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'I've seen firsthand how education puts the American dream within reach'
From Gov. Rick Scott's State of the State address this morning (January 10, 2012) before the Florida Legislature
 WHILE LOWERING TAXES AND ELIMINATING UNNECESSARY REGULATIONS ARE CRITICAL, THE BEDROCK OF ANY SOUND, SUSTAINABLE ECONOMY IS AN EDUCATED WORKFORCE WELL EQUIPPED TO MEET THE CHALLENGES OF AN ADVANCED GLOBAL MARKETPLACE.
IN MY OWN LIFE I'VE SEEN FIRSTHAND HOW EDUCATION PUTS THE AMERICAN DREAM WITHIN REACH. I GREW UP POOR. AS A KID I DELIVERED NEWSPAPERS FOR $5 A WEEK. WHEN I WASN'T DELIVERING PAPERS, I WAS SELLING TV GUIDES FOR 4 CENTS PROFIT A COPY AND FLIPPING HAMBURGERS FOR 85 CENTS AN HOUR.
TODAY I STAND BEFORE YOU PRIVILEGED TO BE THE GOVERNOR OF THE GREATEST STATE IN THE GREATEST NATION. THIS IS THE AMERICAN DREAM; IT'S A STORY RE-TOLD A THOUSAND TIMES WITH EACH SUCCESSIVE GENERATION; AND THE MEANS BY WHICH IT IS ACCOMPLISHED IS AN EFFECTIVE AND ACCOUNTABLE SYSTEM OF EDUCATION.
WE CAN HAVE GREAT WEATHER, BEAUTIFUL BEACHES, AND A WONDERFULLY STRATEGIC LOCATION, BUT IF FLORIDA DOESN'T PROVIDE THE INTELLECTUAL TALENT TO MAKE OUR BUSINESSES COMPETITIVE, WE WILL BECOME A FOOTNOTE WHEN THIS CENTURY'S HISTORY IS WRITTEN. BUT, IF WE CAN CONTINUE TO CREATE A CULTURE OF EXCELLENCE IN OUR SCHOOLS, FLORIDA WILL MERIT A FULL CHAPTER IN THAT HISTORY THAT DESCRIBES THE REAWAKENING OF A MIGHTY, PROSPEROUS NATION.
WE CAN DO THIS.
AND WE BEGIN TO DO THIS BY BUILDING ON THE SUCCESSES OF LAST SESSION WHEN WE INCREASED SCHOOL CHOICES FOR FLORIDA'S PARENTS. WE ALSO REFOCUSED AN OUTDATED TENURE SYSTEM INTO A SYSTEM THAT CAN REWARD ITS BEST PERFORMERS FOR EXCELLING IN EDUCATING OUR STUDENTS.
full remarks here.
Read the rest of this Tampa Bay Tribune article here. |
Big Study Links Good Teachers to Lasting Gain
By ANNIE LOWREY
 WASHINGTON - Elementary- and middle-school teachers who help raise their students' standardized-test scores seem to have a wide-ranging, lasting positive effect on those students' lives beyond academics, including lower teenage-pregnancy rates and greater college matriculation and adult earnings, according to a new study that tracked 2.5 million students over 20 years.
The paper, by Raj Chetty and John N. Friedman of Harvard and Jonah E. Rockoff of Columbia, all economists, examines a larger number of students over a longer period of time with more in-depth data than many earlier studies, allowing for a deeper look at how much the quality of individual teachers matters over the long term.
"That test scores help you get more education, and that more education has an earnings effect - that makes sense to a lot of people," said Robert H. Meyer, director of the Value-Added Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which studies teacher measurement but was not involved in this study. "This study skips the stages, and shows differences in teachers mean differences in earnings."
Read more of this New York Times article here. |
Florida's school system tumbles out of the top 10
By Ron Matus, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Thursday, January 12, 2012
Florida's education system fell in rank from No. 5 to No. 11 this year due to budget cuts and stalling national test scores, according to a closely watched annual report released today.
The report card from the Education Week newspaper, which was provided in advance to the Tampa Bay Times and other news outlets, is another recent sign that Florida's education star may be dimming.
On the academic achievement portion of the report, Florida dropped from No. 6 to No. 12.
On the finance portion, it stumbled from No. 31 to No. 39.
The latter rankings are based on 2009 figures, so they're likely to get worse in future reports. The Legislature cut another $1.3 billion from schools last year.
"It's not all about money, but at some point, it does take money to run a school system and a high quality one," said Colleen Wood, founder of 50th No More, a state group dedicated to increased education spending.
"Obviously it's bad for our children, it's bad for our state," Senate Democratic Leader Nan Rich said of the latest numbers. "You have to put your money where your mouth is."
Continue reading this Tampa Bay Tribune article here. |
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Education bills to watch in 2012 in the Florida Legislature
by Allison Ross
With the beginning of the Florida 2012 legislative session yesterday, I thought it might be a good time to do a roundup of the education bills to watch this season.
Any particular issues or legislation that you're watching this session? Post a comment below or send us an email at EducationNews@PBPost.com.
For now, here are a few that we find interesting and will definitely be watching:
Parent-trigger bill: would give parents of children at low-performing schools the power to choose several different options in hopes of turning the school around.
School bus ads: This week, the Senate Education Committee approved a bill that would allow school districts to sell advertisements on school buses.
Charter school funding: A new charter advocacy industry group, the Florida Charter School Alliance, is pushing for equal funding of charter schools and traditional public schools.
More on charter schools: would create a new category of charter schools, called "family charter academies."
School vouchers: This week, the Senate PreK-12 Education Committee passed SB 962, which would allow 6,500 more low-income students use state-backed vouchers to go to private schools.
Read more of this Palm Beach blog post here.
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