F.A.C.E. to FACE
F.A.C.E. BULLETIN
10/2/07
October 2, 2007
Dear Friends,
Thousands of New Scholarships Available for Low-Income K-12 Students
(More scholarships available! See bottom of Newsletter!)
I have contacted and spoken with many of you about this, but please look out for a specific communiqué from me regarding contacting your legislator for district office visits. We will make sure you have everything you need for the visit, but you will need to set up. We would like two legislative visits between now and January 2008, before the 2008 legislative session in March.
We need to do everything we can to convince our lawmakers to support school choice initiatives during the upcoming year. The main point will be to encourage them to endorse a $150 increase in the cap (30 million per year for the next 5 years) and an increase in the individual scholarship amount of the scholarship from $3,750 to $4, 500 for CTC students. These legislative visits to their district offices will probably end in January when they return to Tallahassee. Now is the best time to get this done. We only need two or three from each group of parents, administrators, clergy, businesspeople etc.
Your school community's efforts may serve as the impetus in convincing the legislature of the necessity of school choice programs. Please do everything possible to ensure that your legislator hears our voices!
Please let me know if you secure an appointment. Thank you for putting your FACE on the future of Florida's education!
New education commissionerThe state Board of Education has chosen a former superintendent from out of state. The vote was unanimous, and it came less than 10 minutes after ending a second round of interviews with three finalists.
Eric J. Smith, 57, will be the first permanent commissioner since John Winn resigned in February after a rocky, 30-month stint. He's a former schools superintendent in Charlotte, N.C. and Anne Arundel County, Md., and currently a senior vice president with the College Board. He began his career as a teacher and principal in Florida.
Smith said he looks forward to joining Florida's education debate, no matter how polarized it might get. "Wherever you have groups of individuals who are passionate about education, that's a preferred place to be rather than apathy," he told the Gradebook. "At least then we can have honest, substantive discussions."
What we now need from you is to personally contact your legislator for an appointment and to encourage them to support the scholarship programs. Calls need to start being made this week if having a scheduled appointment before the end of school is the goal.
Thank you for Stepping Up For Students,
Michael A. Benjamin
Executive Director, F.A.C.E.
Florida Alliance for Choices in Education
State selects school chiefA College Board vice president is chosen to lead the 2.7-million-student system.
By RON MATUS, Times Staff Writer
Published October 9, 2007
TAMPA - The state Board of Education picked a new education commissioner Monday, choosing a former superintendent from out of state to be the first to lead Florida schools in the post-Jeb Bush era.
The 7-0 decision won't be finalized until a contract is worked out, but Eric J. Smith, 57, said he anticipated being on the job in Tallahassee by year's end. Now a senior vice president at the College Board, he'll be the first permanent commissioner since February, when Bush ally John Winn resigned under pressure after a rocky, 30-month stint.
"It was evident that he's done his homework" about Florida, said board member Donna Callaway. "I think our problem is going to be hanging on to his coattails as he moves forward."
Gov. Charlie Crist applauded the decision, saying in a written statement that Smith "has proven his leadership ability again and again by repeatedly increasing student learning and achievement."
It's unclear how much Smith will make, but Winn made $255,000 a year.
Smith's task is monumental.
Florida's school system is massive, with 2.7-million students and 170,000 teachers. It's among the poorest and most racially diverse in the country. And its politics couldn't be more fractured.
Many teachers hate the test-heavy accountability system put into place by Bush, and both critics and supporters can find ammo in statistics: Florida's graduation rate, long one of the worst in the nation, continues to stagnate between 60 to 70 percent. But in early grades, Florida students are making nationally recognized strides in reading and math.
Smith -- bespectacled, soft spoken and a self-described "data nut" -- said Florida's bitter divide over school policy "doesn't necessarily have to be that way." In Monday's afterglow, he chose to look on the bright side.
"Whenever you have groups or individuals who are passionate about education, that's a preferred place to be than total apathy," he said.
The board's decision came just minutes after it interviewed Smith and two other finalists at the Tampa Airport Marriott. The other finalists were Cheri Yecke, Florida's K-12 chancellor and a former education commissioner in Virginia and Minnesota; and Joseph Marinelli, a regional state superintendent in New York. After the first round of interviews three weeks ago, Smith was the only one of seven candidates to earn votes from all seven board members.
Smith began his career as a teacher in Central Florida. He's had his ups and downs.
In 2000, he was superintendent of the 100,000-student Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C., district when the Council of Great City Schools named him educator of the year. Smith earned kudos for boosting overall test scores while narrowing the achievement gap between white and minority students.
Former North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt said Smith was one of the best superintendents the state ever had.
"He is apolitical personally. I don't even know his politics. What I know is, he produced," said Hunt, a four-term Democrat. "He continued to build a great school system with strong public support, where students were performing strongly. And somehow, he kept people together behind that."
Two years later, Smith brought high hopes with him to the top job in Anne Arundel County, Md, a district of 75,000 students. But he quit in 2005 after rifts with teachers and school board members. At the time, he had nine months left on a four-year contract.
The Anne Arundel teachers union did not return calls from the St. Petersburg Times. But Washington Post stories at the time said a union survey showed dissatisfaction with Smith's leadership. "Teachers perennially accused him of increasing the workload without adequately raising their pay," one story said.
Citing other news reports, board member Callaway asked Smith why some critics used terms like "arrogant" and "single minded" to describe him. When Smith said he didn't have a good answer, Callaway offered one for him.
"I would have equated that to your sense of urgency" in helping kids in need, she said.
In the letter he submitted to the search firm, Smith wrote that he's a "leader who is neither intimidated nor deterred by controversy surrounding change."
He also wrote that there must be "an unflinching resolve" to closing the achievement gap, and that doing so is "not just about choosing the right strategy but having the will to assure that the strategy succeeds."
At the College Board, a nonprofit group best known for overseeing the SAT and Advanced Placement tests, Smith has focused on better preparing high school students for success in college. His work in that arena may dovetail with what appears to be the next major area of focus for Florida policymakers.
"His involvement in College Board and his leadership bringing AP to disadvantaged students, to minority students, is a plus for me," said Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, who chairs the Senate Education Committee.
Other key players, though, offered a more reserved congratulations.
"By all accounts, Mr. Smith has shown in his previous positions that he is an independent thinker willing to unsettle the apple cart," Rep. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, the House minority leader and a leading critic of Bush's accountability system, said in a written statement. "I hope he is ready to do that in Florida."
Ron Matus can be reached at 727 893-8873 or matus@sptimes.com.
Eric J. Smith
Age: 57
Hometown: Lives in Manhattan; born in Madison, Wis.
Family: Married, two adult children
Experience: Senior vice president-college readiness, the College Board (2006-present); superintendent, Anne Arundel County, Md., public schools (2002-06); superintendent, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C.,schools (1996-2002); superintendent, Newport News, Va., public schools (1992-96). Also worked in the school systems of Danville, Va.; Volusia County; and Orange County, Fla.
Education: Doctorate in curriculum and instruction, University of Florida; master's degree in school administration, University of Central Florida; bachelor's degree in physical science and education, Colorado State University
Affiliations/honors: College Board, chairman, Board of Trustees (2002-04); North Carolina Superintendent of the Year (2002); Urban Educator of the Year, Council of Great City Schools (2000)
Do you know any Black Males (who are Seniors in high school) who want to go to college for FREE. The black colleges are looking for future Black Male Teachers and will send them to Universities/Colleges FOUR (4) YEARS FREE; THIS IS FOR MALES ONLY.1. Have parents fill out this application.
2. Read the Mission Statement. There are Ten (10) different South Carolina Colleges or Universities including:Benedict College
http://www.callmemister.clemson.edu/schools/bened! ict.htmClaflin University
http://www.callmemister.clemson.edu/schools/claflin.htmClemson University
http://www.callmemister.clemson.edu/schools/clemson.htmMorris College
http://www.callmemister.clemson.edu/schools/morris.htmSouth Carolina State University
http://www.callmemister.clemson.edu/schools/southcarolinastate.htmGreenville Technical College
http://www.callmemister.clemson.edu/schools/greenvilletech.htmMidlands Technical College
http://www.callmemister.clemson.edu/schools/midlands.htmOrangeburg-Calhoun Technical College
http://www.callmemister.clemson.edu/schools/orangeburgcalhountech.htmTri-County Technical College
http://www.callmemister.clemson.edu/schools/tricountytech.htmTrident Technical College
http://www.callmemister.clemson.edu/schools/tridenttech.htm
web link: http://www.callmemister.clemson.edu/index.htm
5,000 New Scholarships Available
for Low-Income K-12 Students
The Step Up For Students scholarship program, administered through Florida P.R.I.D.E. and Children First Florida--Florida Corporate Tax Credit (CTC) scholarship funding organizations, will award approximately 5,000 new scholarships for the 2007-2008 school year to Kindergarten through 12th grade students who qualify for the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program. Applicants must be currently enrolled in a public school, unless they are entering kindergarten or first grade. Those who qualify may receive up to a $3,750 scholarship for tuition at an eligible private school of their choice or a scholarship for up to $500 for travel expenses to an out-of-district public school. The scholarships provide a fresh start for students who are not succeeding in their current school setting.
This year, $70 million in scholarships will be awarded to qualifying Florida students until funding is exhausted so applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Income limits for scholarship recipients are determined by household size. For example, a family of four can earn no more than $38,203 to qualify. To apply, log on to www.floridapride.org or call (813) 258-2700 for Florida Pride and www.scholarshipfunding.org or call (904) 247-6033 or (407) 702-2607 for a Children First Florida application.
The Step Up For Students (Corporate Income Tax Credit) scholarship program provides K-12 scholarships that currently allow almost 17,000 low-income Florida students to attend an eligible private school or out-of-district public school. One hundred percent of corporate contributions go directly to funding scholarships – not a single penny can be used for administrative costs.
Children First Florida - Serving Orlando, Central Florida, Jacksonville and Panhandle
P.O. Box 54367
Jacksonville, Florida 32216
(904) 247-6033 or (407) 702-2607
cforster@scholarshipfunding.orgAlachua, Baker, Bay, Bradford, Brevard, Calhoun, Clay, Columbia, Duval, Escambia, Flagler, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Gulf, Hamilton, Holmes, Indian River, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Martin, Nassau, Okaloosa, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Putnam, Santa Rosa, St. Johns, Seminole, St. Lucie, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Volusia, Wakulla, Walton, and Washington
School Year 07 - 08 Income Eligibility Guidelines
Persons in Household
New & Add-Ons
(185%)Renewals (200%)
2
$25,327
$27,380
3
$31,765
$34,340
4
$38,203
$41,300
5
$44,641
$48,260
6
$51,079
$55,220
7
$57,517
$62,140
8
$63,955
$69,140
9
$70,393
$76,100
10
$76,831
$83,060
11
$83,269
$90,020
12
$89,707
$96,980
13
$96,145
$103,940
For each additional person, add
$6,438
$6,960
Effective from June 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008
Florida Alliance for Choices in Education (F.A.C.E)
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