline: none; position: relative; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">developed technology</a> to make implementation easy and several states have similar programs for families, often called <a href="https://www.edchoice.org/school-choice/types-of-school-choice/education-savings-account/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(42, 83, 193); box-sizing: border-box; color: #2b2c30; display: inline; outline: none; position: relative; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">education savings accounts</a>. A great time for policymakers to pursue this type of policy innovation is when new dollars are injected into education systems, which <a href="https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2019/school-spending.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(42, 83, 193); box-sizing: border-box; color: #2b2c30; display: inline; outline: none; position: relative; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">many states currently are doing</a>. </div>
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It’s clear that Americans trust principals to do what’s best for kids — and it’s time for policymakers to do the same. </div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Aaron Garth Smith is director of education reform at <a href="https://reason.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(42, 83, 193); box-sizing: border-box; color: #2b2c30; display: inline; outline: none; position: relative; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Reason Foundation</a>, a nonprofit policy group advancing free markets. He previously was senior director of analytics at YES Prep Public Charter Schools, a charter management organization serving over 12,000 students in Houston. Follow him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/AaronGarthSmith" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(42, 83, 193); box-sizing: border-box; color: #2b2c30; display: inline; outline: none; position: relative; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">@AaronGarthSmith</a>.</em></div>
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MacontheRockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364320056572047521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3963585793938502099.post-21139744574253613572019-10-14T04:26:00.000-07:002019-10-14T04:26:32.951-07:00To Fix America Parents Must First Take Back Their Public Schools . No DuH! ReallyWhat are you going to do about it? Log on ParentGuardianshipSchool.com<br />
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<span style="background-color: #f2f3f5; color: #1c1e21; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Most Socialists are between the ages of 25-40 in the United States. They will be having little tyrants soon, who will be the American socialists of tomorrow. The moral of the story: Nobody knows as much as you think they do. Nobody cares as much as you think they do. Nothing really changes as much as you think they do. It just gets less important as didn't think would.</span><br style="background-color: #f2f3f5; color: #1c1e21; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: #f2f3f5; color: #1c1e21; content: ""; display: block; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin-top: 10px;" /><span style="background-color: #f2f3f5; color: #1c1e21; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">-MacontheRock</span><br />
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<br /><a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/aug/31/take-back-america-take-back-schools/?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=socialnetwork&fbclid=IwAR09FevQQbkuor7663ErEOACdH_0-C_qzH71EyG0oWs56q-IlX2tMM-w_Pk&spot_im_verify=signup&spot_im_token_ticket=d0029b8cfe0444df85e3cb543ef03e9f" target="_blank">https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/aug/31/take-back-america-take-back-schools/?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=socialnetwork&fbclid=IwAR09FevQQbkuor7663ErEOACdH_0-C_qzH71EyG0oWs56q-IlX2tMM-w_Pk&spot_im_verify=signup&spot_im_token_ticket=d0029b8cfe0444df85e3cb543ef03e9f</a><br />
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WASHINGTON TIMES<br />
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<span class="byline" style="box-sizing: border-box;">By <a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/staff/cheryl-k-chumley/" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #015fb6; text-decoration-line: none;">Cheryl K. Chumley</a> </span><span class="source" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic;">- The Washington Times - Saturday, August 31, 2019</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ANALYSIS/OPINION:</span></div>
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The fact that socialists are openly running for public office in America — that socialists actually hold public office in Congress — should serve as enough wakeup call that the nation’s moral and political compasses are skewed, in dire need of correcting.</div>
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That it doesn’t only screams this: America’s public school systems have become utter failures.</div>
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So the one thing patriots in this country should throw all their efforts into right now is taking back the schools from the far-leftists who’ve been able to dominate the direction of administration and teaching in recent years.</div>
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Look at America’s schools in years past versus years present.</div>
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“As recently as 20 years ago, the United States was ranked No. 1 in high school and college education,” Jon Guttman, a research director for the World History Group <a href="https://www.historynet.com/was-the-usa-ever-no-1-in-education.htm" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #015fb6; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">wrote</a> at History Net. “In 2009, the United States was ranked 18th out of 36 industrialized nations. Over that time, complacency and inefficiency, reflective of lower priorities in education, and inconsistencies among the various school systems contribute to a decline.”</div>
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Between 1950 and 2009, the student population of America’s public schools grew by 96%. The growth in teachers during that same time was 252%. But the growth of administrators and other office staffers? That jumped 702%, American Enterprise Institute <a href="https://www.aei.org/publication/chart-of-the-day-administrative-bloat-in-us-public-schools/" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #015fb6; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">reported</a>.</div>
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“America’s public schools are bloated with bureaucracy and skinny on results,” wrote Benjamin Scafidi at The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice.</div>
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Oh so true.</div>
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Whereas one school, one principal used to be the norm, nowadays that same size school employs one principal, multiple assistant principals. numerous assistants to the assistant principals and principals — along with all the accompanying office staff. That doesn’t even get to the guidance department, where ridiculously large numbers of guidance personnel are needed just to keep up with all the new social justice, diversity, tolerance and anti-bullying campaigns that pass as education, occupying school hours that could be better spent — that used to be spent — on math, history, science and the like.</div>
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Your tax dollars at work.</div>
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But let’s not forget the creation of the biggest bureaucratic bloated float of them all, the Department of Education, where teachers’ rights and union dollars take precedence over students’ achievement and real learning. Where the rights of the parents to control their children’s upbringing and education become subservient to the will of the government to train in the proper propaganda way. Your Jimmy Carter at work.</div>
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And this is what the government’s training has brought.</div>
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“Arlington Public Schools quietly push transgender policies despite parent opposition,” <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/arlington-public-schools-quietly-push-transgender-policies-despite-parent-opposition" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #015fb6; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">ran</a> one Washington Examiner headline in May.</div>
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Another, from USA Today, from just a few days ago: “My daughter <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2019/08/12/transgender-daughter-school-undermines-parents-column/1546527001/" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #015fb6; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">thinks</a> she’s transgender. Her public school undermined my efforts to help her.”</div>
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There’s more, much more.</div>
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“The Racist Beginnings of Standardized Testing,” the National Education Association <a href="http://www.nea.org/home/73288.htm" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #015fb6; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">posited</a> in a headline from 2018.</div>
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“How Black Lives Matter is moving into the schools,” The New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/08/29/how-black-lives-matter-is-moving-into-the-schools/" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #015fb6; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">reported</a>, just this week.</div>
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“Florida teacher reportedly banned students from wearing crosses,” The Blaze <a href="https://www.theblaze.com/news/2017/04/22/florida-teacher-reportedly-banned-students-from-wearing-crosses-now-threatened-with-legal-action" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #015fb6; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">wrote</a> in 2017, about a lawsuit that had brewed on behalf of alleged persecuted Christian students.</div>
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“Public Schools Teaching American Kids that Socialism is Better than Capitalism,” <a href="https://www.toddstarnes.com/show/public-schools-teaching-american-kids-that-socialism-is-better-than-capitalism/" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #015fb6; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">wrote</a> Jeremiah Poff on ToddStarnes.com in May.</div>
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That one explains today’s political climate — yes?</div>
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But really, the transgender fight alone should fuel patriots in general, and Christians in particular, to sit up, stand up and shout out: No. Not in my backyard.</div>
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Not in my school is a boy who suddenly decides he’s a girl going to go into my daughter’s locker room and change alongside her.</div>
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Not in my school is my daughter going to be accused of hate speech for protesting the intrusion of privacy — the perverted intrusion of privacy.</div>
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And when the schools won’t listen? </div>
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Throw the bums out. Run for School Board. Take over the local education system and dominate the discussions.</div>
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Set the policies, quiet the radical clowns, hush the petulant sue-happy special interests.</div>
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Send the crazies back to crazy town.</div>
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That right there is the single most effective action Christians, conservatives, constitutionalists, patriots and traditionalists can take right now to right this teetering ship called Public Schools — and, in the long term, to bring back some sense and solid constitutional grounding to our entire political structure.</div>
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As Vladimir Lenin reportedly <a href="https://quotes.thefamouspeople.com/vladimir-lenin-96.php" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #015fb6; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">said</a>, it only takes one generation of youth to transform the world.</div>
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The left, in America, has had its generation. It’s time to take back and teach right.</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley.</em></div>
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MacontheRockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364320056572047521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3963585793938502099.post-65123923290521785162019-09-29T07:39:00.003-07:002019-09-29T07:39:32.234-07:00Failed Bussing Program Starts Again In Maryland<a href="http://https//patch.com/maryland/ellicottcity/howard-county-school-redistricting-plan-protest-march-draws-huge?fbclid=IwAR3zBjchp8mhiA7evwlV92KJceU6MRdI7TJb6u7zpV9ex4JKsgT5oF7vLKk"></a><br />
<a href="https://patch.com/maryland/ellicottcity/howard-county-school-redistricting-plan-protest-march-draws-huge?fbclid=IwAR3zBjchp8mhiA7evwlV92KJceU6MRdI7TJb6u7zpV9ex4JKsgT5oF7vLKk" target="_blank">https://patch.com/maryland/ellicottcity/howard-county-school-redistricting-plan-protest-march-draws-huge?fbclid=IwAR3zBjchp8mhiA7evwlV92KJceU6MRdI7TJb6u7zpV9ex4JKsgT5oF7vLKk</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Stop blaming both parties. Only one party hates what America stands for. There are two parties who have both liberals, progressives, and leftists registered amongst them, while conservatives just walk the talk, get a job and defend freedom with a gun if they have to. The other parties in <span class="_5mfr" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0px 1px;"><span class="_6qdm" style="background-image: url("https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t2c/1.5/16/1f1fa_1f1f8.png"); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: contain; color: transparent; display: inline-block; font-family: inherit; height: 16px; text-shadow: none; vertical-align: text-bottom; width: 16px;">🇺🇸</span></span> just lie rhetorically and steal every idea to deny dilute and diminish the value of any value, custom or institution. Liberals have ruined the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Public restrooms, Women's sports, the NFL, and bankrupted nine states and the accompanied homelessness all in the name of equality that are misguided inequalities of answerable grievances. When food lines break out. I and most conservatives will be donating food and will be serving.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>This all the result of taking too long to reinvent the public school system of statist progressive curriculum and multiple-choice exams. In less than twenty years there will be 200 plus congressman elected thinking like Ocasio-Cortez but lie like Pelosi. Look how bussing has returned as a reminder to those who experienced segregation. same old statist liberalism at works here. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>[Expect Success. Listen to WSQF 94.5 FM you blogger MacontheRock who bought back his freedom of Speech in Key Biscayne Florida in 2017 after filing the first ballot base Parent Trigger in US History in 2013. The un-American Law called Florida's Parent Empowerment Law 1002.33 (3b) must have its voting guidelines amended to remove Teachers vote in the on-campus election with two separate ballot boxes that award Teachers vote with veto power as the parent Proponent must win both elections.] ó</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>PS: There is an answer to these Politically Bipolarity policies that indoctrinates, marginalise students in the campaign of inequality by affect. Amend Florida Parent Empowerment Law 1002.33(3B). How is Now. After reading this article, Log on to ParentGuardianshipSchool. com</i></span></div>
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Howard County School Redistricting Protest March Draws Huge Crowd</h1>
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Parent Oppose Forced Busing of their children away from local school.</h2>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">By <a class="gray-dark-link" href="https://patch.com/users/david-dempster" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4d4d4d; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;">David Dempster, Neighbor</a></span></h6>
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<time datetime="2019-09-15 14:59:20" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Sep 15, 2019 2:59 pm ET</time> <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">| <time datetime="2019-09-15 18:11:04" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Updated Sep 15, 2019 6:11 pm ET</time></span></h6>
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<li aria-hidden="false" class="first slick-slide slick-current slick-active" data-slick-index="0" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; float: left; height: 61.5px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-right: 5px; min-height: 1px; outline: none; width: 82px;" tabindex="0"><figure style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;"><img alt="Howard County School Redistricting Protest March Draws Huge Crowd-0" class="img-responsive article-slideshow-image w-100" data-lazy-pseudo="https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/23523683/20190915/025906/styles/patch_image/public/hcpss-forced-busing-protest___15145446739.jpg?width=705" sizes="(max-width: 320px) 55px, (max-width: 375px) 70px, (max-width: 768px) 80px, (max-width: 992px) 75px, 80px" src="https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/23523683/20190915/025906/styles/patch_image/public/hcpss-forced-busing-protest___15145446739.jpg?width=80" srcset="https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/23523683/20190915/025906/styles/patch_image/public/hcpss-forced-busing-protest___15145446739.jpg?width=55 55w, https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/23523683/20190915/025906/styles/patch_image/public/hcpss-forced-busing-protest___15145446739.jpg?width=70 70w, https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/23523683/20190915/025906/styles/patch_image/public/hcpss-forced-busing-protest___15145446739.jpg?width=80 80w, https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/23523683/20190915/025906/styles/patch_image/public/hcpss-forced-busing-protest___15145446739.jpg?width=75 75w, https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/23523683/20190915/025906/styles/patch_image/public/hcpss-forced-busing-protest___15145446739.jpg?width=80 80w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 82px;" width="80" /></figure></li>
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<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Howard County School Redistricting Plan Protest March Draws Huge Crowd</strong>:<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Thousands of parents and children opposed to forced school busing marched outside the Mall in Columbia on 9/14/19. Parents in Howard County, Maryland, are outraged that their communities will be torn apart by forced busing, making their children endure long bus rides to far-away schools. Many children who now walk to school will be put on long bus rides and prevented from attending their neighborhood school.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></div>
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Howard County Public Schools Superintendent Michael J. Martirano decided in August that over 7,000 students will be subjected to forced busing in order to achieve socioeconomic equality.</div>
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<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">This grand HCPSS experiment was arrived at WITHOUT PUBLIC INPUT</strong>.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></div>
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Protesting parents said it would be difficult or impossible to attend after-school programs, be engaged with their child's education, or even know their childrens' friends. Students were concerned about losing their friends, missing the bus, and spending their school days far away from their homes on the other side of town.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />One mom told me: "We specifically moved here five years ago so my daughter could attend the excellent, diverse public school 5 minutes away from our house. She loves her school, her friends, and her after-school activities. Now she will have to get up one hour earlier every morning and take a 45 minute bus ride to attend a different school across town, twice a day. She will be separated from her friends and many of the most important things in her life."<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;">The march was quickly organized on Facebook. Last minute changes by county officials required the marchers to be broken up into five groups and routed along back streets . Only a brief meetup in a back parking lot of the Columbia Mall was permitted due to public safety concerns.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Following Superintendent Michael J. Martirano's August decree, the Facebook group "Howard County School Redistricting Opposition" quickly rose up and gained almost 3,000 members. This group urges its members and supporters to change their Facebook Profile Picture to green in order to show support.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />HOW TO SUBMIT PUBLIC TESTIMONY: With deadlines for public input early next week and strict HCPSS District requirements for submitting it, HoCo-FEI urges everyone to go to their website this weekend for instructions on how to submit your public testimony before the deadline passes here: <a href="https://hoco-fei.com/give-testimony" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #009e13; cursor: pointer; line-height: 26px; margin: 20px 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">https://hoco-fei.com/give-testimony?fbclid=IwAR0RoJVIs8MY87LTTvVg0-77fWkPPHJ585HGZgD3joy9NYeNF0JWl2anefQ</a><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Children from more affluent schools will be bused into less affluent schools while children from those less affluent schools will be bused into those same more affluent schools to take their place. This grand shuffle will have children literally passing each other on the road as they are bused out of their communities.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />With the Board hearing coming up next week, Howard County Families for Education Improvement urge you to visit<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><a href="https://hoco-fei.com/give-testimony" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #009e13; cursor: pointer; line-height: 26px; margin: 20px 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">https://hoco-fei.com/give-testimony?fbclid=IwAR0RoJVIs8MY87LTTvVg0-77fWkPPHJ585HGZgD3joy9NYeNF0JWl2anefQ</a><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Next week's Board of Education public hearings on School Redistricting begin Tues, Sept 17th. Info on how to attend is in the link below. Note that the HCPSS has deadlines and restrictions on who may comment and how letters are to be formatted.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><a href="https://www.hcpss.org/school-planning/boundary-review/public-hearings/#written-testimony" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #009e13; cursor: pointer; line-height: 26px; margin: 20px 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">https://www.hcpss.org/school-planning/boundary-review/public-hearings/?fbclid=IwAR3dAfDdxVASHC3AT7GdcdjSGlBapcvuv3EIIQHUkr_tk_vbgTg4mpcROvc#written-testimony</a><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Pre-registration is required and may be done by phone<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />(410-313-7436, 410-313-1584, or 410-313-7194)<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />In my opinion, the requirements to give testimony at these hearings is outrageously burdensome and is obviously designed to suppress citizen input.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />However, it appears that people may attend to protest outside.</div>
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All public <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">hearings will be held at the Department of Education</strong>, 10910 Clarksville Pike, Ellicott City, with satellite rooms available for overflow.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Tuesday, September 17, 7 p.m.</strong><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Families currently zoned for Centennial HS, Howard HS, Mt. Hebron HS, Oakland Mills HS<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Tuesday, September 24, 7 p.m.</strong><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Families currently zoned for Atholton HS, Hammond HS, Long Reach HS, Wilde Lake HS<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Thursday, September 26, 6 p.m. (NOTE: Time changed from 7 p.m.)<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Families currently zoned for Glenelg HS, Marriotts Ridge HS, Reservoir HS, River Hill HS<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><a data-lynx-mode="asynclazy" data-lynx-uri="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hcpss.org%2Fschool-planning%2Fboundary-review%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR39LedKnpNfq6z_KN4tC-RfPbdrA0_x_pH5RQs_FYu0hF38tSNmyCj1dec%23public-hearings&h=AT3EgZRPjqZut2JSodjmbPoKt6F226ZkFAnBq0dbg_yOlY6jsEsQ0NlLZXAf6zKyTQN-AE1C8OMWF8Ei36DsDT-p7j4ApNliuAjUt1GdoBDA1IQMqodAyBl5OfjUdoSfGdsH" href="https://www.hcpss.org/school-planning/boundary-review/?fbclid=IwAR39LedKnpNfq6z_KN4tC-RfPbdrA0_x_pH5RQs_FYu0hF38tSNmyCj1dec#public-hearings" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #009e13; cursor: pointer; line-height: 26px; margin: 20px 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">https://www.hcpss.org/school-planning/boundary-review/...</a></div>
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Find out more about the Howard County Board of Education Members:<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Howard_County_Public_Schools,_Maryland" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #009e13; cursor: pointer; line-height: 26px; margin: 20px 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">https://ballotpedia.org/Howard_County_Public_Schools,_Maryland<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></a><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><a class="_58cn" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/hcpssredistricting?source=feed_text&epa=HASHTAG" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #009e13; cursor: pointer; line-height: 26px; margin: 20px 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">#HCPSSredistricting</a> <a class="_58cn" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/noonehastosuffer?source=feed_text&epa=HASHTAG" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #009e13; cursor: pointer; line-height: 26px; margin: 20px 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">#NoOneHasToSuffer</a><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><a class="_58cn" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/hocoboardofeducation?source=feed_text&epa=HASHTAG" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #009e13; cursor: pointer; line-height: 26px; margin: 20px 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">#HoCoBoardofEducation</a> <a class="_58cn" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/hocofei?source=feed_text&epa=HASHTAG" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #009e13; cursor: pointer; line-height: 26px; margin: 20px 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">#HoCoFEI</a> <a class="_58cn" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/superintendentmartirano?source=feed_text&epa=HASHTAG" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #009e13; cursor: pointer; line-height: 26px; margin: 20px 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">#SuperintendentMartirano</a> #ForcedBusing</div>
</section></section></section>MacontheRockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364320056572047521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3963585793938502099.post-1747471284790884602019-02-04T03:24:00.000-08:002019-02-04T03:24:04.560-08:00National PTA RESPONSE: Governor DeSantis use of a Common pen to erase Common Core in Florida <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QxuvdxjD33Q/XFgegosX9pI/AAAAAAAAA0I/Jb4-nf0TscIxHaTetmPsOkVFfEEXPirAACLcBGAs/s1600/FLPTA.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QxuvdxjD33Q/XFgegosX9pI/AAAAAAAAA0I/Jb4-nf0TscIxHaTetmPsOkVFfEEXPirAACLcBGAs/s320/FLPTA.png" width="320" height="320" data-original-width="224" data-original-height="224" /></a></div><br />
IMMEDIATE RELEASE:<br />
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February 1, 2019<br />
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Contact Information:<br />
Linda Kearschner, President<br />
president@floridapta.org<br />
407-855-7604<br />
FAX 407-240-9577<br />
www.floridapta.org <br />
Florida PTA is committed to ensuring all children receive a high quality education aligned to benchmarked standards, providing clear expectations of the skills students need for success in college and/or career.<br />
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The Common Core State Standards (CCSS), adopted by Florida in 2010, was a joint effort led by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers from 48 states to develop a common core of K-12 standards in English language arts and Mathematics. The goal of this initiative was to create internationally-benchmarked standards that ensure all students are held to consistent expectations that prepare them for college and career, regardless of where they lived. The standards were informed by the best state standards at that time, feedback from teachers, content experts, the business community, higher education, parents and the public. <br />
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In 2014, Florida updated the standards to include calculus and cursive writing as well as making other changes, and re-named them the Florida Standards. With each change to the standards comes a need to re-write and re-purchase assessments which are used to ensure students' mastery of skills. The need for assessments for certain subject areas and at different grade levels are written in statute, which can be changed by the legislature.<br />
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Whichever standards Florida uses, the goal should be the same: to ensure that every child graduates high school ready for college or career. Academic standards set a goal for what a child should know and be able to do at the end of each grade level, but higher standards cannot stand alone. Quality implementation of new standards will require aligning new curriculum and assessments, providing professional development for teachers, providing sufficient resources and support for students, ongoing communication with parents and balanced and comprehensive accountability systems.<br />
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We look forward to working with Governor DeSantis, Commissioner Corcoran, and other stakeholders to ensure parents and educators are given an active role in the process of developing new standards that are fully vetted to support student achievement.<br />
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For more information on college and career ready standards, please visit National PTA's College and Career Readiness resources found here: https://www.pta.org/home/family-resources/college-and-career-readiness<br />
<br />
<br />
Linda Kearschner<br />
President<br />
Florida PTA<br />
Florida PTA comprises hundreds of thousands of families, students, teachers, administrators and business and community leaders devoted to improving the lives of children/youth in our state. PTA is the oldest and largest child advocacy association in the state of Florida, as well as the nation. PTA is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit association that prides itself on being a powerful voice for all children. More information is available by contacting Florida PTA (407/855-7604 or executive.director@floridapta.org).<br />
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For more information visit our website www.floridapta.org and/or our Facebook page for programs available in your community. <br />
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<b>MacontheRock's response: <br />
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<i>Speaking up and taking action is a critical step to improve the overall education system and ensure every child has the opportunity to reach his/her full potential. National PTA has always held that it is the right of parents to decide what is best for their children. As PTA’s mission is on behalf of all children, and we continue to support parent’s rights, it would be contrary to our mission to support or promote a strategy that does not consider the rights or consequences of that strategy for all children. February 11, 2016<br />
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-During our January 2016 meeting, National PTA’s Board of Directors adopted a new position statement on assessment<br />
that was collaboratively developed by National PTA’s Legislation Committee with input and insight from volunteers.<br />
<br />
Whichever standards Florida uses, the goal should be the same: to ensure that every child graduates high school ready for college or career. Academic standards set a goal for what a child should know and be able to do at the end of each grade level, but higher standards cannot stand alone. Quality implementation of new standards will require aligning new curriculum and assessments, providing professional development for teachers, providing sufficient resources and support for students, ongoing communication with parents and balanced and comprehensive accountability systems. -Linda Kearschner President February 1, 2019<br />
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If the Florida PTA is really interested in Parent deciding what best for their children's future as the above statement proclaims and this most recent immediate reiterates why are they opposed to Parent Guardianship of individual school's finances? After all, the law clearly states that Parents are the stakeholders as the pay the taxes and the School Bond debt year after year. School Administration and teachers do not have freedom of speech rights when comes to converting a district-run school to parental Choice school aka., Parent Trigger. The recent Federal civil rights case in Fernandez, Cristobol v. School Board of Maimi-Dade County the Court clearly defines such actions as a conversion effort that clearly permits Principals to seek a conversion effort as insubordinate staff. So what gives? My answer is to amend the law and eliminate the teacher's staff language from the voting guidelines requiring separate ballots for parent and teachers while having to win both elections. Transparent voting is the American way. Period! </b>MacontheRockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364320056572047521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3963585793938502099.post-64683755449640271572018-08-21T09:10:00.000-07:002018-08-21T10:29:53.973-07:00GOP Must act To Amend Florida Parent Empowerment Law It is Flawed<a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article217005550.html" target="_blank">No place in The Florida Constitution for Charter Schools </a><br />
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This another example of Republican majorities in the Florida Legislature wasting time coalescing with opposition to School Choice by adding unnecessary bureaucracy to approve covenent at the State level. Would it be more accountable to let Prent convert District-run schools without having to pay rent as Charter school board do? Support the Parent Guardianship School under governing school act. <b>Log on to GoverningSchool. com </b>waiting for action for amending a un-American voting law state statute 1002.33 (3b) since we set the legal precedent 2013. Changing the 'and' to 'OR' is so elementary to avoid the abuse of children of Parent Proponent by teachers in the classroom knowing UTD and other like-minded teacher's union who relish in the fact that they have veto power in present law by majority rule standard in two separate Intraschool ballot boxes on the election day The below article dies very little to accelerate school choice in Florida. The Judge delays the Socialized school system celebrates! Bring it. ó<br />
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<b>PS: Get real Speaker Oliva and the rest of Florida Legislative Republicans you are allowing trampling of Parents civil rights in the application of this un-American Florida Parent Empowerment as written. AMEND IT!! </b><br />
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Judge removes three-item education amendment from Florida’s ballot</h3>
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<span class="ng_byline_name" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block;">BY EMILY L. MAHONEY</span></div>
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<span id="publish_date" style="box-sizing: border-box;">August 20, 2018 09:26 AM</span></div>
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<span id="update_date" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Updated August 20, 2018 03:35 PM</span></div>
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A Leon County judge ordered Monday that Amendment 8, the measure that seeks to create a pathway for the state to oversee charter schools and bypass local school boards, be removed from the ballot.</div>
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Circuit Judge John Cooper wrote in a summary judgment that the amendment’s ballot title and summary “fails to inform voters of the chief purpose and effect of this proposal.”</div>
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The judge agreed with the plaintiff, the League of Women Voters, that the ballot language was “misleading” and that the Constitution Revision Commission intentionally bundled three separate education proposals into one “to increase, in its view, their chances of passage.”</div>
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The CRC meets every 20 years to propose amendments to the state Constitution. In drafting Amendment 8 for the November ballot, the commission combined the charter school provision with two others — one that would impose term limits on school board members and another that would constitutionally require civics education in public schools.</div>
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League of Women Voters Florida President Patricia Brigham called Cooper’s ruling a “terrific piece of news to wake up to on a Monday morning.”</div>
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“It’s a victory for the people of Florida,” she said. “That measure was meant to confuse voters. It did not show the intent was to take away home rule from the districts. ... The judge saw right through it.”</div>
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Erika Donalds, a prominent school choice advocate and the CRC commissioner who proposed the amendment, called the ruling “disappointing” and driven by ideology, not the law.</div>
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“The group suing to remove Amendment 8 from the ballot fundamentally opposes empowering families to choose the education setting that best fits their child,” she said. “Despite the bunk they’ve spread, I hope voters will be able to make their own decision in November. It is disgusting how many misrepresentations the opposition is willing to put forth to block student-centered choice options.”</div>
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When asked about the ruling during his tour of schools on the first day of classes in Miami-Dade County, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said, “In any democratic society people ought to have the ability to vote on the issue without being confused by the format. There’s still time to address both.</div>
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“I’m a strong believer in the format of public education and duly elected constitutional officers as school board members.”</div>
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Sarah Revell, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of State, said the state will appeal. The courts must reach a final decision on whether Amendment 8 will be on the ballot by Sept. 4 in order for election officials to have enough time to print ballots for November.</div>
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In a hearing Friday, the League’s lawyer, Ron Meyer, argued that the amendment’s ballot summary and title did not let voters know that voting “yes” could result in massive change to Florida’s schools.</div>
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“It doesn’t key you in to the fact that we’re taking away control of public schools,” Meyer said. “You’re obviously saying that there’s some class of schools we’re going to take away from the locally elected school board, but nowhere is that defined.”</div>
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Meyer cited the discussions during the CRC’s drafting of Amendment 8, during which commissioners talked at length about charter schools.</div>
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The word “charter,” he noted, was not included in the amendment text, title or summary. The ballot summary instead said that the state would have permission to “operate, control and supervise public schools not established by the school board.”</div>
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While the Republican-controlled state government has expanded vouchers and charter school options, some local school boards have been unfriendly toward charter schools, which are publicly funded schools managed by private organizations or companies.</div>
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Meyer also argued that, in bundling the three education proposals together, the CRC was intentionally “putting sparkly things around a pile of mud” to “distract you from the unintelligible part in the middle.”</div>
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On the other side, Blaine Winship, the state’s lawyer, argued that “the ballot summary couldn’t be clearer.”</div>
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He argued: “The local school boards have a monopoly of the control and supervision [of schools] and that’s all that we’re trying to get around.” Winship said the word “charter” was not included in the amendment language because the types of schools created in the school choice era are constantly evolving.</div>
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“In another five years,” he argued, “who knows what the nomenclature will be?”</div>
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Responding to Judge Cooper, who bemoaned the legal tug of war over who controls schools in Florida, Winship said the amendment settles all of that.</div>
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“That problem will no longer be coming to your desk if this passes, your honor,” he said.</div>
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Also at issue is whether the amendment would apply to existing charter schools or only ones established in the future. Neither Meyer nor Winship could answer that, saying that would likely be the next step if the amendment passes.</div>
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“This is simply giving the voters the chance to make this kind of decision, and then the question of who is establishing these schools — and therefore who has the right to control them — would be something that would presumably be up to legislation,” Winship told reporters after the hearing.</div>
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Monday’s ruling is a defeat for school choice advocates like state House Speaker Richard Corcoran but is only one of several challenges to the CRC’s amendments.</div>
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In the state Supreme Court, arguments from the state were due Monday in a separate challenge to six CRC amendments, including Amendment 8. In that case, former chief justice Harry Lee Anstead argues that the amendments are misleadingly bundled.</div>
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<span class="vjs-control-text" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; clip: rect(0px, 0px, 0px, 0px); height: 1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; width: 1px;">Du<i style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #919191; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;">Miami Herald staff writer Colleen Wright and Tampa Bay Times staff writer Jeffrey S. Solochek contributed to this report.</i></span></div>
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Contact Emily L. Mahoney at <a href="mailto:emahoney@tampabay.com" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #428bca; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">emahoney@tampabay.com</a>. Follow @mahoneysthename.</div>
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MacontheRockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364320056572047521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3963585793938502099.post-68316517878251914802018-08-03T03:58:00.000-07:002018-08-03T03:58:19.980-07:00Municipalities Should not have to be obligated to Buy Seats in County Run Magnet SchoolsAll these financial arrangements by municipalities and their affluent residents are not necessary if and only if, Parents can convert any district-run school to Parent Guardianship School by simply firing a Trigger Letter forcing an intraschool vote by direct ballot as proposed by TheFiscals. Log on for more details to amend the Florida Parent Empowerment Law 1002.33 (3b) at GoverningSchools. com<br /><a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article165219207.html" target="_blank">https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article165219207.html</a><br />
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Want your kids in the best public schools? Wealthy cities look to buy a way in</h3>
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<span id="publish_date" style="box-sizing: border-box;">August 04, 2017 06:30 AM</span></div>
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<span id="update_date" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Updated August 04, 2017 06:30 AM</span></div>
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Henry S. West Laboratory is the kind of school every parent wants their kid to attend.</div>
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Nestled in a lush green patch in Coral Gables, the public K-8 center better known as West Lab boasts a German language program, a middle school curriculum focused on science and math, and a partnership with the University of Miami’s School of Education.</div>
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It’s so popular that there are nearly 400 students on the waiting list — more than the school’s entire population. But although West Lab is located in Coral Gables, it’s a magnet school, meaning that anyone in the county can apply.<iframe class="teads-resize" style="border-style: none !important; border-width: initial !important; box-sizing: border-box; display: block !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; min-height: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 700px;"></iframe></div>
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<br /><span style="font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;">That’s why the city of Coral Gables is considering paying $4.2 million to create seats just for the children of residents. The money would pay for extra classrooms to accommodate about 180 students, who would be mixed in with the rest of the student body. For a one-time fee of roughly $23,000 per student slot, Coral Gables residents would be guaranteed the slots in perpetuity.</span><span style="font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;">The proposal would help fill a need for more spaces at high-quality schools, city officials and residents say. It’s something other cities in Miami-Dade — many of them affluent </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: 700;">—</span><span style="font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;"> have also done to create more local public school options, pitching in millions of dollars to pay for extra seats at popular magnet schools or to fund advanced programs. Some cities have even created their own municipal charter schools.</span></div>
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IT’S ABSOLUTELY TRUE THAT IT’S GOING TO AGGRAVATE SEGREGATION.</div>
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But some of the municipal investments could make Miami-Dade schools more segregated along racial and economic lines, experts say — and divert money from other nearby public schools.</div>
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“I understand that parents want more options, but at the same time it does create these disparities, and it is often wealthier communities that do this,” said Osamudia James, a Coral Gables resident and law professor at the University of Miami who specializes in education issues. “It’s absolutely true that it’s going to aggravate segregation.”</div>
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School Board member Steve Gallon shares similar concerns, saying in an email that such proposals “could result in the creation of systems and structures that could impede such access to poor children and those of color to a world-class education based on their ZIP codes.”</div>
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Fewer poor students<span class="ng-command" data-value="252" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span></h3>
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Take MAST Academy on Virginia Key, for example, a popular science and technology magnet school that draws students from across the county. The Village of Key Biscayne paid about $10 million to expand the school in 2012 in exchange for first dibs for residents at two new academies within the school.</div>
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The deal<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"> </span><a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article1940569.html" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #428bca; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="">was controversial</a> at the time because some students and teachers felt the district was <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article1941086.html" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #428bca; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="">selling seats</a> to Key Biscayne. They worried that guaranteeing spots for village residents would <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article1940569.html" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #428bca; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="">change the school’s culture</a>.</div>
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If nothing else, the investment certainly changed MAST’s demographics. The proportion of low-income students fell by half, from 37 percent of the student body in 2012 to about 19 percent during the most recent school year, according to state data. The percentage of black students also decreased, from almost 10 percent of the student body in 2012 to less than 3 percent this year, school district data shows. The overall proportion of minority students dipped only slightly because of an increase in the percentage of Hispanic students.</div>
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Other cities have opted to open their own charter schools, which are publicly funded and privately managed.</div>
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Miami Shores was one of the first places in Florida to create its own municipal charter school, approving a $5 million bond in 2003 to build Doctors Charter School for residents in grades 6-12.</div>
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The result: Just two percent of Doctors Charter students are low-income, according to state data. Before the charter school was created, the neighborhood public high school options for Miami Shores residents were North Miami and Edison high schools, where at least 90 percent of the student body is poor.</div>
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Doctors Charter offers the kind of education students could expect at a private school. More than half of the teachers have a master’s degree or higher, according to the school website, and students can choose from advanced computer science courses and the types of literature classes you might find at a liberal arts college.</div>
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Doctors Charter school was created by Miami Shores Village for residents in grades 6-12.</div>
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<span class="inline-photographer" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 20px;">Evan Berkowitz </span><span class="inline-credits" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;">Evan Berkowitz/for the Miam Herald</span></div>
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Further north, the city of Aventura runs its own K-8 charter school, known as ACES. Aventura is currently <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article141993704.html" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #428bca; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="">in the process of opening a new charter high school</a> — something parents, local politicians and business groups have been advocating for years. They argue that Dr. Michael Krop Senior High School in north Miami-Dade, the public high school serving Aventura residents, is too far away for some families.</div>
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Aventura residents will get first dibs at the new high school, which is slated to open in 2019. Although other county residents will be able to apply for empty seats, city manager Eric Soroka said that based on interest from residents, he doesn’t think there will be any.</div>
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Instead, some area residents are concerned that the charter high school could segregate the area, pulling affluent Aventura residents out of Krop along with the added resources, like fundraising contributions, that wealthy students tend to bring with them.</div>
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“Personally, I think there’s a benefit to having a diverse school population so that especially high school-aged kids can become friends with kids from other ethnicities,” said Aventura resident Ivy Ginsberg. “By saying that all the slots are going to go to Aventura residents only, it’s like giving Aventura residents their own private school.”</div>
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Soroka said that’s not the city’s intention. “The only thing we’re providing is another educational choice for our residents at this point,” he said.</div>
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A ‘win-win’ for residents<span class="ng-command" data-value="252" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span></h3>
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School districts are under a lot of pressure to keep wealthy families in the public school system because these families typically have other options. For every child that leaves the school system, the district loses money.</div>
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“Wealthier parents get to use their market power to create more choices for themselves,” said James, the UM law professor. “The bargain we make with wealthier parents to keep them from leaving and going to private schools is we give them these options and opportunities and they’re supposed to stay, but in exchange for staying they hoard resources.”</div>
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School districts also face stiff competition from charter schools, and many have created specialized programs like magnets in an effort to keep students, said Elena Silva, the director of the Pre-K-12 education policy program at New America, a D.C.-based think tank. This is especially true in Miami-Dade, where enrollment in charter schools has more than tripled over the past 10 years. In response, the school district has created <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article143162879.html" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #428bca; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="">more than 500 so-called choice programs</a>, which include both magnet schools and specialized programs within neighborhood schools — everything ranging from forensic science and conservation biology to international finance and robotics.</div>
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But ensuring equal access to magnet schools can be difficult, Silva said, because low-income students often struggle to find transportation if the schools are far from their homes.</div>
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“One of the biggest issues with these choice programs writ large is the question about whether everybody has equal access,” she said. “If you’re putting magnet programs in wealthy communities and then you’re reserving seats at that school, is that helping to address the inequities in the county?”</div>
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District officials said Miami-Dade has made an effort to create choice programs across the county to ensure students in low-income neighborhoods have access to the specialized programs.</div>
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IT’S A WIN-WIN FOR OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR RESIDENTS.</div>
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<span class="ng_highline_attrib" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; display: block; font-family: "McClatchy Sans", Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; margin-top: 5px; text-transform: none;">Iraida Mendez-Cartaya, head of the school district’s office of intergovernmental affairs</span></div>
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And from the school district’s perspective, collaboration with city governments helps raise much-needed funds.</div>
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“It’s a win-win for our community and our residents,” said Iraida Mendez-Cartaya, who oversees the school district’s office of intergovernmental affairs. “You have two government agencies come and leverage resources, providing more access to communities.”</div>
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Mendez-Cartaya disagrees with critics who say that creating extra seats at magnet schools for some residents could have a negative impact. She emphasized that proposals like the one in Coral Gables aren’t taking away seats from anyone else. “That’s what the discussion is about, adding to and not carving out from the existing” school, she said.</div>
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The collaboration doesn’t always involve paying for seats at magnet schools. Sometimes cities just want to invest in their neighborhood schools.</div>
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Sunny Isles Beach financed a $4 million expansion at Norman S. Edelcup/Sunny Isles Beach K-8 Center in 2011, for example, and Miami Beach has pitched in for programs at its public schools, including rigorous International Baccalaureate programs.</div>
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And it’s not just the wealthy areas that have teamed up with the school district. Homestead’s redevelopment agency helped pay to transform West Homestead Elementary into a K-8 center, and Miami Gardens is in the process of <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-gardens/article157919684.html" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #428bca; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="">creating a science and math center</a> near Carol City Middle School.</div>
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$1 billion in school taxes<span class="ng-command" data-value="252" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span></h3>
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In some parts of the country, cities run their own school districts. This can lead to vastly different schools in neighboring cities because the amount collected from property taxes — the <a href="https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/policy-explainers/early-ed-prek-12/school-funding/local-funding/" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #428bca; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="">main source of local funding</a> for public schools — varies from place to place.</div>
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That’s one argument in favor of countywide school districts, like the ones in Florida, said Mike Griffith, a school finance expert at the Education Commission of the States. “One of the benefits of having a county-wide district is that you can share your resources,” he said. “But the negative is you’re sharing your resources.”</div>
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At a June meeting in Coral Gables to discuss the possibility of paying for extra seats at West Lab, Mayor Raúl Valdés-Fauli pointed out that the city contributes $1 billion in taxes to the school district every decade — about $100 million a year.</div>
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THEY THINK WE ARE FILTHY RICH AND WE DESERVE TO GIVE AND NOT TO GET BACK WHAT BELONGS TO US AND TO SEEK SCHOOL PLACES FOR OUR KIDS.</div>
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<span class="ng_highline_attrib" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; display: block; font-family: "McClatchy Sans", Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; margin-top: 5px; text-transform: none;">Raúl Valdés-Fauli, mayor of Coral Gables</span></div>
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“I am very wary of the seriousness of the school district in dealing with Coral Gables because they think we are filthy rich and we deserve to give and not to get back what belongs to us and to seek school places for our kids,” Valdés-Fauli said.</div>
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The details of a possible agreement with the school district are still under negotiation, and city officials are considering other options, said Gables Commissioner Patricia Keon. “I think we need to look at where do we get the most for our money, and if it turns out to be a charter, maybe we need to think that way, too,” she said.</div>
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Coral Gables has discussed the possibility of paying for seats at West Lab <a href="http://pdfs.dadeschools.net/Bdarch/2015/Bd041515/agenda/F7rev2.pdf" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #428bca; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="">since at least 2015</a>and has held several meetings to get input from residents. Keon said more input is needed before the city votes on any proposals.</div>
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Some residents say they hope Coral Gables will work out a deal in time for their children to attend West Lab.</div>
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“They have an excellent language component,” said Carmen Manrara Cartaya, a Coral Gables resident who has two preschool-aged children. “In this community of Miami, having a second language is like having an additional degree.”</div>
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Manrara Cartaya is among the residents who say there is a need for more seats at top-notch schools like West Lab. “I think one of [Coral Gables’] missing links is having excellent public school education for its residents,” she said. “The parks are great, the downtown is great, the zoning is great, but then there’s this huge gap.”</div>
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Barbara Soto Pujadas, the principal of Henry S. West Laboratory school, prepares for the upcoming school year.</div>
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<span class="inline-photographer" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 20px;">Roberto Koltun </span><span class="inline-credits" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;">rkoltun@miamiherald.com</span></div>
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Of the two neighborhood elementary schools open to Coral Gables students, the one with the highest state grade — Coral Gables K-8 Preparatory Academy — is full, according to district figures. The other school, George W. Carver Elementary, got a B on its state report card and is about 84 percent full. Residents also have access to a limited number of seats at Sunset Elementary, another A school.</div>
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“We don’t have enough high-quality elementary school seats for residents within the city of Coral Gables,” said Keon.</div>
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West Lab has long been on the cutting edge when it comes to innovations in education. It was the county’s first magnet school, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20050407202502/http://choice.dadeschools.net/images/District%20Choice%20optimized.pdf" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #428bca; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="">created as a partnership</a> with UM’s School of Education. Last year, the school made headlines for <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article102201747.html" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #428bca; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="">ending mandatory homework</a>. It has also consistently gotten an A on its <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article158601459.html" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #428bca; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="">state report card</a>, a grade that is determined in part by student performance on standardized tests.</div>
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“West Lab has always had an amazing reputation,” said principal Barbara Soto Pujadas, adding that parents are also drawn to the school’s small size.</div>
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Keeping the balance<span class="ng-command" data-value="252" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span></h3>
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At the June meeting in Coral Gables, Samuel Joseph, a consultant who serves as the chair of the city’s School and Community Relations Committee, said<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"> </span>residents don’t want to change West Lab’s make-up. “It is absolutely critical that we keep that balance” of children from across the county, he said. “Frankly, the reason West Lab is the excellent school that it is is because it doesn’t serve just one population.”</div>
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But if the demographic change at MAST Academy is any indication, keeping the current mix of students at West Lab will likely prove difficult. The school will have around 360 students next year, and Coral Gables has proposed adding 180 residents at some point in the future, meaning that city residents will make up as much as a third of the student body.</div>
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The biggest likely change: a smaller percentage of poor kids. Now, the school district reports that about a quarter of West Lab’s students are classified as poor, compared with roughly 8 percent of Coral Gables residents, <a href="https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/coralgablescityflorida/PST045216" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #428bca; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="">according to census figures</a>, although they don’t define poverty in exactly the same way. West Lab also has a higher proportion of black and Hispanic students than Coral Gables.</div>
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A classroom at Henry S. West Laboratory school in Coral Gables photographed on Tuesday, July 11, 2017. The city of Coral Gables is considering spending $4.2 million to create seats for residents at West Lab, a popular magnet school that is currently open to anyone in Miami-Dade.</div>
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<span class="inline-photographer" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 20px;">Roberto Koltun </span><span class="inline-credits" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;">rkoltun@miamiherald.com</span></div>
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For some critics, the prospect of more affluent communities paying for seats at exclusive schools or running their own charter schools further tips the social scales against poor kids.</div>
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“You’re creating an advantage for kids who live in a wealthy area,” said school finance expert Griffith. “The kids you want to help the most are those low-income kids.”</div>
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And, he said, wealthy communities are buying seats in premier schools at a bargain one-time price.</div>
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Griffith said that according to his calculations, Coral Gables’ proposed $4.2 million contribution would likely only cover the price of<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"> </span>constructing<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"> </span>the new classrooms and at most a year and a half of the extra costs associating with educating more students. But once the money from the city runs out, “the rest of the people in the school district are on the hook for paying for those wealthy slots for the community,” Griffith said.</div>
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Mendez-Cartaya from the school district’s office of intergovernmental affairs disagrees. She said that because most school funding follows the student to whichever school he or she chooses to attend, the extra costs associated with educating more students would be covered by the district’s standard per-pupil funding.</div>
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But while the overall amount of funding in the district wouldn’t change, the way the money is distributed would. The magnet school would likely see more funding, while the neighborhood school the child would have attended would see less. That doesn’t include the costs of repairing and, decades from now, perhaps rebuilding the additional classrooms, Griffith said.</div>
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“What they are doing is paying a small amount forward and requiring money to come from other people in the district to cover the rest of the costs,” he said.</div>
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One possible solution would be for municipalities that want to partner with the school district to share the wealth with schools in other neighborhoods, Griffith said. The school district could require municipalities to use part of their contribution for schools in poor areas, for example, or to expand magnet programs for everyone, without guaranteeing seats for residents, he said.</div>
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“I get what the people within the district are saying, which is, ‘We raised the money, we brought it into the district, we deserve something for that,’<span class="ng-command" data-value="133" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </span>” he said. “But it can quickly create haves and have-nots, and we’ve seen those haves and have-nots divided along racial lines.”</div>
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Miami Herald staff writer Lance Dixon contributed to this report.</div>
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<span data-src="//www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/pqs1yc/picture165219177/alternates/FREE_160/PAA00%20Private%20News%20rk" data-width-160="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span><span data-src="//www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/pqs1yc/picture165219177/alternates/FREE_320/PAA00%20Private%20News%20rk" data-width-320="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span><span data-src="//www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/pqs1yc/picture165219177/alternates/FREE_480/PAA00%20Private%20News%20rk" data-width-480="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span><span data-src="//www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/pqs1yc/picture165219177/alternates/FREE_640/PAA00%20Private%20News%20rk" data-width-640="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span><span data-src="//www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/pqs1yc/picture165219177/alternates/FREE_768/PAA00%20Private%20News%20rk" data-width-768="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span><span data-src="//www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/pqs1yc/picture165219177/alternates/FREE_960/PAA00%20Private%20News%20rk" data-width-960="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span><span data-src="//www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/pqs1yc/picture165219177/alternates/FREE_1140/PAA00%20Private%20News%20rk" data-width-1140="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span><img alt="The campus of Henry S. West Laboratory school in Coral Gables. The city of Coral Gables is considering spending $4.2 million to create seats for residents at West Lab, a popular magnet school that is currently open to anyone in Miami-Dade." data-preload="//www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/pqs1yc/picture165219177/alternates/FREE_768/PAA00%20Private%20News%20rk" style="border: 0px; bottom: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; left: 0px; margin: auto; max-height: 481px; max-width: 700px; position: absolute; right: 0px; top: 0px; transform: translate3d(0px, 0px, 0px); vertical-align: middle;" title="The campus of Henry S. West Laboratory school in Coral Gables. The city of Coral Gables is considering spending $4.2 million to create seats for residents at West Lab, a popular magnet school that is currently open to anyone in Miami-Dade." /></div>
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<span class="caption-text" style="box-sizing: border-box;">The campus of Henry S. West Laboratory school in Coral Gables. The city of Coral Gables is considering spending $4.2 million to create seats for residents at West Lab, a popular magnet school that is currently open to anyone in Miami-Dade. </span><span class="photographer" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Roberto Koltun</span> <span class="credits" style="box-sizing: border-box;">rkoltun@miamiherald.com</span></div>
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MacontheRockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364320056572047521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3963585793938502099.post-82995862783181743632018-06-02T13:51:00.003-07:002018-06-02T18:50:52.041-07:00Community Newspapers gets it RIGHT: Florida Legislators Gets it WRONG on Public Education in Florida. <a href="http://communitynewspapers.com/coralgables/when-it-comes-to-education-florida-legislators-are-dumb/#comment-221746" target="_blank">http://communitynewspapers.com/coralgables/when-it-comes-to-education-florida-legislators-are-dumb/#comment-221746</a><br />
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<div class="p3" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 17.008px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="s1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">President George W. Bush said in a commencement speech at Southern Methodist University in 2015: “To those of you who are graduating this afternoon with high honors, awards and distinctions, I say, ‘Well done.’ And as I like to tell the C students, ‘You too, can be president.’”</span></div>
<div class="p3" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 17.008px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="s1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">There is no dishonor is being a C student. There is dishonor in having a C-level education system. But that is where the State of Florida has put itself proudly — well below the middle of the pack.</span></div>
<div class="p3" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 17.008px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="s1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Education Week magazine graded each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Florida scored a 72, a low C overall. The average student’s chance for success was rated at 75.5; our school finance system got a lackluster D+, and our K-12 achievement received only a 73.9.</span></div>
<div class="p3" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 17.008px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="s1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Mental capital has replaced industrial capability as the engine driving the economy. So to compete, we need to produce smarter students. And to get smarter students, we need a smarter education system.</span></div>
<div class="p3" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 17.008px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="s1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Florida lawmakers have shown nothing but indifference and Gov. Rick Scott was happy to eviscerate the state’s education budget until he decided to run for the United States Senate seat currently held by Bill Nelson.</span></div>
<div class="p3" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 17.008px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="s1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Speaking about his last education budget, Scott wrote: “For the sixth straight year, we have secured record funding for K-12 and state universities to ensure every student has the opportunity to receive a world-class education in Florida.”</span></div>
<div class="p3" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 17.008px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="s1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Politifact Florida rated that statement “Half True.”</span></div>
<div class="p3" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 17.008px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="s1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Florida has a unique way of funding local education. Part of the money comes from the state and part of it comes from counties. In Fiscal Year 2007, total per pupil spending was $7,126. After that, during Scott’s tenure, Florida didn’t race to the top.</span></div>
<div class="p3" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 17.008px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="s1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It plummeted to the basement. Seven consecutive state budgets saw per pupil spending below the 2007-08 level. It was only in FY 2016 that spending exceeded the old record in FY 2007, then by $70 per student. In the current budget, we’re going to be spending about $175 per student more than we did in FY 2007.</span></div>
<div class="p3" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 17.008px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="s1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The governor and the legislature want to tout the gain. It is an increase in education spending, they brag. They need be more honest with Florida taxpayers.</span></div>
<div class="p3" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 17.008px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="s1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">When you take inflation into account, we’re still well behind. K-12 per-pupil spending. It would have to be more than $8,726 in the new budget to match the FY 2007 level. Instead we’re more than $1,000 a student short.</span></div>
<div class="p3" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 17.008px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="s1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">According to a group of Florida school superintendents, about 47 cents per student goes to classroom education. By comparison, a single Forever postage stamp is 50 cents. One letter home to parents and we bust the budget.</span></div>
<div class="p3" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 17.008px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="s1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In some of our smaller counties, it barely is enough to cover the salary of a single new teacher. In some of our larger counties, we probably can count on one hand the number of new teachers the school systems can afford.</span></div>
<div class="p3" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 17.008px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="s1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">There is a way to fix this. We have 120 members of the Florida House, 40 members of the Florida Senate (half of which are up for reelection), and a governor’s race on the ballot this fall. Collectively, they got us into this mess.</span></div>
<div class="p3" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 17.008px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="s1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">There are 12.9 million registered voters in this state. Collectively, we can get ourselves out of this mess. It is time to demand from all of our elected officials, Republican and Democrat, that they not be satisfied with mediocrity.</span></div>
<div class="p3" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 17.008px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="s1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">We can’t satisfy ourselves with half-truths. The fate of our children and the future of our state are in the hands of men and women who are content to spend an extra 47 cents per child and declare success and go home.</span></div>
<div class="p3" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 17.008px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="s1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">If that is their attitude, we should just send them home, once and for all. </span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">{MY REPLY] </span></div>
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<br />MacontheRockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364320056572047521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3963585793938502099.post-32136636804039544462017-10-26T09:52:00.003-07:002018-06-02T13:53:58.160-07:00Rowlett Elementary Expands to a Middle School Academy as Florida's First Direct Ballot Converted Charter School<a href="http://www.bradenton.com/news/local/education/article131602779.html" target="_blank">Rowlett Charter Elementary Expands to Middle School</a><br />
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Florida's First Direct Ballot Conversion to Charter School has succeeded as we parents proponents at KB K8 Center predicted. When we set the legal precedent in Florida in our defeat at the hands MDPS intimidation throughout the ballot process we knew the this was the answer. Rowlett was able to purchase an additional school facility from the Manatee County School District to expand its art & communications educational programs as a middle school. Imagine how many more public schools can be converted to Parent Guardianships in Florida's public school system and across America, if the Florida Parent Empowerment Law 1002.33 (3b) is amended taking away teachers Union veto power over the election result? It would also reduce the amount of large school debt necessary to renovate school over time. Expect Success. ó<br />
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<a href="http://www.bradenton.com/news/local/education/" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0184be; display: block; text-decoration-line: none;">EDUCATION</a></h2>
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Rowlett Academy expands its reach in Manatee County</h3>
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<span class="ng_byline_name" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block;">BY RYAN MCKINNON</span></div>
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<span class="ng_byline_email" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-style: italic; text-transform: none;"><br /></span><span class="ng_byline_email" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-style: italic; text-transform: none;"><a href="mailto:rmckinnon@bradenton.com" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #428bca; text-decoration-line: none;" title="">rmckinnon@bradenton.com</a></span></div>
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Jamara Clark, the future principal of the new Rowlett Middle Academy, can use the Hair Club for Men’s “I’m not only the president, I’m also a client” sales pitch when selling prospective parents on the charter school.</div>
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He’s not just the principal, he’s also a parent.</div>
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“I was a parent first. I wanted the best educational experience for my child,” Clark said Wednesday evening, talking to a room of roughly 100 parents and students interested in attending the new charter school next year.</div>
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The Rowlett Academy for Arts and Communication will be opening the Rowlett Middle Academy in time for the 2017-18 school year for 350 to 400 students in sixth and seventh grade. Beginning in 2018-19, the school will expand to eighth grade as well, with a maximum of 600 students.</div>
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I WAS A PARENT FIRST. I WANTED THE BEST EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE FOR MY CHILD.</div>
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<span class="ng_highline_attrib" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; display: block; font-family: "mcclatchy sans" , "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; margin-top: 5px; text-transform: none;">Future Rowlett Middle Academy Principal Jamara Clark</span></div>
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Former Rowlett Academy Principal Brian Flynn, who is helping open the new middle school, said this is the third open house Rowlett has held so far for interested parents and students. He said roughly 200 people have attended open houses so far.</div>
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“What parents have asked for is us to carry on into a middle school setting,” Flynn said. “They weren’t as happy with what was being offered in (public) middle schools.”</div>
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School administrators touted the academy’s focus on the arts and leadership.</div>
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Riley Marquis, 12, was one of the students hoping to attend Rowlett Middle next year. Riley went to elementary school at the Rowlett Academy, but he currently attends Braden River Middle School. Harkening back to his elementary school days, Riley described how much he loved attending Rowlett because of getting to host the morning news program for the school.</div>
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“There’s art programs and dance programs and film programs, which is my personal favorite,” Marquis said. “As soon as I got accepted, I sprouted into filmmaker mode.”</div>
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Riley’s mother, Pearl Marquis, said she, along with the rest of the parents in the room, were invested in Rowlett.</div>
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“It is a crazy amount of parent involvement,” said Marquis, who also works in the school lunch room. “Every parent that comes here is involved.”</div>
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IT IS A CRAZY AMOUNT OF PARENT INVOLVEMENT. EVERY PARENT THAT COMES HERE IS INVOLVED.</div>
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<span class="ng_highline_attrib" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; display: block; font-family: "mcclatchy sans" , "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; margin-top: 5px; text-transform: none;">Pearl Marquis, parent and employee at Rowlett Academy</span></div>
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The new middle school will be housed in the former Orange Ridge-Bullock Elementary School building, <a href="http://www.bradenton.com/news/local/education/article120934303.html" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #428bca; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="">which Rowlett bought from the School District of Manatee County</a> after the district shut it down last year, citing a report report from the consulting firm Dejong Richter that identified Orange Ridge-Bullock as being in poor condition and requiring $7.4 million in repairs.</div>
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At Wednesday evening’s meeting, Flynn assured parents that the new facility would be in top condition by the time school starts.</div>
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“There is nothing, nothing wrong with Orange Ridge Bullock,” Flynn said. “I don’t want anyone to say to you, I don’t know about that school. Trust me.”</div>
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Flynn said the building would require cleaning and new carpeting, but besides that, it was in fine condition.</div>
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Clark said students at the new middle school would wear uniforms, the school would provide free busing from “hub stops” spread throughout the county, and the school day was tentatively scheduled to run from 8:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.</div>
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Applications to the school are due on Feb. 28. Students who are current Rowlett Academy students or are alumni only need to attend an information session and apply, and they will be automatically accepted.</div>
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Students new to Rowlett will need to write a letter of interest, provide a letter of recommendation, submit a portfolio and attend a one-day summer camp session to learn about the new school. Visit <a href="http://rowlettmiddleacademy.org/" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #428bca; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="">rowlettmiddleacademy.org </a>for more information.</div>
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Ryan McKinnon: <a href="tel:941-745-7027" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #428bca; text-decoration-line: none;" title="">941-745-7027</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/JRMcKinnon" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #428bca; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="">@JRMcKinnon</a></div>
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MacontheRockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364320056572047521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3963585793938502099.post-23875123276407574532017-09-02T07:21:00.003-07:002017-09-02T07:32:50.764-07:00Google Facebook Microsoft taking over Public Schools <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/06/technology/tech-billionaires-education-zuckerberg-facebook-hastings.html?mcubz=0" target="_blank">The New LeipZig Connection : Gates Zuckerberg Page and Google</a><br />
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Dear parents, we are running out time to amend the only direct ballot trigger law in the United States. the Full story: GoverningSchools.com</div>
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Billionaires are at it again just as John D. Rockefeller ZeipZig connection at the University of Chicago creates the First Teachers College 1918 by recruiting experimental psychologist from Germany creating the symbiotic factory worker without real skills the following Silicone Valley billionaire class will create human androids of the next generation...our Chiildren. Who new workers will not likely to be able to parent or interested in reproducing. Just working. Beware! TheFiscals ó </div>
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In San Francisco’s public schools, Marc Benioff, the chief executive of Salesforce, is giving middle school principals $100,000 “innovation grants” and encouraging them to behave more like start-up founders and less like bureaucrats.</div>
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In Maryland, Texas, Virginia and other states, Netflix’s chief, Reed Hastings, is championing a popular math-teaching program where Netflix-like algorithms determine which lessons students see.</div>
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And in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/10/technology/facebook-helps-develop-software-that-puts-students-in-charge-of-their-lesson-plans.html" style="color: #326891;" title="Times' story on the topic">more than 100 schools</a> nationwide, <a class="meta-per" href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/z/mark_e_zuckerberg/index.html?inline=nyt-per" style="color: #326891;" title="More articles about Mark E. Zuckerberg.">Mark Zuckerberg</a>, Facebook’s chief, is testing one of his latest big ideas: software that puts children in charge of their own learning, recasting their teachers as facilitators and mentors.</div>
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In the space of just a few years, technology giants have begun remaking the very nature of schooling on a vast scale, using some of the same techniques that have made their companies linchpins of the American economy. Through their philanthropy, they are influencing the subjects that schools teach, the classroom tools that teachers choose and fundamental approaches to learning.</div>
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The involvement by some of the wealthiest and most influential titans of the 21st century amounts to a singular experiment in education, with millions of students serving as de facto beta testers for their ideas. Some tech leaders believe that applying an engineering mind-set can improve just about any system, and that their business acumen qualifies them to rethink American education.</div>
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“They are experimenting collectively and individually in what kinds of models can produce better results,” said Emmett D. Carson, chief executive of <a href="https://www.siliconvalleycf.org/" style="color: #326891;" title="The foundation's site">Silicon Valley Community Foundation</a>, which manages donor funds for <a href="http://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/reed-hastings-creates-100-million-education-fund" style="color: #326891;" title="Article about Mr. Hastings' education fund">Mr. Hastings</a>, Mr. Zuckerberg and others. “Given the changes in innovation that are underway with artificial intelligence and automation, we need to try everything we can to find which pathways work.”</div>
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But the philanthropic efforts are taking hold so rapidly that there has been little public scrutiny.</div>
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<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/13/technology/google-education-chromebooks-schools.html" style="color: #326891; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1rem;"></a></h6>
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Tech companies and their founders have been rolling out programs in America’s public schools with relatively few checks and balances, The New York Times found in interviews with more than 100 company executives, government officials, school administrators, researchers, teachers, parents and students.</div>
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“They have the power to change policy, but no corresponding check on that power,” said <a href="http://fordschool.umich.edu/news/2016/megan-tompkins-stange-addresses-influence-private-foundations-education-policy" style="color: #326891;" title="details about Professor Tompkins-Stange's work">Megan Tompkins-Stange</a>, an assistant professor of public policy at the University of Michigan. “It does subvert the democratic process.”</div>
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Furthermore, there is only limited research into whether the tech giants’ programs have actually improved students’ educational results.</div>
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One of the broadest philanthropic initiatives directly benefits the tech industry.</div>
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Code.org, a major nonprofit group <a href="https://code.org/about/donors" style="color: #326891;">financed with more than $60 million from Silicon Valley luminaries and their companies</a>, has the stated goal of getting every public school in the United States to teach computer science. Its argument is twofold: Students would benefit from these classes, and companies need more programmers.</div>
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Together with Microsoft and other partners, Code.org has barnstormed the country, pushing states to change education laws and fund computer science courses. It has also helped more than 120 districts to introduce such curriculums, the group said, and has facilitated training workshops for more than 57,000 teachers. And Code.org’s free coding programs, <a href="https://hourofcode.com/files/hoc-one-pager.pdf" style="color: #326891;">called Hour of Code</a>, have become wildly popular, drawing more than 100 million students worldwide.</div>
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Mr. Hastings of Netflix and other tech executives rejected the idea that they wielded significant influence in education. The mere fact that classroom internet access has improved, Mr. Hastings said, has had a much greater impact in schools than anything tech philanthropists have done.</div>
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“In our society as a democracy, I think it is healthy that there is a debate about what are the goals of public education,” Mr. Hastings added.</div>
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Captains of American industry have long used their private wealth to remake public education, with lasting and not always beneficial results.</div>
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What is different today is that some technology giants have begun pitching their ideas directly to students, teachers and parents — using social media to rally people behind their ideas. Some companies also cultivate teachers to spread the word about their products.</div>
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Such strategies help companies and philanthropists alike influence public schools far more quickly than in the past, by creating legions of supporters who can sway legislators and education officials.</div>
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Another difference: Some tech moguls are taking a hands-on role in nearly every step of the education supply chain by financing campaigns to alter policy, building learning apps to advance their aims and subsidizing teacher training. This end-to-end influence represents an “almost monopolistic approach to education reform,” said <a href="https://larrycuban.wordpress.com/" style="color: #326891;" title="Professor Cuban's blog">Larry Cuban, an emeritus professor</a> of education at Stanford University. “That is starkly different to earlier generations of philanthropists.”</div>
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These efforts coincide with a larger Silicon Valley push to sell computers and software to American schools, a lucrative market projected to reach $21 billion by 2020. Already, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/13/technology/google-education-chromebooks-schools.html" style="color: #326891;" title="Times' article on Google in schools">more than half</a> of the primary- and secondary-school students in the United States use Google services like Gmail in school.</div>
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But many parents and educators said in interviews that they were unaware of the Silicon Valley personalities and money influencing their schools. Among them was <a href="http://rafranzdavis.com/about/" style="color: #326891;" title="Ms. Davis's site">Rafranz Davis, executive director</a> of professional and digital learning at Lufkin Independent School District, a public school system in Lufkin, Tex., where students regularly use DreamBox Learning, the math program that Mr. Hastings subsidized, and have tried Code.org’s coding lessons.</div>
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“We should be asking a lot more questions about who is behind the curtain,” Ms. Davis said.</div>
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‘Think Bigger!’</h4>
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<figure aria-label="media" class="media photo embedded layout-large-horizontal media-100000005104625 ratio-tall" data-media-action="modal" id="media-100000005104625" itemid="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/03/business/00Billionairesbenioff/00Billionairesbenioff-master675.jpg" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" role="group" style="clear: both; display: flex; flex-direction: column; float: none; margin: 0px auto 25px; max-width: none; position: relative; width: 645px;"><span class="visually-hidden" style="border: 0px; clip: rect(0px 0px 0px 0px); height: 1px; margin: -1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; width: 1px;">Photo</span><div class="image" style="cursor: pointer; flex-shrink: 0; margin-bottom: 7px; position: relative;">
<img alt="" class="media-viewer-candidate" data-mediaviewer-caption="Marc Benioff, chief executive of Salesforce." data-mediaviewer-credit="" data-mediaviewer-src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/03/business/00Billionairesbenioff/00Billionairesbenioff-superJumbo.jpg" itemid="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/03/business/00Billionairesbenioff/00Billionairesbenioff-master675.jpg" itemprop="url" src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/03/business/00Billionairesbenioff/00Billionairesbenioff-master675.jpg" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; width: 645px;" /><br />
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<figcaption class="caption" itemprop="caption description" style="color: #666666; font-family: nyt-cheltenham-sh, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 0.8125rem; line-height: 1.0625rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><span class="caption-text">Marc Benioff, chief executive of Salesforce.</span></figcaption></figure><br />
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Mr. Benioff, the billionaire behind Salesforce, had a blunt message for San Francisco’s mayor and its schools superintendent.</div>
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It was 2013, and the two city officials had approached Mr. Benioff hoping to persuade him to pony up a few million dollars to install Wi-Fi in schools and buy some classroom laptops. But the request seemed too penny-ante to the software mogul.</div>
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“That’s when I had to say, ‘You guys need to think bigger!’” Mr. Benioff recalled in an interview in his San Francisco home. He urged the superintendent to imagine “what nirvana would look like” in his schools, if money were no object.</div>
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With that conversation, Mr. Benioff set in motion a transformation of the relationship between philanthropist and public education. He has emerged as a kind of personal venture capitalist to the city’s public schools — one intent on remaking a traditional school bureaucracy in Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurial image.</div>
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Mr. Benioff ultimately pledged $100 million over a decade to the San Francisco Unified School District through his company’s nonprofit arm, <a href="http://salesforce.org/" style="color: #326891;" target="_blank">Salesforce.org</a>. Unlike conventional benefactors, he is hands-on: School district administrators now submit an annual grant wish list to the Salesforce.org board for review. And Mr. Benioff dispenses not just money, but also management prescriptions.</div>
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“He’s almost a public-sector V.C.,” said Richard A. Carranza, who was then the superintendent of San Francisco schools.</div>
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Mr. Benioff rejected the notion that his approach to education philanthropy was venture-capitalist-like. “We are not giving them a new religion,” Mr. Benioff said. “We are trying to work with them in a smart way and augment what they are doing.”</div>
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The partnership with the district kicked off in 2012 when San Francisco’s mayor, Edwin M. Lee, asked Mr. Benioff to help the city’s middle schools. The mayor wanted to give students a better chance at landing tech jobs. And he wanted Mr. Benioff to pay for it.</div>
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“I would like to give our kids the opportunity, when they graduate, to see themselves working at those tech companies,” Mr. Lee recalled telling Mr. Benioff.</div>
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The idea appealed to Mr. Benioff. At Salesforce, the <a href="https://www.appsruntheworld.com/top-10-crm-software-vendors-and-market-forecast-2015-2020/" style="color: #326891;">leading maker of cloud-based customer-relationship</a><a href="https://www.appsruntheworld.com/top-10-crm-software-vendors-and-market-forecast-2015-2020/" style="color: #326891;"> management software</a>, he had developed <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/company/salesforceorg/" style="color: #326891;" title="Information about Salesforce's model">his own model of corporate philanthropy</a>: donating 1 percent of company equity, products and employee time to community programs. A school project would let him test it on a larger stage.</div>
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The district has used money from Salesforce.org to hire math teachers and <a href="http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/DigitalEducation/2017/04/computer_science_for_all_san_francisco_7_takeaways.html" style="color: #326891;">develop a comprehensive computer science curriculum</a> for prekindergarten through 12th grade. Funds have also gone toward installing Wi-Fi in middle schools and hiring tech coaches for teachers.</div>
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But Mr. Benioff’s “think bigger” mandate also led to culture clashes. Chief among these: He established a Principal’s Innovation Fund, which awards annual unrestricted grants of $100,000 to the principal at each of the district’s 21 middle and K-8 schools.</div>
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The superintendent initially worried that principals might squander the money. In Silicon Valley, “they fully expect nine out of 10 of their innovations to fail,” said Mr. Carranza, who is now <a href="http://www.houstonisd.org/Page/151977" style="color: #326891;">superintendent of the much larger Houston public school system</a>. “We don’t have the luxury of failing with people’s kids.”</div>
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Administrators subsequently asked principals to select projects that fit with the district’s priorities. Principals have used the grants to start robotics clubs, provide English-tutoring programs for immigrant students and redesign a school library with hangout zones where children can sit with their laptops.</div>
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Mr. Benioff said he knew that his methods pushed some administrators beyond their comfort zones. “You’d have the same issue at Salesforce if somebody from the outside came in and said, ‘We’re going to help you to blah-blah-blah,’” he said. “Bureaucrats would try to stop them.”</div>
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So far, Salesforce.org has provided about $20 million to the schools. By hiring additional teachers, schools reduced the average class size across eighth-grade math to 24 students from 33 — enabling teachers to give more individualized instruction, district officials said.</div>
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“People think school districts are too bureaucratic, can’t be nimble and can’t innovate,” Mr. Carranza said. “We are proving that this is just not true.”</div>
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There are limits to Mr. Benioff’s approach: Most school districts will not be able to secure their own billionaire benefactors. But Mr. Benioff said he intended to keep working with local schools for decades to come.<a class="visually-hidden skip-to-text-link" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/06/technology/tech-billionaires-education-zuckerberg-facebook-hastings.html?mcubz=0#continues-post-newsletter" style="border: 0px; clip: rect(0px 0px 0px 0px); color: #326891; display: inline !important; font-family: nyt-cheltenham, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 16px; height: 1px; margin: -1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-decoration-line: none; width: 1px;">ng the main story</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: 1.0625rem;">“This is not just a sea gull strategy where we are dumping a bunch of money and leaving town,” Mr. Benioff said. “We are in the trenches.”</span></div>
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Trust the Algorithm</h4>
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<figure aria-label="media" class="media photo embedded layout-large-horizontal media-100000005104624 ratio-tall" data-media-action="modal" id="media-100000005104624" itemid="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/03/business/00Billionaireshastings/00Billionaireshastings-master675.jpg" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" role="group" style="clear: both; display: flex; flex-direction: column; margin: 45px 0px; max-width: none; position: relative; width: 645px;"><span class="visually-hidden" style="border: 0px; clip: rect(0px 0px 0px 0px); height: 1px; margin: -1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; width: 1px;">Photo</span><div class="image" style="cursor: pointer; flex-shrink: 0; margin-bottom: 7px; position: relative;">
<img alt="" class="media-viewer-candidate" data-mediaviewer-caption="Reed Hastings, chief executive of Netflix." data-mediaviewer-credit="" data-mediaviewer-src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/03/business/00Billionaireshastings/00Billionaireshastings-superJumbo.jpg" itemid="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/03/business/00Billionaireshastings/00Billionaireshastings-master675.jpg" itemprop="url" src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/03/business/00Billionaireshastings/00Billionaireshastings-master675.jpg" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; width: 645px;" /><br />
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<span class="icon sprite-icon" style="background-image: url("/assets/article/20170816-103801/images/sprite/sprite-no-repeat.svg"); background-position: -256px -135px; background-repeat: no-repeat; display: inline-block; height: 38px; line-height: 0; vertical-align: middle; width: 38px;"></span></div>
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<figcaption class="caption" itemprop="caption description" style="color: #666666; font-family: nyt-cheltenham-sh, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 0.8125rem; line-height: 1.0625rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><span class="caption-text">Reed Hastings, chief executive of Netflix.</span></figcaption></figure><br />
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What does Netflix have in common with a math-teaching program called <a href="http://www.dreambox.com/company" style="color: #326891;" title="the DreamBox site">DreamBox Learning</a>? Both services use algorithms to predict what’s good for their users.</div>
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They also share a guardian angel: Mr. Hastings, Netflix’s chief executive.</div>
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In 2009, he heard about a start-up that used artificial intelligence to adapt math lessons to students. The math program worked a bit like the software Netflix used to customize its video recommendations.</div>
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“It is probably fair to say I recognized the power of personalization maybe more than other people, because I had seen it in my own working life,” Mr. Hastings said in an interview at Netflix’s Los Angeles office.</div>
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There was just one problem: DreamBox Learning was running low on cash. So Mr. Hastings stepped in, donating about $11 million to a nonprofit charter-school fund so it could buy the math platform.</div>
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Today, more than two million students use the program for supplemental math instruction.</div>
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DreamBox takes elements from animated video games, with some math lessons populated by aliens that whoosh about and animals that cluck. When students complete a math lesson successfully, they earn points that they can use to unlock virtual rewards.</div>
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Administrators in some districts said that students so enjoyed the math program that some had begged their parents to let them play DreamBox even during trips to the supermarket. But four parents with children in public schools in Baltimore County, Md., said the program was so stimulating that they had curbed its use at home.</div>
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“It really can suck a kid in,” said Brenda Peiffer, a former school counselor, whose son, a third grader, was assigned DreamBox for homework. After noticing that he seemed more interested in spending points to customize his avatar than in actually doing math, she put the kibosh on DreamBox. “He’s not doing it at home,” she said.</div>
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<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/31/business/jessie-woolley-wilson-dreambox-learning.html" style="color: #326891;" title="Times profile of Ms. Woolley-Wilson">Jessie Woolley-Wilson, the chief executive of DreamBox</a>, said such concerns were rare. But she recalled a mother once asking if the program was habit-forming, because her daughter was waking her up at 5:30 a.m. asking to play DreamBox. Ms. Woolley-Wilson recommended that parents oversee their children’s screen time.</div>
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“There’s no perfect solution for everyone,” she said.</div>
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And some experienced teachers said it was preposterous to think that algorithms could be better than skilled teachers at adapting to students’ abilities. “What you are seeing right now is a heavy push to disrupt and diminish the role of teachers as experts,” said Arienne Adamcikova, a high school teacher in San Mateo, Calif.</div>
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Mr. Hastings saw it differently.</div>
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DreamBox Learning tracks a student’s every click, correct answer, hesitation and error — collecting about 50,000 data points per student per hour — and uses those details to adjust the math lessons it shows. And it uses data to help teachers pinpoint which math concepts students may be struggling with.</div>
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Mr. Hastings described DreamBox as a tool teachers could use to gain greater insights into their students, much the way that physicians use medical scans to treat individual patients. “A doctor without an X-ray machine is not as good a doctor,” Mr. Hastings said.</div>
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So far there is little proof that such technologies significantly improve achievement. Adaptive learning courseware, for instance, generally did not improve college students’ grades or their likelihood of completing a course, according to <a href="https://www.sri.com/sites/default/files/brochures/almap_final_report.pdf" style="color: #326891;">a 2016 report</a> on some of these programs by the S.R.I. Education research group.</div>
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Is DreamBox effective?</div>
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DreamBox is among the minority of digital learning start-ups that have allowed independent academic researchers to examine and publicly report on their data. Still, the platform’s effectiveness is difficult to gauge.</div>
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A report from Harvard University’s Center for Education Policy Research concluded that DreamBox use correlated with some improved math scores. But, the researchers cautioned, if those students had more effective teachers even without the technology, <a href="http://cepr.harvard.edu/files/cepr/files/dreambox-key-findings.pdf" style="color: #326891;">“then </a><a href="http://cepr.harvard.edu/files/cepr/files/dreambox-key-findings.pdf" style="color: #326891;">we might be falsely attributing”</a> student achievement gains “to the software, rather than to the teacher.”</div>
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Even so, Ms. Woolley-Wilson, DreamBox’s chief executive, described the study as good news, saying it confirmed encouraging reports from teachers. She pointed out that, unlike DreamBox, many other education start-ups lacked research to prove even the most basic assumption: that their apps did not harm students’ educational results.</div>
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“That sounds like a low bar,” Ms. Woolley-Wilson said. “But with the history of education technology, it is not.”</div>
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Mr. Hastings (who is a company director but has no financial interest in the math company) said he was enthusiastic about DreamBox’s potential and predicted wider classroom use for the technology as artificial intelligence improved.</div>
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Still, he emphasized that he did not view technology generally as a panacea for education. “I’ve always been a little cynical and jaundiced about technology,” Mr. Hastings said. “The tech can help, but it is often oversold.”</div>
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Student, Teach Thyself</h4>
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<figure aria-label="media" class="media photo embedded layout-large-horizontal media-100000005104459 ratio-tall" data-media-action="modal" id="media-100000005104459" itemid="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/03/business/00Billionaireszuckerberg/00Billionaireszuckerberg-master675.jpg" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" role="group" style="clear: both; display: flex; flex-direction: column; margin: 45px 0px; max-width: none; position: relative; width: 645px;"><span class="visually-hidden" style="border: 0px; clip: rect(0px 0px 0px 0px); height: 1px; margin: -1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; width: 1px;">Photo</span><div class="image" style="cursor: pointer; flex-shrink: 0; margin-bottom: 7px; position: relative;">
<img alt="" class="media-viewer-candidate" data-mediaviewer-caption="Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive of Facebook." data-mediaviewer-credit="" data-mediaviewer-src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/03/business/00Billionaireszuckerberg/00Billionaireszuckerberg-superJumbo.jpg" itemid="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/03/business/00Billionaireszuckerberg/00Billionaireszuckerberg-master675.jpg" itemprop="url" src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/03/business/00Billionaireszuckerberg/00Billionaireszuckerberg-master675.jpg" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; width: 645px;" /><br />
<div class="media-action-overlay" style="border-radius: 6px; border: 1px solid rgba(200, 200, 200, 0.8); bottom: 15px; cursor: pointer; left: 15px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.2s ease-in; z-index: 5;">
<span class="icon sprite-icon" style="background-image: url("/assets/article/20170816-103801/images/sprite/sprite-no-repeat.svg"); background-position: -256px -135px; background-repeat: no-repeat; display: inline-block; height: 38px; line-height: 0; vertical-align: middle; width: 38px;"></span></div>
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<figcaption class="caption" itemprop="caption description" style="color: #666666; font-family: nyt-cheltenham-sh, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 0.8125rem; line-height: 1.0625rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><span class="caption-text">Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive of Facebook.</span></figcaption></figure><br />
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If Facebook’s Mr. Zuckerberg has his way, children the world over will soon be teaching themselves — using software his company helped build.</div>
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It’s a conception that upends a longstanding teaching dynamic. Now educators are no longer classroom leaders, but helpmates.</div>
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In public remarks and Facebook posts, Mr. Zuckerberg has described how it works. Students cluster together, working at laptops. They use software to select their own assignments, working at their own pace. And, should they struggle at teaching themselves, teachers are on hand to guide them.</div>
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“When you visit a school like this, it feels like the future — it feels like a start-up,” Mr. Zuckerberg told an audience last fall in Peru. “You get the feeling this is how more of the education system should work.”</div>
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He is well on his way to achieving this vision. In 2015, 19 American schools introduced the software that Facebook helped develop. This school year, more than 100 schools use it. Next fall, Mr. Zuckerberg said, he expects that “many hundreds of more schools will upgrade.”</div>
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The effort began a few years ago with visits by Mr. Zuckerberg and Dr. Priscilla Chan, a pediatrician who is his wife, to Summit Denali, a middle school in Sunnyvale, Calif. There, classrooms lack walls, and students with laptops often zoom around on caster chairs.</div>
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“It looks more like a Google or a Facebook than a school,” said Diane Tavenner, chief executive of <a href="http://www.summitps.org/approach" style="color: #326891;" title="The Summit site">Summit Public Schools</a>, a nonprofit charter-school network that runs the school.</div>
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Mr. Zuckerberg, she said, admired the software that Summit had created for its schools. He offered Ms. Tavenner a team of Facebook engineers to further develop it and make it available free to schools nationwide.</div>
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Summit developed its student-directed learning approach after administrators there discovered that their teachers had been so supportive of students, Ms. Tavenner said, that many of its graduates were struggling in college, unprepared to pace themselves or seek help.</div>
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That is how Summit’s platform came to show students every lesson they will need to complete for the year. They may tackle lessons in any order. At the end of each unit, they take a 10-question multiple-choice test.</div>
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Teachers use the software to track students’ work and may intervene when a child is struggling. One-on-one mentoring helps students make choices and evaluate their progress. In <a href="https://www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/10102342632826831" style="color: #326891;" title="The post.">a Facebook post</a> in 2015, Mr. Zuckerberg said that this learning approach “frees up time for teachers to do what they do best — mentor students.”</div>
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Not all educators agree. Four former Summit teachers said they found the system problematic. They asked that their names be withheld, saying they feared repercussions for their careers.</div>
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At Summit, they said, they were required to teach students cognitive skills (like how to construct an argument) while making students responsible for teaching themselves underlying lesson material (like how diverse plants and animals coexist). But some students raced through lessons without actually understanding basic facts, the teachers said, making it difficult to help them structure arguments on specific topics, like climate change.</div>
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Ms. Tavenner of Summit, however, said that was exactly the point: to make students discover for themselves that they cannot succeed on applied projects without learning the fundamentals.</div>
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Students think to themselves, “‘Oh, I’ve got to actually go back and deeply understand it,’” Ms. Tavenner said. “Those are the habits of success that we are trying to instill in kids that simply don’t get instilled in the normal system.”</div>
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It can be a steep learning curve.</div>
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In 2015, <a href="http://www.urbanpromiseacademy.org/our-learning-model.html" style="color: #326891;" title="The school's site.">Urban Promise Academy</a>, a public middle school in Oakland, Calif., introduced the platform for its sixth graders. But students, accustomed to having a teacher’s guidance, did not know how to pace themselves, said Claire Fisher, the school’s principal.</div>
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“Kids were self-pacing to failure,” Ms. Fisher said.</div>
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Teachers remedied that by helping students set realistic goals. The school is now happy with the program, she said, and has expanded it to the seventh grade. Even so, Ms. Fisher said, “We definitely have a concern about the quality of the assessments in the curriculum and whether it actually promotes deeper learning.”</div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/chanzuckerberginitiative/posts/775068959309411:0" style="color: #326891;" title="The announcement">The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative</a><a href="https://www.facebook.com/chanzuckerberginitiative/posts/775068959309411:0" style="color: #326891;" title="The announcement">,</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/03/technology/zuckerbergs-philanthropy-uses-llc-for-more-control.html?_r=0" style="color: #326891;">a</a><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/03/technology/zuckerbergs-philanthropy-uses-llc-for-more-control.html?_r=0" style="color: #326891;">n organization</a> set up by Dr. Chan and Mr. Zuckerberg to manage their projects in education and other areas, plans to take over Facebook’s engineering role in developing the education software by the end of this year.</div>
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Mr. Zuckerberg has big plans in mind for the program. In <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUtsQLDJsBc" style="color: #326891;" title="Video of the speech">his Peru speech</a>, he noted that there were only about 25,000 public secondary schools in the United States.</div>
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“Our hope over the next decade is to help upgrade a majority of these schools to personalized learning and then start working globally as well,” Mr. Zuckerberg told the audience. “Giving a billion students a personalized education is a great thing to do.”</div>
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MacontheRockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364320056572047521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3963585793938502099.post-71508936288505067162017-06-21T09:30:00.000-07:002017-06-21T09:30:28.080-07:00Letter to Education Secretary DaVos and Convention of States Florida <div class="" style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPS-ItalicMT; font-size: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;">
As the first Florida PTA President to apply the only direct ballot Parent Trigger Law in the United States in 2013, I would like to invite all Convention of States advocates, to support amending the Florida Parent Empowerment Law 1002.33 (3b). It’s voting guidelines are un-American separating the ballot between parents and Teachers and requiring proponent for conversion to win both elections by 50+1 margin, providing the majority of the parents at the school actually vote. These closed society voting guidelines Teacher’s Union veto power over Parent’s desire to convert a school is a un-American closed society election. A "yes vote" empowers a Guardianship Board to be established to manage the school budget post intra-school election. This is what I propose in the synopsis on my experience at the KB K8 Center. I invite all COSFL participants to fire trigger letters at your county school in every county to bring light to this egregious law that allows teachers to abuse your children because you vote 'Yes"! </div>
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<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPS-ItalicMT; font-size: 24px;">website: </span><span style="color: #0000ee; font-family: TimesNewRomanPS-ItalicMT;"><span style="font-size: 24px;"><b><u>www.governingschool.com</u></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><span class="" style="font-family: HelveticaNeue;"><span class="" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><span class="" style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b class="">PARENT GUARDIANSHIP MISSION STATEMENT</b></span></span></span></div>
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<li class="" style="text-align: left;"><b class=""><span class="" style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;"><span class="" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="" style="color: #333333;">In order to reinvent America’s public school system parent must be at the helm of the particular school’s budget. The key to fixing the Public School is not in the classroom. It is not an increase in test scores as previously thought. For it is not </span><b class="" style="text-align: left;"><span class="" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify;">a key. I</span></b><span class="" style="color: #333333;">t is the combination padlock on a safe in Principal's office. The nation’s only direct ballot parent trigger law is law in Florida. It needs its language in the </span></span><span class=""><span class="" style="color: #333333;">voting guidelines amended as fol</span><b class=""><span class="" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify;">lows: </span><span class="" style="color: #333333;">Deleting a three letter word <u class="">‘and’</u> deleted while inserting a two letter word "or” within the body paragraph of </span></b><span class="" style="color: #333333;">the 2010 Florida Parent Empowerment Law state statute 1002.33 (3b). Then the removal of the word ‘Charter” wherever it appears and rebranded as additional school choice model as the Parent Guardianship School. </span></span></span></b></li>
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<span class="" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times New Roman;"><b class=""> THE BENEFITS:</b></span></div>
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<li class="" style="font-family: HelveticaNeue;"><b class=""><span class="" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">Parent Guardian Schools are Not Charter Schools</span></b></li>
<li class="" style="font-family: HelveticaNeue;"><span class="" style="font-size: medium;"><b class="" style="font-family: Arial;"> </b><b class="" style="font-family: Arial; text-align: justify;">Parents acting as Guardians of an individual school budget thus saving surpluses annually for school expansion and modernization instead of depending on school bond proceeds.</b></span></li>
<li class="" style="font-family: HelveticaNeue;"><b class="" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">Parent Guardians do not pay rent for county-owned school district property</span></b></li>
<li class="" style="font-family: HelveticaNeue;"><b class="" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">No construction finance nor debt obligation upon start up</span></b></li>
<li class="" style="font-family: HelveticaNeue;"><b class="" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">Converted School receives their administrative funding directly from the Florida Department of Education not the County School Board nor School Superintendent</span></b></li>
<li class="" style="font-family: HelveticaNeue;"><b class="" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">There is no marketing budget to attract students</span></b></li>
<li class="" style="font-family: HelveticaNeue;"><b class="" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">Teachers stay in the State of Florida Retirement System but lose tenure</span></b></li>
<li class="" style="font-family: HelveticaNeue;"><b class="" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="" style="font-family: HelveticaNeue;">Tax relief for the property owner at large as the reduction of continuous issuance of school bonds debt at the ballot box every twenty years dissipates over time as the success converting schools to </span>Guardianship<span class="" style="font-family: HelveticaNeue;"> School. </span></span></b></li>
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<span class="" data-mce-style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"><b class="">REDRAFT AMENDED LANGUAGE - TO FLA. STAT. §1002.33(3)(b)</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="" data-mce-style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial Black; font-size: medium;"><b class=""><span class="" style="color: #333333;">( </span><span class="" data-mce-style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="" style="color: #333333;">*amended words inserted in</span><span class="" style="color: #009051;"> </span><span class="" style="color: #4f7a28;">Green</span></span><span class="" style="color: #333333;"> )</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="" data-mce-style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial Black;"><b class="">(3) APPLICATION FOR PARENT GUARDIANSHIP SCHOOL STATUS.—</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="" data-mce-style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial Black;"><b class="">(a) An application for a new Parent <span class="" data-mce-style="font-size: x-large;">Guardianship </span>School may be made by an individual, teachers, parents, a group of individuals, a municipality, or a legal entity organized under the laws of this state.</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="" data-mce-style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial Black;"><b class=""><span class="" style="color: #333333; font-family: HelveticaNeue;">(b) An application for a conversion to </span><span class="" style="color: #4f7a28; font-family: HelveticaNeue;">Parent Guardianship School*</span><span class="" style="color: #333333; font-family: HelveticaNeue;"> shall be made by the district school board, the principal, teachers, parents, or the school advisory council at an existing public school that has been in operation for at least 2 years prior to the application to convert. A public school-within-a-school that is designated as a school by the district school board may also submit an application to convert to charter governing school status. An application submitted proposing to convert an existing public school to a Parent Governing school shall demonstrate the support of at least 50 +1 percent of the teachers employed at the school </span><u class="" style="font-family: HelveticaNeue;"><span class="" style="color: #4f7a28;">OR*</span></u><span class="" style="color: #333333; font-family: HelveticaNeue;"> 50 + 1 percent of the parents voting whose children are enrolled at the school, provided that a majority of the parents eligible to vote participate in the ballot process, according to rules adopted by the State Board of Education. The vote for conversion shall be required to be completed within ninety (90) days from the date the school administrator receives the written request for a vote. The local school district shall be required to make certain mandatory disclosures once a school administrator receives the written request to conduct a vote. Within seven (7) days of receipt of the written request, the local school district shall provide to the person requesting the vote the following items (1) a list containing the names of each parent with children enrolled at the school at that time, (2) a list containing the names of each teacher who is eligible to vote, (3) a detailed budget showing all expenses and all state and federal revenues generated over the previous three years for the particular </span>district-operated<span class="" style="color: #333333; font-family: HelveticaNeue;"> school for which a vote for conversion has been requested. At least fourteen (14) days prior to the commencement of any vote, the local school district shall permit the person requesting the vote to utilize the school cafeteria or its equivalent, at the school that is the subject of the vote, to hold a meeting at a reasonable time to provide information to the parents and teachers in support of the vote. The person who requested the vote shall be entitled to organize and Chair the meeting and to provide written educational material to the parents and teachers who attend the meeting. The persons who requested the vote shall be entitled to have a designee assigned to work with the school administrator to confirm that the initial notification has been mailed to all eligible voters and that all ballots have been mailed to the eligible voters and to be present at the time of balloting in order to confirm the voter's eligibility and witnessing the voters casting the ballot. The person who requested the vote shall be entitled to draft the content of the initial notification to the parents and teachers, describing the purpose of the vote and the conditions for the balloting process as well as the content of the ballot itself. A district school board denying an application for a conversion to Parent Guardianship school shall provide notice of denial to the applicants in writing within 10 days after the meeting at which the district school board denied the application. The notice must articulate in writing the specific reasons for denial and must provide documentation supporting those reasons. </span></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="" data-mce-style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial Black;"><b class=""><span class="" style="color: #333333; font-family: HelveticaNeue;">A private school, parochial school, or home education program shall not be eligible for </span><span class="" style="color: #4f7a28; font-family: HelveticaNeue;">Parent </span><span class="" data-mce-style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="" data-mce-style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="" style="color: #4f7a28;">Guardianship<span class="" style="font-family: HelveticaNeue;"> School *</span></span></span><span class="" style="color: #333333; font-family: HelveticaNeue;">status.</span></span></b></span></span></div>
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MacontheRockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364320056572047521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3963585793938502099.post-39831214430601746342017-06-20T21:15:00.001-07:002017-06-20T21:15:19.222-07:00NAACP who side are you on ? School Choice helps Balck Communitieshttps://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2017/05/17/charter-schools-black-naacp-unions-education-column/101743268/<br />
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It time to create the Perfect Parent Trigger Law by amending Florida Empowerment Law 1002.33 (3b) log on to governingschool.com<br />
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I was in high school when <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1955/347us483" style="color: #1990e5; text-decoration-line: none;"><em>Brown v. Board of Education</em></a> was decided 63 years ago.</div>
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That makes me an old man, one who was at the forefront of the civil rights movement during its most tumultuous days.</div>
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I took the fight for equality to South Florida, joining the Miami Urban League in 1963 and becoming its CEO at the age of 24. There I met Martin Luther King, Jr., and from that inspiration took on a power structure that through practice, if not written policy, dictated what black people were and were not allowed to do.</div>
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We succeeded in overcoming that by developing young black leaders, by refusing to accept subservience, by rejecting incremental gains and, instead, demanding full inclusion. This is the same formula that brought change to communities across this nation.</div>
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Those were historic times. Back then, if I were to have looked forward, I would have envisioned a much different 2017 than the one that currently exists — a 2017 in which Dr. King’s hopes for our nation had been achieved.</div>
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Yet divides remain wide, and at times, they seem to be growing rather than narrowing. We can codify equality in statutes and regulations. We can have corporations and society in general commit to diversity.</div>
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But what we cannot overcome is a lack of opportunity, and therein lies our greatest challenge. If young black children are not equipped with the knowledge to succeed, we cannot make up for that with public and private policies after the fact.</div>
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And that takes me back to <em>Brown v. Board of Education</em>. It was a landmark decision for civil rights. But 63 years later, it remains a great disappointment in addressing the specific ill it was intended to correct — education inequality.</div>
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'Orange is the New Black' author: Jeff Sessions pushes a racist agenda</div>
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Opponents have DeVos backwards: Column</div>
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We know that far too many black children are sitting in classrooms where they are not learning. We know their schools have fewer resources. We know their teachers, on average, are less qualified. We know expectations for these children are set lower than the expectations for students in more affluent suburban schools.</div>
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For decades, these are issues the public education system has failed to fix. Blame has been spread far and wide, but the reasons for the failures are of little consequence to the families impacted by them. And the fact they still exist 63 years after <em>Brown v. Board of Education</em> offers little hope they will be resolved anytime soon.</div>
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This reality is what led me, along with other civil rights leaders, to go in a different direction — to advocate for giving parents the power to pursue better options for their children. I saw the devastating impact that powerlessness had on the black community in the 1950s and 60s. And I see that same dynamic at play for black parents today.</div>
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Once we were told where we could live and work, play and pray, eat and gather. I find it no more acceptable that today we are told where our children can go to school.</div>
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Nobody cared when, for decade after decade, black kids were assigned to failure factories that set them up for a life of poverty and dependency. But give the parents of these children a choice to select alternatives, and suddenly the people who care about where these students go to school come crawling out of the woodwork.</div>
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I find it disturbing when a teachers' union leader in Tennessee sits in front of a camera and says that “some parents are <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/black-community-division-charter-schools/" style="color: #1990e5; text-decoration-line: none;">not capable of determining</a>” where their children should go to school. That he is an African American makes the statement no more palatable now than when white bigots in Tennessee expressed similar sentiments about the capabilities of blacks in the 1960s.</div>
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<span style="font-weight: 700;">POLICING THE USA: A look at </span><a href="http://preview.usatoday.com/policing/" style="color: #1990e5; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">race, justice, media</span></a><span style="font-weight: 700;"> </span></div>
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Betsy DeVos v the bitter status quo: Column</div>
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I find it disturbing that the NAACP calls for a <a href="http://www.naacp.org/latest/statement-regarding-naacps-resolution-moratorium-charter-schools/" style="color: #1990e5; text-decoration-line: none;">moratorium on charter schools</a> when the data is overwhelming that on average these schools produce <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/ccf_20161021segregation_version-10_211.pdf" style="color: #1990e5; text-decoration-line: none;">much stronger academic gains for disadvantaged black children</a>. I ask my brothers and sisters at the NAACP, who when they met in Orlando called on the audience to stand and applaud a leader from the teachers' union: Exactly whose side are you on?</div>
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At my age, I become skeptical of promises that are not kept. I no longer trust unions and politicians and bureaucracies, and their never-ending promises and reforms, to bring opportunity to the communities I serve.</div>
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All I have left to trust are the parents who understand all too well the impact more decades of failure will have on their children.</div>
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Give them the power, and give them options from every sector of education — be it public or private. Unlike the union boss in Tennessee, I do believe they have the capability to decide. Unlike the NAACP, I believe they have the right to decide.</div>
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That is the unfinished business from 63 years ago.</div>
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<em>T. Willard Fair is president and chief executive officer of the Urban League of Greater Miami, Inc. A powerful voice in the effort to improve his community, he has worked for the Urban League since September, 1963.</em></div>
MacontheRockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364320056572047521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3963585793938502099.post-35045190468570744942017-05-13T04:28:00.000-07:002017-05-13T04:28:17.098-07:00UnReported Bully at District Run School ends in Suicide of 8- year old Gabriel Taye<a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/8-year-old-s-suicide-leads-cincinnati-school-release-video-n758896?cid=sm_npd_nn_fb_ma" target="_blank">If Parent were Guardians of the School Would bullying go Unreported?</a><br />
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A small boy 8 Years old hangs himself from his bunk bed. Why? Perhaps because he was knocked unconscious by a bully. It long overdue support the GoverningSchool.com in Florida or get passed in your state.<br />
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8-Year-Old’s Suicide Leads Cincinnati School to Release Video Showing Bully Attack</h1>
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<span class="byline" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #595959; margin-right: 0.375em; text-transform: uppercase;"><span class="lowercase" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-transform: lowercase;">by</span> <span class="byline_author" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-family: ProximaNovaSemiBold, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">SAFIA SAMEE ALI</span></span></div>
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Cincinnati Public School officials released a disturbing surveillance video on Friday of an attack on an 8-year-old boy in a school bathroom by another student — an incident that took place two days before the boy took his life.</div>
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In the grainy 24-minute video, taken at the entrance of a bathroom at Carson Elementary School, third-grader Gabriel Taye appears to be approaching a larger boy, who just pushed another boy, and extending his hand seemingly for a shake when the larger boy grabs his arm and pushes him into a wall, causing Gabriel to collapse and faint.</div>
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While the video is hazy, Gabriel's motionless body is seen lying on the floor for several minutes, during which numerous children go past him, step over him, and even kick and poke him with their feet.</div>
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Almost eight minutes later, an adult in a dark suit is seen walking over and attending to a still unmoving Gabriel.</div>
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The school made no mention of the incident to the boy's mother, Cornelia Reynolds, only telling her that he fainted, said Jennifer Branch, an attorney representing Reynolds, adding that they learned about the surveillance video months after the attack in January.</div>
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"Mom got a call from the school. She was told her son had fainted, he's in the nurse's office. His vitals are fine, he's fine and she decided to come to the school to get him to make sure he was okay and she took him home," Branch said. "Later that night he was nauseous and had fainted and thrown up a couple of times and she took him to the hospital."</div>
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But because the mother didn't know what happened, the doctor at the hospital didn't either, which changed the nature of the medical examination, she said. "If she had known he had lost consciousness for over 7 minutes, that is a critical detail for a medical professional to know," she said.</div>
<figure class="img_half" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #232323; float: left; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 1.125em 1.125em 0px; width: 292px;"><a class="js-lightbox lightbox_link" href="https://media2.s-nbcnews.com/j/newscms/2017_19/1998321/170512-gabriel-taye-se-457p_aa9c5e179d823906716aeda5f7babe74.nbcnews-ux-2880-1000.jpg" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #4372b8; cursor: zoom-in; display: block; position: relative; text-decoration-line: none;"><img alt="Image: Gabriel Taye" class="img-responsive img_inline" src="https://media2.s-nbcnews.com/j/newscms/2017_19/1998321/170512-gabriel-taye-se-457p_aa9c5e179d823906716aeda5f7babe74.nbcnews-ux-600-700.jpg" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; width: 292px;" title="Image: Gabriel Taye" /></a><div class="js-caption_wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit;">
<figcaption class="img-caption img-caption_default no-margin-bottom" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #595959; font-size: 0.79012em; line-height: 1.42383; margin-bottom: 0px !important; max-width: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0.47461em;"><span class="img-caption_txt" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-right: 3px;">Gabriel Taye, seen here, at age 6.</span> <span aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-camera" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: inherit; color: #969696; display: inline-block; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1; margin-right: 3px; text-rendering: auto;"></span>Family photo</figcaption></div>
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Reynolds found out about the bullying incident after her attorneys received a copy of a police investigative file that contained an email from a homicide detective to school officials describing the surveillance video, she said.</div>
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"If Gabe's mom had known that her son was going to school every day and experiencing, and witnessing, and being involved in these violent, very unsettling events, she wouldn't have continued to send him there," Branch said.</div>
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But the school says it has no culpability in what happened to Gabriel and instead stands by a different version of events — one where the school nurse told Reynolds to take her son to the hospital.</div>
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"When checking on Gabriel, the school staff members asked him what happened. He responded that he 'fell,'" the district said in its statement Friday. "He later said that he 'fainted.' At no point did Gabriel indicate that he had been hit, yanked, pulled, pushed or assaulted in any way. He had no visible abrasions and there had been no report of a fight of any kind."</div>
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"The school nurse checked Gabriel's vital signs, which were normal. She also contacted Gabriel's mother and asked her to pick him up and take him to the hospital to be checked out," the district said in its statement.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700;">Related:<a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/8-year-old-was-bullied-killing-himself-attorneys-say-n758136" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #4372b8; text-decoration-line: none;"> 8-Year-Old Was Bullied Before Killing Himself, Attorneys Say</a></span></div>
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"We ask that you review the video, in its entirety. It is our firm position that the allegations portrayed in the media are not supported by the video," the school said in a statement after releasing the video Friday.</div>
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The school said it released the surveillance video to be "completely transparent" and reminded the public that "no charges resulted" from an investigation into Gabriel's death.</div>
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The Hamilton County Coroner's office said Thursday they were reopening an investigation into Gabriel's death.</div>
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Attorneys for Reynolds say they have not filed a lawsuit against the school yet.</div>
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"What we are investigating is grounds to file a lawsuit and looking to see if the school district did anything to contribute to his death," Branch said.</div>
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What happened to Gabriel is not an uncommon scenario at Carson School, said Branch.</div>
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"There's lots of violence going on in that school," she said. And by "downplaying" the incident with Gabriel, the school is putting "many more kids at risk," she added.</div>
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"To watch these children walking in and out of bathroom who are afraid, and to see someone like Gabe who is trying to diffuse the situation by putting out his hand, you realize that 10-minute snapshot at that school, is what it must be like all day at that school," she said. </div>
MacontheRockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364320056572047521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3963585793938502099.post-1276894506076067832016-10-15T20:42:00.003-07:002017-06-29T03:29:21.891-07:00[ FULL TEXT } of Judge Darrin Gayle Order in Feranandez, Cristbol, Ramirez v School Board of MDPS<a href="https://casetext.com/case/fernandez-v-sch-bd-of-miami-dade-cnty-1">Federal Judges Darin Gayles Order in Fernandez v School Board of Miami -Dade </a><br />
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Dear School-Choice Parents, </h2>
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The moment we have been waiting for to reinvent the public school system is here. Amend Florida's Parent Empowerment Law to facilitate a fair and transparent conversion to Parental Guardship of any County District-run school in the State of Florida. </h2>
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The two incidents of parent and principals seeking to just that has been met with intimidation by School Board of Miami-Dade County in the circumstance of Neva King Cooper Special needs School in Homestead and Key Biscayne K8 Center in the Village of Key Biscayne Florida. In both cases, the denial of denial of Freedom of Speech and Assembly have cited by Federal Judge Darrin Gayles of the Civil Rights Division. In both instances, a poorly written Florida Parent Empowerment Law 1002.33 (3b) allowed for the intimidation of proponents and their children to occur. </h2>
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From page 9 of the Judge's order [CUT and PASTE] : <span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #171e22; font-family: freight-text-pro, serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: justify;">Also during the investigation, on July 13, 2012, each Plaintiff filed a complaint for unlawful reprisal pursuant to</span><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #171e22; font-family: freight-text-pro, serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: justify;"> </span><a class="raw-ref" href="https://casetext.com/statute/fla-stat-100233-effective-712015-charter-schools" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4a7ba5; font-family: freight-text-pro, serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-line: none;">Fla. Stat. § 1002.33(4)</a><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #171e22; font-family: freight-text-pro, serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #171e22; font-family: freight-text-pro, serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: justify;">with the Florida Department of Education (the "Department").</span><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #171e22; font-family: freight-text-pro, serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: justify;"> </span><i style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #171e22; font-family: freight-text-pro, serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: justify;">Id</i><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #171e22; font-family: freight-text-pro, serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: justify;">. ¶ 29. These complaints triggered an investigation by the Department's Office of Inspector General.</span><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #171e22; font-family: freight-text-pro, serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: justify;"> </span><i style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #171e22; font-family: freight-text-pro, serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: justify;">Id</i><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #171e22; font-family: freight-text-pro, serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: justify;">. On April 12, 2013, the Department terminated its investigation with a "finding that reasonable grounds exist to believe that an unlawful reprisal has occurred, is occurring, or is to be taken."</span><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #171e22; font-family: freight-text-pro, serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: justify;"> </span><i style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #171e22; font-family: freight-text-pro, serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: justify;">Id</i><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #171e22; font-family: freight-text-pro, serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: justify;">. ¶ 44. The Commissioner of Education informed Superintendent Carvalho that the Plaintiffs' complaints would be forwarded to the Division of Administrative</span><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #171e22; font-family: freight-text-pro, serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: justify;"> </span><span id="p10" page-number="10" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #999999; font-family: freight-text-pro, serif; font-size: 15.4px; text-align: justify;"></span><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #171e22; font-family: freight-text-pro, serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: justify;">Hearings (the "DOAH"), which would conduct a formal hearing.</span><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #171e22; font-family: freight-text-pro, serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: justify;"> </span><i style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #171e22; font-family: freight-text-pro, serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: justify;">Id</i><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #171e22; font-family: freight-text-pro, serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: justify;">.</span>The DOAH's final administrative hearing took place in January and February 2014. At its conclusion, the administrative law judge entered a recommended order finding that the District committed an unlawful reprisal against each Plaintiff in violation of <a class="raw-ref" href="https://casetext.com/statute/fla-stat-100233-effective-712015-charter-schools" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4a7ba5; text-decoration-line: none;">Fla. Stat. § 1002.33(4)</a>. <i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Id</i>. ¶</h2>
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<br />From 7-8 in reference to a culture of intimidation at KB K8 Center :</h2>
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<span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #171e22; font-family: freight-text-pro, serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: justify;">On January 8, 2013, two parents with children enrolled at Key Biscayne K-8 Center, a Miami-Dade County public school, sent an email to the school's principal requesting her to facilitate a vote to convert the school into a conversion charter school. </span><i style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #171e22; font-family: freight-text-pro, serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: justify;">Id</i><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #171e22; font-family: freight-text-pro, serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: justify;">. ¶ 63. In response, the District </span><span id="p8" page-number="8" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #999999; font-family: freight-text-pro, serif; font-size: 15.4px; text-align: justify;"></span><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #171e22; font-family: freight-text-pro, serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: justify;">sent a letter stating that the school principal had not authorized the use of her name in connection with the conversion effort, and that District officials, rather than the principal, would schedule the vote. </span><i style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #171e22; font-family: freight-text-pro, serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: justify;">Id</i><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #171e22; font-family: freight-text-pro, serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: justify;">. ¶ 64. District officials then dominated the conversion effort at that school, disseminating flyers regarding the prospective conversion that "presented misleading and incorrect information about funding, employee benefits, and available resources if the school converted to a charter school." </span><i style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #171e22; font-family: freight-text-pro, serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: justify;">Id</i><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #171e22; font-family: freight-text-pro, serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: justify;">. ¶ 65. At a parent information session convened to discuss the conversion, District officials again dominated the question-and-answer session, and proponents of the conversion were not permitted to speak. </span><i style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #171e22; font-family: freight-text-pro, serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: justify;">Id</i><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #171e22; font-family: freight-text-pro, serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: justify;">. ¶ 66. The District then conducted a teacher and parent vote, and both groups voted not to convert. </span><i style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #171e22; font-family: freight-text-pro, serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: justify;">Id</i><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #171e22; font-family: freight-text-pro, serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: justify;">. ¶ 67.</span></h2>
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This law in actuality when applied is a Teacher Empowerment Law designed only to Empower Teachers to convert-to-charter status school, not parents. The voting guidelines require two separate ballot boxes and two elections simultaneously where both teachers and parent vote in separate ballots during a five-day election cycle. Thus affording Teachers veto power of the parental 'YES vote' that would defeat the outcome. </h2>
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Where in America are elections determined by winning two separate subsets of voting blocs by majority rule? Certainly not for public office? Imagine if Donald Trump after overcoming national media bias, had to win the Majority of women and also the Majority of men to be elected President of the United States? </h2>
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It is high time to call your Florida legislator and a call for the amendment of America's only direct ballot based Parent Trigger law Florida Parent Empowerment Law 1002.33 (3b). </h2>
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Log on for the [full text ] amendment language to this law and call for its rebranding as the <u><a href="http://www.governingschool.com/">www.governingschool.com</a></u></h2>
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MacontheRockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364320056572047521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3963585793938502099.post-46805368133083080842016-09-10T20:56:00.001-07:002016-10-15T20:19:39.503-07:00 Denial Freedom of Speech Lawsuit proceeds Neva King Principals v. School Board of Miami-Dade County<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-2749005354045051024" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.5; position: relative; width: 518px;">
<b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">Fernanadez Cristobol Ramirez v. School Board of Miami Dade County </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">US Federal Judge Gayles denies MD-School Distict's attornies motion to dismiss the trial for trampling over the Freedome of Expression Rights of Principals at Neva King Cooper Special Needs School in Homestead, Florida in 2012. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">The Federal case surrounds the allegation by School Principals Fernandez and Cristobol claiming to be unwarrented reprisals and intimidated for proposing a conversion to charter solution to recent budget cuts to their school. Top School Board official Ana Rasco and others reassigned and demoted bothe Principal , Vice Principal and special needs specialist named as plaintiffs. MDPS school officials by "invading the campus as surveillence team" to monitor NKC school staff for simply researching the possibility of converting the primary school to charter school. The vote never </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">occurred.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"> What did occur is abusive use of power as these two Principals and staffer with doctoral and graduate degrees were reassigned to menial tasks and demoted for thier attempts to improve the fiscals condition at Neva King Cooper. Now removed from Neva King Cooper and threatened with a gag order to not speak to anyone from school community the following was evidenced: </span></span></span></b><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="color: red;">excerpts from the various press reported : </span></b></span><br />
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<span style="color: red;"><b><span style="color: blue;">Principal Fernandez was reassigned</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> to</span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: #ffeedd;">: </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">the Miami-Dade County Public School's "Stores and Mail Distribution" where his responsibilities consisted of "sorting and packaging crayons; organizing car keys; packaging small mops; and sorting mail."</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">Assistant Principal Cristobol, who had been employed at the school for 15 years and holds a master's degree in educational leadership, was transferred the county "Department of Transportation, Vehicle Maintenance" where he spent his time "scanning a pile of documents."</span></h3>
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With no other assignments to perform, Mr. Cristobol spent the remainder of each workday (approximately seven hours) sitting in a small, sparsely furnished room.</div>
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Eventually, after "pleas for additional work" he was permitted to conduct inventories of auto parts.</div>
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A lower-level school employee who had under instruction of the principal conducted research on converting to a charter school was also involuntarily transferred to a new position.</div>
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Ms. Ramirez spent the entirety of her first week removing </span><span style="color: blue;">staples from seemingly endless piles of documents—items she was required to scan during the remainder of her assignment. Not surprisingly, Ms. Ramirez was troubled by the menial nature of these new duties, which were plainly incompatible with her professional qualifications (a master's degree in early childhood special education)</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> and years of experience. Indeed, Ms. Ramirez was so distraught that she would occasionally retreat from her work area to the restroom, where she would cry in solitude. </span></h4>
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After all three filed complaints with the Florida Department of Education, the Education Commissioner <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/07/03/4217304/judge-sides-with-miami-dade-principals.html" style="color: #ff8866; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #e4af09;">ruled</span></a>:</div>
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For the first time in Florida's history that there was probable cause a district had retaliated against its employees for pursuing a charter school conversion.[END]</div>
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<span style="color: red;">The Judge Darren Gayles noted in his order that Intimidation tactics by Miami-Dade School District Officials is a pattern as evidence to similar occurrence at the KB K8 Center. Parents proponents (PTA Pres. Manuel Cambó and VP. Hector Ceballos) the following year whose effort to hold YES vote forum was squashed by MDPS after a formal request was made in writing by their attorney. After forcing Mr. Cambó to resign, MDPTA held a Parent Forum instead excluding the proponents on Q&A panel in school's cafeteria. The vote was held. Parents 531-31 NO .Teachers in separte ballot 83-0-1 NO.-Nevertheless the legal precedent was set for all parents in Florida. See you in court. óò</span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><br /></span> <span style="color: red;"><a href="http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/lawsuit-miami-dade-school-board-violated-free-speech-by-shutting-down-charter-school-bid-8730080" target="_blank">Miami Dade School-board-violated-free-speech-by-shutting-down-charter-school-bid-8730080</a></span><br />
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MacontheRockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364320056572047521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3963585793938502099.post-79445717837764067882016-09-10T20:56:00.000-07:002016-09-10T21:28:06.378-07:00 Freedom of Speech Lawsuit Neva King Principals v. MDPS <div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-2749005354045051024" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.5; position: relative; width: 518px;">
<b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">Fernanadez Cristobol Ramirez v. Miami Dade Public Schools</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">US Federal Judge Gayles denies MD-School Distict's attornies motion to dismiss the trial for trampling over the Freedome of Expression Rights of Principals at Neva King Cooper Special Needs School in Homestead, Florida in 2012. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;">The Federal case surrounds the allegation by School Principals Fernandez and Cristobol claiming to be unwarrented reprisals and intimidated for proposing a conversion to charter solution to recent budget cuts to their school. Top School Board official Ana Rasco and others reassigned and demoted bothe Principal , Vice Principal and special needs specialist named as plaintiffs. MDPS school officials by "invading the campus as surveillence team" to monitor NKC school staff for simply researching the possibility of converting the primary school to charter school. The vote never </span><span style="font-family: "arial", "tahoma", "helvetica", "freesans", sans-serif;">occurred.</span><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"> What did occur is abusive use of power as these two Principals and staffer with doctoral and graduate degrees were reassigned to menial tasks and demoted for thier attempts to improve the fiscals condition at Neva King Cooper. Now removed from Neva King Cooper and threatened with a gag order to not speak to anyone from school community the following was evidenced: </span></span></span></b><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="color: red;">excerpts from the various press reported : </span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></b></span>
<h3>
<span style="color: red;"><b><span style="color: blue;">Principal Fernandez was reassigned</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> to</span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: #ffeedd;">: </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">the Miami-Dade County Public School's "Stores and Mail Distribution" where his responsibilities consisted of "sorting and packaging crayons; organizing car keys; packaging small mops; and sorting mail."</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">Assistant Principal Cristobol, who had been employed at the school for 15 years and holds a master's degree in educational leadership, was transferred the county "Department of Transportation, Vehicle Maintenance" where he spent his time "scanning a pile of documents."</span></h3>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
With no other assignments to perform, Mr. Cristobol spent the remainder of each workday (approximately seven hours) sitting in a small, sparsely furnished room.</div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
Eventually, after "pleas for additional work" he was permitted to conduct inventories of auto parts.</div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
A lower-level school employee who had under instruction of the principal conducted research on converting to a charter school was also involuntarily transferred to a new position.</div>
<h4 style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; position: relative;">
<b><span style="color: blue;">Ms. Ramirez spent the entirety of her first week removing </span><span style="color: blue;">staples from seemingly endless piles of documents—items she was required to scan during the remainder of her assignment. Not surprisingly, Ms. Ramirez was troubled by the menial nature of these new duties, which were plainly incompatible with her professional qualifications (a master's degree in early childhood special education)</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> and years of experience. Indeed, Ms. Ramirez was so distraught that she would occasionally retreat from her work area to the restroom, where she would cry in solitude. </span></h4>
<div>
<span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
After all three filed complaints with the Florida Department of Education, the Education Commissioner <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/07/03/4217304/judge-sides-with-miami-dade-principals.html" style="color: #ff8866; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #e4af09;">ruled</span></a>:</div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
For the first time in Florida's history that there was probable cause a district had retaliated against its employees for pursuing a charter school conversion.[END]</div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="color: red;">The Judge Darren Gayles noted in his order that Intimidation tactics by Miami-Dade School District Officials is a pattern as evidence to similar occurrence at the KB K8 Center. Parents proponents (PTA Pres. Manuel Cambó and VP. Hector Ceballos) the following year whose effort to hold YES vote forum was squashed by MDPS after a formal request was made in writing by their attorney. After forcing Mr. Cambó to resign, MDPTA held a Parent Forum instead excluding the proponents on Q&A panel in school's cafeteria. The vote was held. Parents 531-31 NO .Teachers in separte ballot 83-0-1 NO.-Nevertheless the legal precedent was set for all parents in Florida. See you in court. óò</span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: red;"><a href="http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/lawsuit-miami-dade-school-board-violated-free-speech-by-shutting-down-charter-school-bid-8730080" target="_blank">Miami Dade School-board-violated-free-speech-by-shutting-down-charter-school-bid-8730080</a></span><br />
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MacontheRockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364320056572047521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3963585793938502099.post-91056640439875642222016-07-28T09:34:00.001-07:002016-07-28T09:34:45.628-07:00Misinformed Parents at KB K8 Center about my effort in 2013<a href="https://www.redfin.com/school/96167/FL/Key-Biscayne/Key-Biscayne-K-8-Center" target="_blank">https://www.redfin.com/school/96167/FL/Key-Biscayne/Key-Biscayne-K-8-Center</a><br />
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One parent had this assessment of my effort after all the negative posts about the lack of ESOL programs in a highly foreign student body plus overcrowding (158% of capacity) and general dirtiness of the 55 year old facility on barrier island that floods in rain storms search YouTube: KBK8 flooding.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XV3x_qn984o/V5ozzGvAE2I/AAAAAAAAArA/0su-LxUYNtABmg4057hiItZd3EULcwuMACLcB/s1600/KBK8%2Bblog%2Bcomment.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XV3x_qn984o/V5ozzGvAE2I/AAAAAAAAArA/0su-LxUYNtABmg4057hiItZd3EULcwuMACLcB/s640/KBK8%2Bblog%2Bcomment.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Some of the most damaging post are post 2013.<br />
MacontheRockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364320056572047521noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3963585793938502099.post-35503557591009521022016-04-28T16:36:00.002-07:002016-04-28T16:36:27.436-07:00Rep. Erik Fresen's Disingenuous commitment to Public School Capital Construction <a href="http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/state-crack-down-wasteful-school-construction-spending#comment-14722">http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/state-crack-down-wasteful-school-construction-spending#comment-14722</a><br />
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MY COMMENTS:<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: open_sansregular, Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 30px;">Unfortunately the long view is never achieved when it comes to public school expansion. Mind you MDPS, just received $1.4 billion in school bond sales from the ballot initiative in 2014. The idea is to consider is to reduced the amount of County School District administrate via a www.governingschool.com This new school model is vital so parent can save budget surpluses through parent guardians of individual schools. This is especially urgent in the larger school district like Miami-Dade County where a half a million new Cuban exiles are about to arrive for the next Ten Years without available classrooms. Perfect example of misspending construction money is the $4 million renovation of the overcrowded dilapidated 53 year old KB K8 Center instead of razing it to replace with a larger school above sea level as per Post Katrina FEMA regulations for public buildings. The KB K8 school first erected in 1953. Built for 981 student were 1400 students presently attend. Not a single station was increased for those millions. Neither was any money spent on a new drainage system to mitigate flooding. DoGooogleit see KBK8 flooding on YouTube for yourself. These negotiations were stipulated in a ILA between the two governments in the Expansion of the MAST Academy for Key Biscayne. Rep. Erik Fresen who is well adverse in Charter Development , was well aware of this situation as the conversion -to charter (1002.33 (3b) initiative in Florida history was commence over it. This election initiative occurred a year before the renovation was to commence. I find his effort at accountability a bit disingenuous he does not support the amendment of the Florida Empowerment Law. - See more at: http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/state-crack-down-wasteful-school-construction-spending#comment-14722</span>MacontheRockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364320056572047521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3963585793938502099.post-24750100492394066262016-04-22T06:20:00.003-07:002016-04-22T06:20:53.998-07:00The Key To Fixing School Buildings is a Padlock in the Office not the Classroom.<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/all-opinions-are-local/wp/2016/04/21/how-richmonds-mayoral-race-could-change-american-education/">https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/all-opinions-are-local/wp/2016/04/21/how-richmonds-mayoral-race-could-change-american-education/</a><br />
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Some futurists fear we may be creating a caste system in the United States based on unequal access to quality education.</div>
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Education in Virginia, and everywhere in the United States, remains the domain of local governments. This is particularly true for raising the funds to modernize deteriorating K-12 facilities.</div>
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A school building is considered obsolete at age 40. The average K-12 facility in Virginia, and America, is 46 years old. Around half will soon be old enough to be considered for historic building status.</div>
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In 1960, Democrat John F. Kennedy and Republican Richard M. Nixon agreed that the United States’ global competitiveness demanded modernization of the nation’s education infrastructure. They promised action.</div>
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Back then, lawmakers believed making school construction bonds — the main source of building funds — tax-free would solve the financing problem. Tax-free status allowed the bonds to carry a lower but still competitive interest rate for investors while modestly reducing overall project costs.</div>
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By the 1990s, then-President Bill Clinton acknowledged the nation’s K-12 facilities were crumbling. The old approach hadn’t worked.</div>
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In a new class of school construction bonds, localities would still pay back the bonds’ principal, while Uncle Sam paid the interest. This would further lower overall costs, theoretically making once unaffordable projects doable.</div>
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But whatever the policy-paper potential, it hasn’t worked.</div>
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By 2008, candidate Barack Obama declared the K-12 facilities deterioration a national crisis. In 2009, President Obama proposed the federal government borrow hundreds of billions of dollars to give directly to localities for school construction.</div>
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The proposal failed to garner support even from a Democratic-controlled Congress, as did a smaller proposal once Republicans took control.</div>
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Now comes 2016 and Richmond.</div>
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The city’s leaders have long known Clinton and Obama were right: The River City’s school buildings are obsolete.</div>
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Rather than address this reality, or the documented health and safety problems these decrepit buildings pose to students and teachers, the city’s leadership focused instead on building a new minor league baseball stadium.</div>
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That is when they weren’t using city money to lure the Washington Redskins summer camp, bike races, and breweries.</div>
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The current stadium was built in 1985.</div>
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The average school was built in 1955.</div>
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Since 2009, Richmond leaders have known the state’s top lawmakers – a bipartisan array of governors and senators – have championed a proven approach called federal historic tax credit financing. It would lower local school modernization costs in many cases by 30 percent to 40 percent.</div>
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How good is their proposal? Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is using it to finance his new hotel on the site of the Old Post Office in the District.</div>
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But thanks to an arcane glitch in the federal tax code, cities like Richmond can’t use it to upgrade aging school stock.</div>
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When Sen. Tim Kaine was governor of Virginia, he and then-Sens. Jim Webb and Mark Warner implored Congress to fix the law, knowing it would save localities such as Richmond hundreds of millions of dollars in construction costs. Virginia Republicans, led by former governor George Allen, provided bipartisan backing.</div>
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But they lacked what is demanded in today’s 24/7 media: a local champion for what is seen as primarily a local issue.</div>
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It isn’t enough studies from Virginia Tech show how condemning kids to attend class in unhealthy and unsafe school buildings create lasting educational problems.</div>
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It isn’t enough to show how detrimental such environments are to teachers and their health.</div>
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It isn’t enough to show how a new financing plan could save cities millions in construction costs – money that could be used for instruction and teachers.</div>
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It isn’t enough to be right; you have to be relentlessly repetitive to be heard over all the shouting.</div>
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This can only happen if the new mayor actually gives a damn about the city’s public school kids.</div>
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MY BLOG COMMENT:I
believe it high time to stop using the ballot box to approve
construction bond financing to modernize schools at the county level.
Florida Parent Empowerment Law 1002.33 (3b) is the only ballot based
Parent trigger law in the US. It needs to be amended to eliminate
Teacher's veto power in separate ballot elections and revert to passing
it, re-branded as www.governingschool.com in your state. It is more
empowering idea to reduce the size and scope of facility inventory that
School Districts manage than continue being coalesced and coerced by
them and US Federal Department of Education. Unified neighborhoods
should feel compelled to call the vote of the student body parents to
vote YES to act guardian of school's budget in order to save budget
surpluses annually for redevelopment of facilities. The Governing Boards
will be elected in reinvented PTA Culture . The key to solving the
malaise in public school was thought to be in the classroom. It is not.
It is a combination padlock in the Principal office. Call the
intra-school vote save surpluses annually , seek matching grant
sponsorship from the largest employer, foreign embassies and Chamber of
Commerce in a locality in exchange for tracking students academically
throughout the K-12 career. Create priority list for entry level jobs
upon high graduation or empower them further with scholarships to
advance them academically at College or trade School. DOE is eliminated
and Federal Dollars go directly SDOE to Governing Schools that achieved
have surpluses with matching grants. I was the first in Florida history
to use Florida's law to set the legal precedent and discover their was
$1,083,000.00 surplus annually based on increase in property values in
our municipality that was being diverted county wide for 20 years. Even
after a $5 Million dollar renovation the school was not raised nor
expanded to mitigate severe overcrowding. The K8 Center still sits below sea level on
barrier island. Grow Up America take back your school.</div>
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-MacontheRock</div>
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MacontheRockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364320056572047521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3963585793938502099.post-48863274616291865262016-04-06T17:26:00.001-07:002016-04-06T17:26:29.224-07:00Lee County Florida School Board votes to rid themselves of Common Core Testing. <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/08/28/lee-county-fla-opts-out-common-core-testing/14742351/">Lee-county-Florida opts-out-common-core-testing</a><br />
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Something in America is turning the corner on socialized schooling. Americans are finally getting it. I guess unemployment and living paycheck to paycheck lifestyle is really is living someone's else's life. The public school system needs a reinvention not reform. Stopping Bill Gates' Parent Revolution pushing Common Core standards at the local level is first base exposing it at the Federal Level is second base. Closes the Department of Education is third base and www. GoverningSchool.com is home plate..<br />
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ORT MYERS, Fla. — The <culink class="culinks" culang="en" href="http://curiyo.com/en/topic/Lee County School District" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 151, 247) !important; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; cursor: help; display: inline !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; z-index: 9000;" title="">School District of Lee County</culink>, Fla., voted Wednesday to <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2014/08/27/lee-county-makes-history-opts-out-of-standardized-testing/14714541/" style="color: #1990e5; text-decoration: none;" title="http://www.news-press.com/story/news/education/2014/08/27/lee-county-makes-history-opts-out-of-standardized-testing/14714541/">opt out of statewide, standardized testing</a>.</div>
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In a 3-2 vote Wednesday, the district became the first in Florida to say no to Common Core testing that 45 states and the District of Columbia voluntarily adopted in 2010.</div>
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Common Core — a set of math and English language arts standards — define what students should know and be able to do by the end of each grade.</div>
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THE NEWS-PRESS</div>
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Lee school board attorney: consider opt out effects</div>
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Wednesday night's action in Lee County was received with overwhelming cheers and applause in the packed auditorium of opt-out supporters clad in red. But it answered few questions on what is next for students and the district in regards to state and federal funding.</div>
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"Sometimes it takes an act of civil disobedience to move forward," said Don Armstrong, a school board member who voted in favor of opting out. "We cannot allow the fear to hold us back."</div>
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Over the last year, there has been growing criticism of Common Core from tea party activists and conservative groups, assailing it for taking away states' rights to set education standards.</div>
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“This will hurt children. There is no way around it. ”</div>
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In March, Indiana became the first state to repeal Common Core.</div>
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"Oklahoma and Indiana are the only two states that have originally adopted standards and have chosen to move away from the standards," said Melissa McGrath, spokeswoman for <culink class="culinks" culang="en" href="http://curiyo.com/en/topic/Council of Chief State School Officers" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 151, 247) !important; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; cursor: help; display: inline !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; z-index: 9000;" title="">Council of Chief State School Officers</culink> in Washington, D.C.</div>
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She said Oklahoma reverted to its 2010 standards and is going through a review process to write new standards.</div>
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Lee County School Superintendent Nancy Graham listens to public comments Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2014, during a school board meeting in Fort Myers, Fla. Lee County is the first in Florida to opt out of Common Core testing. <span class="credit" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: 400;">(Photo: Kinfay Moroti, The (Fort Myers, Fla.) News-Press)</span></div>
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North Carolina, Missouri and South Carolina passed legislation to review standards, McGrath said. "They still are teaching Common Core standards while undergoing the review process."</div>
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In New York, the Common Core standards were characterized by critics as being educationally inappropriate. Anger over the number of tests and their content resulted in between 55,000 and 65,000 students refusing to take the grades 3-8 tests this past spring.</div>
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According to the <a href="http://www.leeschools.net/" style="color: #1990e5; text-decoration: none;" title="http://www.leeschools.net/">district's website</a>, <culink class="culinks" culang="en" href="http://curiyo.com/en/topic/Lee County Public Schools" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 151, 247) !important; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; cursor: help; display: inline !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; z-index: 9000;" title="">Lee County Public Schools</culink> is the ninth-largest district in Florida and the nation's 33rd-largest district with 85,000 students.</div>
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While the news was met with jubilation, Superintendent Nancy Graham said she was deeply concerned about the board's decision.</div>
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USA TODAY</div>
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State lawmakers push Common Core agenda with 340 bills</div>
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"This will hurt children. There is no way around it," Graham said while the audience booed. "I am gravely concerned about the decision that was made tonight, and I'll try to make sense of this. It's an interesting time to serve as the leader of this district."</div>
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The meeting adjourned without discussion regarding what test — if any — will now be used in place of the state tests. The board members did not address whether the decision will include charter schools.</div>
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“Sometimes it takes an act of civil disobedience to move forward. ”</div>
<span class="pull-quote-attribution" style="color: #999999; float: left; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: 700; line-height: 14px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px 5px; text-align: center; width: 150px;">Don Armstrong, Lee County school board member</span></aside></div>
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Keith Martin, the board's attorney, was not sure that there were any "immediate, clear" consequences to the action. He said it was possible Florida <culink class="culinks" culang="en" href="http://curiyo.com/en/topic/Rick Scott" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 151, 247) !important; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; cursor: help; display: inline !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; z-index: 9000;" title="">Gov. Rick Scott</culink> could remove the school board members from power.</div>
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On Thursday, the <culink class="culinks" culang="en" href="http://curiyo.com/en/topic/Florida Department of Education" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 151, 247) !important; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; cursor: help; display: inline !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; z-index: 9000;" title="">Florida Department of Education</culink>released the consequences of schools not participating in testing.</div>
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"Non-participation in testing will negatively impact the student's grade point average," which also impacts high school graduation and receipt of diploma, university admissions eligibility as well as moving to the next grade level that requires a minimum GPA.</div>
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Last year Scott announced he was splitting from the federal government on Common Core. While wanting to establish high standards for Florida students, he <a href="http://www.flgov.com/2013/09/23/governor-rick-scott-announces-path-forward-for-high-education-standards-decision-to-withdraw-from-parcc/" style="color: #1990e5; text-decoration: none;" title="http://www.flgov.com/2013/09/23/governor-rick-scott-announces-path-forward-for-high-education-standards-decision-to-withdraw-from-parcc/">rejected the federal government's</a> "overreach into our state education system."</div>
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On Thursday, Scott said, "One thing (Lee County will) have to think about is, did they impact their ability to get federal funding and what impact, if they do lose that, what impact will that have on their students."</div>
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The audience booed the dissenting board members who begged Armstrong, Tom Scott and Mary Fischer to table the decision until concrete plans could be made.</div>
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Based on Florida Statute, students will not be able to receive a standard high-school diploma without taking the ACT or SAT.</div>
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Common Core bill sparks creationism debate in Ohio</div>
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More than 33 people testified during the tense three-hour meeting.</div>
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Emotions came to a head when Lori Jenkins said her son was on leave from school because of a terminal heart condition, yet the district still sent someone to proctor the Florida's Comprehensive Assessment Test at his home. The audience gasped with disgust.</div>
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"He's terminal, he's going to die, but he goes to school! He does the stupid remedial classes! That's how I know this is all about money," Jenkins yelled into the microphone before she hit her one-minute time limit and the audio was cut.</div>
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Going forward, school board member-elect Pam LaRiviere said the district must now see how the state Department of Education reacts. She predicted Wednesday's decision would serve as an impetus for many other districts around the state.</div>
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"There's something about Lee County," she said. "It has not lost its frontier attitude. I give us a lot of credit, but I'm scared."</div>
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<i>Contributing: Nicole L. Gill, USA TODAY; Barb Berggoetz, The <culink class="culinks" culang="en" href="http://curiyo.com/en/topic/The Indianapolis Star" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 151, 247) !important; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; cursor: help; display: inline !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; z-index: 9000;" title="">Indianapolis Star</culink>; Randi Weiner, The (<culink class="culinks" culang="en" href="http://curiyo.com/en/topic/Westchester County, New York" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 151, 247) !important; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; cursor: help; display: inline !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; z-index: 9000;" title="">Westchester County, N.Y.</culink>) Journal News; Adrienne Lu, Pew/Stateline.</i></div>
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MacontheRockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364320056572047521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3963585793938502099.post-46565055378075947412016-04-05T21:23:00.000-07:002016-04-06T06:24:26.969-07:00Plato (427 BC) : The Problem in School <h2>
</h2>
<h2>
"Strange Times are these in which we live when old and young are taught falsehoods in school and the person that dares to tell the truth is called at once a lunatic and fool." </h2>
<h2>
PLATO (427 BC)</h2>
<h2>
</h2>
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<br /></h2>
<h2>
Dear Parents, </h2>
<h2>
Since our effort to call the vote at the Key Biscayne K8 Center in February 2013, I have advocated the state legislature in Tallahassee in last (4) four of the Legislative sessions for amendment to Florida Parent Empowerment Law [ State statute 1002.33 (3b) ] to no avail. This request amend a three letter word <i><strike>'and'</strike></i> to a two letter word <i><u>'or'</u></i> in the present law text is fittingly, so elementary. This change will eliminate Teachers overbearing veto power in a collective labor union vote over the parent vote in separate inter-school ballots to win a YES vote to be guardians of the school's budget. </h2>
<h2>
Thus far, the Florida Republican Leadership with control of both houses of Congress and three consecutive Republican Governors, have failed to keep their promises to school choice parents who seek to manage the finances of their individual public school. A Yes vote movement would spread across the state and then state to state nationally. The Governing School (GS) would be the norm eventually. This school choice model eliminates the need for school bonds to renovate or expand facilities. It also allow (GS) to receive funding directly from the state Department of Education while seeking to save budget surplus annually. The most egregious neglect to support the Governing School Amendment are the following: </h2>
<h2>
Rep. (R) Carlos Trujillo 105th District</h2>
<h2>
Rep. (R) Mike Bileca 115th District</h2>
<h2>
Senator (R) Anitere Flores District 37</h2>
<h2>
Senator (R) Kelli Stargel District 15 </h2>
<h2>
All four have acquiesced with Superintendents to maintain the
status quo of bankrupt dilapidated school facilities, while Charter Developers only role is to mitigate overcrowding not effectuate better education. </h2>
<h2>
Without transparent voting guidelines that would empower parents proponents to fire Trigger letters without fear of reprisals from the School District witnessed at Neva King Cooper in Homestead, Florida . The law is more representative of closed society's one party rule than a democracy. DoGoogleit:</h2>
<h2>
<a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article1974054.html">Judge sides with Neva King Cooper Principals over retaliation </a></h2>
<h2>
<i style="font-family: serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: justify;">An administrative law judge ruled that the Miami-</i><i style="font-family: serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: justify;">Dade County School Board should pay </i><i style="font-family: serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: justify;">$233,000 in attorneys' fees in a case filed by employees who said they faced retaliation for </i><i style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: serif;"><span style="font-size: 20px;">trying to open a charter school. The </span></span></i><i style="font-family: serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: justify;">legal</i><i style="font-family: serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: justify;">-fees recommendation, which now goes to the state </i><i style="font-family: serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: justify;">Department of Education, stems from an underlying case in which three school employees </i><i style="font-family: serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: justify;">alleged they suffered retaliation after seeking to convert Neva King Cooper Educational Center </i><i style="font-family: serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: justify;">to a charter schoo</i><i style="font-family: serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: justify;">l. The j</i><i style="font-family: serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: justify;">udge’s recommended order said the Miami</i><i style="font-family: serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: justify;">-Dade County school system </i><i style="font-family: serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: justify;">"quickly squelched the conversion efforts and, beginning in late April of 2012, reassigned all </i><i style="font-family: serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: justify;">three petitioners to undesirable work locations." Last year the j</i><i style="font-family: serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: justify;">udge ruled that the Mi</i><i style="font-family: serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: justify;">ami</i><i style="font-family: serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: justify;">-Dade </i><i style="font-family: serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: justify;">school system had violated part of state law, a finding that was upheld by the Department of </i><i style="font-family: serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: justify;">Education. That led to further legal arguments about the amount of attorneys' fees. In addition to </i><i style="font-family: serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: justify;">$233,000 in fees, the j</i><i style="font-family: serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: justify;">udge recommended the district pa</i><i style="font-family: serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: justify;">y about $17,900 in costs.</i></h2>
<h2>
<br /></h2>
<h2>
These four legislators mentioned above, have intimate knowledge of my efforts after the Neva King Cooper principals reprisals were public knowledge. They were aware of what I was subjecting my daughter to in order to accomplish what Principals Cristobal and Fernandez could not; the legal precedent to convert-to-charter. They as well as Governor Rick Scott, also were also aware my child's hand written testimony of abuse in class by her 5th grade math teacher. My daughter was singled her out for her father's effort as KBCS PTA President to call the vote to convert the school-to-charter. After all, it was first of its kind and scope in Florida history. </h2>
<h2>
When We The People of Florida succeed at amending Florida Parent Empowerment Law so that it is no longer a Teachers Empowerment law, the key to fixing the public school system is within reach. This can occur one school at a time. The remedy is not in the classroom, it is via the funding lock box in the District's office. Call your state representative and state senator tell them to sponsor the new school model www.governingschool.com </h2>
<h2>
Expect Success. ó</h2>
MacontheRockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364320056572047521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3963585793938502099.post-86752134113498698372016-01-28T08:26:00.004-08:002016-01-28T08:26:53.817-08:00Charter Slow boat to China never arrives as the money fight continues of Traditional v Private School . <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article54167355.html">Charter Slow boat to China never arrives as the money fight </a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'McClatchy Slab', Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5em; text-transform: uppercase;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'McClatchy Slab', Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5em; text-transform: uppercase;">My Take : </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">After reading the slow advance of Charters Schools, only enrolling 271000 student since 1996, it is obvious our State lawmakers do not want to accelerate its expansion. At this snail pace Districts won't resist, as Charter development only relieves overcrowding statewide. It is not intended revolutionize public school as promised and sold to Floridians. Both political are sides running game on the Florida taxpayer for funding for traditional v. charter. Meanwhile our children are not prepared to enter a University or finish College.</span><br />
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What are you going to do about? I have a better idea <a href="http://www.governingschool.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Www.governingschool.com</a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'McClatchy Slab', Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5em; text-transform: uppercase;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'McClatchy Slab', Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5em; text-transform: uppercase;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'McClatchy Slab', Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5em; text-transform: uppercase;">KRISTEN M. CLARK</span><br />
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<span class="ng_byline_credit" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block;">Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau</span></div>
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Charter schools continue to blossom in popularity and in number throughout Florida, but the controversy surrounding them isn’t dissipating in 2016 — especially as “school choice” continues to dominate education policy coming out of the state Capitol.</div>
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As Republican lawmakers consider plans to make it easier for charter schools to form and also to hold them more accountable so schools are less likely to fail, legislators and education advocates, both for and against charter schools, say a main sticking point in the “school choice” debate this year is how much in taxpayer aid charter schools should get for construction and capital costs.</div>
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This year, charter schools and traditional public schools each received about $50 million. But for a few years prior, capital funding for charter schools far exceeded what traditional schools got, which left many traditional schools with minimal resources — if they got any help at all from the state — to renovate withering facilities or pay off debt.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="380" scrolling="no" src="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article53750840.html/video-embed" style="box-sizing: border-box; height: 392px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 700px;" width="640"></iframe><span style="font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 1.5em;">Proponents of charter schools — public schools run by private companies — said it’s only fair that they get at least as much as traditional schools. But school boards and teachers argue the Republican-led Legislature ought to make up for starving traditional schools of needed capital dollars during a time they sought to make charter schools a priority instead.</span></div>
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“The Florida Legislature is always looking for a way to divert public dollars to private entities, and the Florida Constitution is pretty clear: It says public schools are their paramount duty,” said Joanne McCall, president of the Florida Education Association, the state’s largest teachers’ union.</div>
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“If they stopped diverting those dollars, just think what we could do for 2.7 million children,” she said.</div>
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WE NEED MORE SCHOOLS, NOT LESS, AND IN ORDER TO HAVE SCHOOLS, WE NEED CAPITAL OUTLAY.</div>
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<span class="ng_highline_attrib" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; display: block; font-family: 'McClatchy Sans', Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 5px; text-transform: none;">Ralph Arza, charter schools lobbyist</span></div>
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But Ralph Arza, a former Miami Republican legislator and current lobbyist for Florida charter schools, said lawmakers shouldn’t “discriminate” against kids because their parents choose an alternative to traditional public schools and it would be unfair to give traditional schools more money, even though they still vastly outnumber charter schools.</div>
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There are 4,270 public schools in Florida, including more than 650 charter schools statewide with more than 250,000 students.</div>
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“There should be equal funding,” said Arza, who represents the Florida Charter School Alliance. “We need more schools, not less, and in order to have schools, we need capital outlay.”</div>
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In his budget proposal for 2016-17, Republican Gov. Rick Scott recommends equal funding — and more dollars than this year — for both charter and traditional public schools: $75.2 million for each. It’ll be up to lawmakers, though, to decide how much to put in their budget.</div>
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Charter schools can’t rely on local property taxes to pay for capital expenses, as traditional public schools can. They don’t automatically get capital funding; a charter school has to have a good track record and exist for at least three years before it’s eligible.</div>
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Arza said parents choose to send their children to charter schools because traditional schools either don’t pass muster or don’t offer the types of opportunities that parents want, and he said lawmakers shouldn’t stifle that demand.</div>
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“If you don’t fund the facilities you are in essence, capping parental choice at school,” he said.</div>
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THERE SEEMS TO BE AN OVER-CONCENTRATION ON CHOICE RATHER THAN A FOCUS ON MAKING REGULAR NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS BETTER.</div>
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<span class="ng_highline_attrib" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; display: block; font-family: 'McClatchy Sans', Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 5px; text-transform: none;">State Rep. Reggie Fullwood, D-Jacksonville</span></div>
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But teachers and Democratic lawmakers argue that charter schools often replicate traditional public schools — rather than providing true alternatives — and by restricting funding for traditional public schools, it perpetuates their decline.</div>
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“There seems to be an over-concentration on choice rather than a focus on making regular neighborhood schools better,” said Jacksonville Rep. Reggie Fullwood, the ranking Democrat on the House Education Committee.</div>
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Some education advocates also expressed concerns about further funding charter schools with capital dollars because of <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article49565370.html" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0d76ba; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">a recent Associated Press analysis</a>. It found, of more than $760 million from state taxpayers since 2000, schools in 30 districts shuttered their doors after receiving as much as $70 million. School districts often couldn’t recoup that money because it had been spent on rent or other intangible costs, rather than property or equipment that would otherwise revert back to the district.</div>
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“As a taxpayer, I say, ‘Wait, just a minute,’ ” said Andrea Messina, executive director for the Florida School Boards Association. “There are a number of pieces in there that push up against what we say is important when we’re using taxpayer dollars.”</div>
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It’s those concerns that Republican lawmakers want to address through legislation this session that would add more accountability for private entities seeking to start charter schools, while also offering an avenue that could make it easier for them to set up shop.</div>
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“I’m always in favor of making sure when public money is used, that we have a careful eye on how that money is being used to make sure that it doesn’t disappear,” said Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, chairman of the Senate education budget committee.</div>
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Republican lawmakers in the House, specifically, <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article47645680.html" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0d76ba; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">want to establish</a> a Florida Institute for Charter School Innovation to help charter school operators submit solid applications to better navigate the approval process.</div>
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<a href="http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=55816" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0d76ba; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">The bill</a> also proposes sanctions — the waiving of administrative fees charter schools ordinarily pay school districts — to crack down on districts, like Palm Beach and St. Lucie counties, that try to limit the proliferation of charter schools.</div>
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<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"></strong></div>
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“There are school districts trying to fight parental choice and want to protect the school district bureaucracy. When you see these laws that come out, it’s a reaction to that,” Arza said.</div>
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Representatives for traditional public schools said education is not a competitive business in which traditional schools have a “monopoly,” as Arza calls it. Rather, they argue, the state has an obligation to protect and enhance the quality of public education, regardless of the provider, and they say some charter schools haven’t cut it.</div>
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“A typical public school and school districts welcome accountability and they’re not opposed to choice,” Messina said. “They just want them to have the same accountability for academic and fiscal things.”</div>
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Kristen M. Clark: <a href="tel:850-222-3095" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0d76ba; text-decoration: none;" title="">850-222-3095</a>, <a href="mailto:kclark@miamiherald.com" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0d76ba; text-decoration: none;" title="">kclark@miamiherald.com</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/ByKristenMClark" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0d76ba; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">@ByKristenMClark</a></div>
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<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article54167355.html#storylink=cpy</div>
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MacontheRockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364320056572047521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3963585793938502099.post-82988157597093026532015-09-27T05:57:00.000-07:002015-09-27T06:00:22.344-07:00Convention of States Fla. Held its first Simulation July 2015<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua6lxceT9Zo">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua6lxceT9Zo</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua6lxceT9Zo" target="_blank">Yours Truly MacontheRock, Participated as a Delegate of Georgia</a><br />
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