Healthcare Issue Goes To Magistrate

Battle Over Teachers Healthcare Goes To Magistrate


CBS 4 - Miami,FL,USA

MIAMI (CBS4) -- A Special Magistrate hears from the United Teachers of Dade and Miami-Dade County Public Schools during a Health Insurance impasse hearing on ...

<http://cbs4.com/local/miami.dade.teachers.2.677014.html>

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ESOL bill clears first hurdle

Source: Tampa Bay Tribune

3/13/2008

ESOL bill clears first hurdle


A bill to reduce the amount of ESOL training for reading specialists from 300 hours to 60 hours won near unanimous support in the Florida Senate today. Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed the concept last year; he has not indicated his position this session.

http://blogs.tampabay.com/schools/2008/03/esol-bill-clear.html

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School Board Agenda

Please click the title bar above to access this month's school board agenda.

School Board To Discuss Budget

In an effort to work within a scaled back budget, the Miami Dade School Board will hold a workshop on Monday to decide where cuts should be made for the 2008-2009 fiscal year.

http://cbs4.com/local/school.budget.cuts.2.673535.htmlu

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Receiving FCAT or SAT-10 Materials

Selected Staff,

During our six testing days, the conference room will be open at 7:30 a.m. each day, so you may have the opportunity to receive your materials in ample time to prepare for the school day.


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Palmetto High alum leads Endeavor space crew

With all of the bad press the district has received lately, I thought I would attach a positive story about an M-DCPS Alum, who will lead the next shuttle flight.

Click link below.

Source: Miami Herald

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/story/449807.html

Budget Cuts Get Rid Of Part-Time Teachers' Aides

Source: CBS4; Miami, FL.


This week Miami-Dade County Public Schools took another financial hit from

the state to the tune of $29.2 million. It's the latest round of cuts


http://cbs4.com/local/Miami.Dade.Public.2.672396.html

Bill cutting ESOL teacher training advances

Posted on Fri, Mar. 07, 2008

Source: Miami Herald

Some state lawmakers are trying for a second time to slash training requirements for reading teachers who work with students learning English, although scarcely a third of those students read at grade level and only half graduate from high school.

North Florida legislators sponsoring the bill say the required training -- equivalent to 15 college credits or 300 hours -- is cumbersome and unnecessary. In some North Florida counties, only a tiny fraction of the students in public schools are learning English, but in Miami-Dade and Broward combined, about 80,000 students are getting help to learn English.

OpenEducation.net

Thomas J. Hanson of OpenEducation.net would like to share some information regarding their view on Governor Crist as it relates to funding education. Click the link below for more information.

http://www.openeducation.net/2008/03/02/crist-stumbles-florida-to-consider-the-65-percent-solution-again/

District may sell WLRN

Source: Miami Herald

Miami-Dade Superintendent Rudy Crew is willing to consider selling one of South Floridas top public radio and television stations -- WLRN -- to raise money for the school district, which has pared tens of millions from its current budget and is facing a $200 million shortfall next year.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami_dade/story/445768.html

Power Outage

Allow me to bring to your attention that a car apparently hit a pole approximately one block from the school at 6:05 p.m. last night.

As a consequence, Parkway Elementary lost access to power and was running on its emergency generators. With the assistance of our region and FPL, our power was apparently restored during the night.

School food chief calls for funding

Source: Miami Herald

Miami-Dade schools officials worked the halls of Congress Tuesday in search of money: reimbursement for costs related to last month's massive beef recall, and funds to meet the cost of providing adequate meals for poor children.

Penny Parham, who heads up the food program for Miami-Dade's schools, told a House committee looking at ways to improve the safety and nutrition of school meals that the cost of meat, vegetables and other staples has risen more than 20 percent and the district's milk bill alone has increased by $4.5 million.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami_dade/story/444449.html

Class Size Extension?

Source: Miami Herald

8:25p

Schools would get two more years to fully comply with class-size limits and then could exceed them by up to five students per class in extreme circumstances under a proposal presented Tuesday in the Legislature.

http://www.miamiherald.com/775/story/444050.html

Do The Right Thing

"Do the Right Thing" nomination forms for March are due to Ms. Schwartz by Thursday, March 13. Please recognize our outstanding students by submitting these nomination forms to Ms. Schwartz and remember to write at least four sentences about the student(s) you are nominating. Thank you for your cooperation.



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FCAT and SAT-10 Training

Test Administrators and Proctors,

Please note that the training meetings are offered on multiple days and times this week in room 20.

Please note the day and time for each group and attend one session.





Monday

10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. (SAT Test Administrators and any FCAT Proctors or SAT Proctors)



2:15 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. (FCAT Test Administrators and any FCAT Proctors or SAT Proctors)



Tuesday

8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. (FCAT Test Administrators and any FCAT Proctors or SAT Proctors)



9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. (FCAT Test Administrators and any FCAT Proctors or SAT Proctors)



Wednesday

2:45 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. (FCAT Proctors or SAT Proctors)



Thursday

2:15 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. (SAT Test Administrators and any FCAT Proctors or SAT Proctors)



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HS Basketball

Congratulations to Miami Norland on defeated Boyd Anderson 59-54 to win its second Class 6A state championship in the past three seasons Saturday night at The Lakeland Civic Center.

Parkway Elementary students feed in to Norland Senior High.

Excessive absences put Port St. Lucie mom in jail

Source: Sun Sentinel

PORT ST. LUCIE, FL. - Police arrested a 48-year-old mother after investigators determined three of her children each racked up dozens of unexcused absences from school, according to reports released Tuesday.

A St. Lucie County School Board official contacted police Feb. 6 and said he was investigating the "ongoing truancy" of three children, a 12-year-old boy, a 14-year-old girl and a 16-year-old girl.

The mother was held Tuesday in the St. Lucie County Jail in lieu of $60,000 bail, a jail official said.

Schools to take another hit from state

Source: Miami Herald

State lawmakers are poised to slash more than $350 million from schools -- forcing layoffs in some districts before the end of the school year in June -- in an effort to balance the current year's budget, shrunken by withering sales-tax collections. Schools, community colleges and universities will take the brunt of the $542 million in proposed cuts lawmakers want to make for the budget year that ends June 30.

Broward and Miami-Dade officials say they will manage without layoffs. But at other school districts, staff cuts will be inevitable, said Mark Pudlow, spokesman for the Florida Education Association, the teachers' union.

Read More... <http://www.miamiherald.com/top_stories/story/434891.html>


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New School Projects

Plesae click the link below to view the Miami Herald article which discusses the new school construction projects in NE Miami-Dade County.


http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami_dade/northeast/v-print/story/433250.html

Michael Yormak

Michael Yormak, President of the Florida Panthers of the NHL will be here on Friday, February 29 at 9:00 a.m. to give inspirational talk to our students in the cafeteria. Thank you Mr. Yormak and Ms. Fogelson.

Book Fair

The Book Fair is scheduled for February 27 - March 7. A class preview schedule is forthcoming so the students can make a wish list of items to purchase from the fair. Information about this event will be sent home in advance.

PTA Fundraiser

The due date for the PTA fundraiser has been extended until Thursday, February 28. Please turn in your items to Mrs. Kerr or Ms. Duncan, PTA Vice President.

Assessment Reporting Dates

Below is an approximate timeline of when we may receive the results for the various assessments that will take place during the coming weeks.

» FCAT Writing+

Week of May 5


» FCAT 3rd Grade Reading and Mathematics

Week of May 19


» FCAT NRT Reading & Mathematics

Week of May 26


» FCAT 4th Grade Reading and Mathematics

» FCAT 5th Grade Reading, Mathematics and Science

» Alternate Assessment for SPED

Week of June 2


» CELLA

Week of June 23


» School Grades & AYP

Week of July 14

173 area pre-K programs show poor scores

Source: Miami Herald

The state rated 173 Broward and Miami-Dade County preschools that offer free prekindergarten with scores lower than last year's passing score, the state Department of Education said Monday.

Last year's passing score was 201 on a scale of 0 to 300. The numbers are based on how well students who attended pre-K last year performed on tests when they started kindergarten last fall.

Please click the title bar above to access any VPK Provider in the state.

Employee Assistance Program

The district's Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is intended to help employees and their families who are suffering from persistent problems that tend to jeopardize an employee's health and continued employment. Please click the title bar above to get more information about this program.