We recently participated in the regional meeting of the Consortium of Florida Education Foundations hosted at the Pinellas Education Foundation's Stavros Center and sponsored by TECO Energy and Progress Energy.  Sen. Don Gaetz, the keynote speaker, shared not only some interesting experiences, but also challenges facing the business community getting involved in public education.  Sen. Gaetz is the first non-educator to be elected superintendent of the Okaloosa County Schools and has incorporated business practices into the schools, with an emphasis on career education throughout the high schools. 

Sen. Gaetz's approach begins with the premise that the students are customers of the schools.  Changes he implemented which helped raise Okaloosa to consecutive "A" district ratings (with 32 of 34 schools receiving an "A") included:

ü     Adding relevancy to curricula at the schools by incorporating career training throughout the high schools; using relevant programs and curricula to reduce drop-out rates

ü     Engaged businesses so that programs are designed to address workforce needs

ü     Ended social promotion of students - and allocate resources (money & time) to assist each student to become successful

ü     Decentralized services and put more emphasis on local budget control and accountability

These changes did present some challenges, but they show a theme of community and business engagement, as well as increased local responsibility and accountability.  Sen. Gaetz did acknowledge there was resistance when he started, however he felt that the results of these changes helped to win over supporters.  Read more in the follow up newspaper article.

Schools must cater more to business, senator says
St. Petersburg Times - St. Petersburg, FL, USA