S. Fla. schools saved from closure

Source: WSVN (Miami, FL.)

S. Fla. schools saved from closure

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (WSVN) -- A pair of South Florida high schools facing closure have been granted a second chance to improve their failing scores.

A Miami-Dade School Board member announced that Miami Carol City High and Miami Norland Senior High will not close because of their "F" status.

Instead, new programs will be implemented to motivate students to improve their performance.

Both schools have two years to improve their score to a "C" before they are re-evaluated.

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Dr. Holloway Town Hall Meeting

Our school board member, Dr. Tee Holloway will hold a Town Hall Meeting tonight at 6:00 P.M. at the Miami Norland Senior High auditorium. The school is located at 1050 NW 195 Street. This will give you an opportunity to meet Dr. Holloway in person and participate in a discussion of the various educational issues in our community.

Collier County: 50 is the new 0.

NAPLES -- (AP) -- Fifty is the new zero for Collier County elementary school students.

The school district has replaced 0 with 50 as the lowest score a student can get on an assignment. Officials say zeros are punitive and rarely reflect a student's overall abilities.

Students will not be allowed to ignore assignments and just accept an automatic 50. They will be required to make up any work they skipped.

The union that represents most of the district's teachers says it undermines teachers' credibility in the classroom, and that students need to know there are consequences for not doing the work.

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Tutoring companies To Be Graded Based on FCAT

Source: Sun-Sentinel

Tutoring companies will be graded based on student success in FCAT

Starting March 1, the state Department of Education will issue grades to tutoring companies that provide extra help to low-income students so they perform better on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.

Much like schools' grades from the state are based on students' FCAT performance, the state will issue grades to the tutoring companies based on their clients' test scores. The better they score, and the more progress they show, the higher the grade.

Proponents say the grades will help parents choose which state-approved tutoring company could best help their child, and will help school districts evaluate providers. The state Legislature passed the new grade requirements during the 2008 session, and Gov. Charlie Crist signed it into law in June.

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2008-2009 School Calendar

Please click the title bar above to access the 2008-2009 School Calendar. In addition, you can access the calendar at any time through the "School Related Links" section located on the side bar.

Two Retainees Promoted

I am happy to announce that two of our third graders, who did not pass the FCAT in March, successfully completed the Grade 3 Alternative Assessment this summer and are now promoted to the fourth grade.

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Poll: Use taxes for schools, not a stadium, voters say

Source: Miami Herald

Miami-Dade voters strongly oppose spending tax dollars on a baseball stadium and other projects in a $3 billion public works plan, but would back spending on local schools, a new poll shows.

The survey of 800 Miami-Dade registered voters suggests the public is reluctant to spend local tax dollars for ''luxury items'' during an economic slowdown. It found that 57 percent of respondents viewed a new baseball stadium as a ''bad investment for Miami Dade taxpayers,'' while 37 percent viewed it as a ``good investment.''

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Florida may investigate fewer child abuse calls

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Florida is trying to figure out how to handle the growing number of calls to the child abuse hot line with fewer people available to investigate them.

The Department of Children & Families says one solution is to have workers better screen the calls to the hot line before assigning an investigator. The hot line averaged around 31,000 calls per month during the last fiscal year. About 80 percent of the calls resulted in an investigation.

New Regions

By clicking here, you can access the new websites for our four (North, North Central, South and South Central) regions.  The site was still a bit under construction at the time of this post but you can at least attain the contact information and list of schools.

Free Tickets To Universal Studios

Universal Orlando Resort®, in partnership with the Florida Education Foundation, is offering ALL Florida Public School Personnel (PreK-12) the opportunity to experience TWO exciting theme parks -- Universal Studios Florida® and Universal’s Islands of Adventure®... FREE!

For more information, click here

Teachers Use Internet To Pay For Supplies

MIAMI (CBS4) Teachers who have had to pay for certain classroom supplies out of their own pockets in the past are now using the internet to drum up support and dollars.

At DonorsChoose.org teachers write out detailed proposals about items they need and explain how they will be used. Anyone who wishes to help out can pay for a portion or for the entire project. The charity behind the website then buys the supplies and ships them to the school.

All donors get an e-card from the teacher, and those who give more than $100 or who give the last amount to fulfill a project get photos and handwritten thank-you cards from students and the teacher.



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Tax Holiday Shortened

A legislative compromise nearing final approval will set the 2008 back-to-school sales tax holiday for the week of August 2-8. Legislators cut the typical 10-day tax holiday to a week because of the budget shortfall affecting Florida.

See link

http://cbs4.com/local/tax.holiday.florida.2.704957.html

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Ms. Angela Tillman's Phone Number

Please check your e-mail, dated Tuesday, April 8 from Ms. Tillman where she provided her newest phone number which you are asked to use when necessary.

Grades

I know we are excited to finish this marking period. At this point you submitted your grade verification forms to Ms. Kerr no later than yesterday.

If that is not the case, please see Dr. K. today, so he may help you meet the timeline.

Demand for teachers on decline in Florida

Source: Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The demand for teachers in Florida is on a decline.
Education officials are looking for 17,000 new teachers this fall, compared to 32,000 in 2006.

Officials blame it on looming state budget cuts and lower enrollment tied to the economic slump.

Sean Snaith is the director of the Institute for Economic Competition at the University of Central Florida. He says he expects teacher hires to rebound when the housing market bounces back.

Overpaid Central FL. Teachers must return money

A central Florida school district accidentally overpaid 53 teachers and other staff. Now the Polk County district wants the money back.

http://www.miamiherald.com/775/story/462503.html

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Latest Tax Proposal

Property-tax proposal could give South Florida big savings

Source: Miami Herald

Miami-Dade school district spokesman John Schuster said forcing the Legislature to replace property taxes with sales taxes -- a less reliable source of revenue.

<http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/story/460439.html>


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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

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.

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