F.A.C.E. to FACE   F.A.C.E. BULLETIN 2/23/07   Dear Friends, Thousands of New Scholarships Available for Low-Income K-12 Students (More scholarships available! See bottom of Newsletter!) Floridians strongly approve of new governor's first month, Associated Press "Reality Check 2006" A set of public opinion tracking surveys on important issues in public education. From 1998 through 2002, Public Agenda conducted an annual survey of parents, teachers, students, employers and college professors covering standards, testing and accountability. In 2005 and 2006, Public Agenda revised and updated these surveys to cover a broader range of issues, including high school reform, school leadership, teacher preparation and quality, school funding and other issues. The tracking survey will be repeated periodically as a service of Public Agenda's Education Insights initiative. Perspective: Education at crossroads of past failures, future needs, St. Augustine Record. PaperDiane (w2wcolumn@gmail.com) is a writer and freethinker with a B.A. and M.A. in comparative religion. Shaunti (scfeldhahn@yahoo.com) is a conservative Christian author and speaker, and married mother of two children. Both women have degrees from Harvard. Also, a quote from HCREO's Rebeca Huffman. Enrollment fall may snag plans for new schools, Palm Beach Post. Don’t forget, Schools must have there Compliance Forms in to the DOE by March 1, 2007! There are new requirements this year like fingerprinting, background checks and standardized tests. Thank you for Stepping Up For Students, Michael A. Benjamin Executive Director, F.A.C.E. Florida Alliance for Choices in Education Floridians strongly approve of new governor's first month By BRENT KALLESTAD Associated Press Writer TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - New Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who has led bipartisan efforts to lower property insurance rates and replace touch-screen voting machines, is getting overwhelming support from voters, a poll released Tuesday shows. More than two-thirds of Floridians, 69 percent, sampled in a random telephone survey by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute approve of the way their new governor has taken to his duties while only 6 percent disapproved. Even an overwhelming majority of Democrats applauded the Republican governor's performance with 65 percent giving a thumbs up and just 7 percent disapproving. "It's very gratifying, but what's most important is to continue to serve the people," said Crist, who was traveling in the tornado-ravaged central Florida area Tuesday. "The paper trail, insurance reform, it's the right thing to do," Democratic Party spokesman Mark Bubriski said Tuesday. "He (Crist) has taken a lot of Democratic ideas and pushed them to the forefront which is a lot more than we expected." More than half of the survey, taken between Jan. 29 and Feb. 4, was completed by the time the tornados tore through central Florida. Quinnipiac said the poll of 1,003 voters had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. Former Gov. Jeb Bush's top rating came in September 2004 after a series of destructive hurricanes when 62 percent approved of his performance compared to 30 percent who didn't. Quinnipiac wasn't polling in Florida in early 1999 when Bush took office. Two-thirds of the respondents in Quinnipiac's newest poll believe Crist has kept his campaign promises and three of five believe he'll get homeowners insurance rates and property taxes reduced. Crist worked with Republicans and Democrats in the Legislature last month to pass a bill aimed at lowering insurance rates. He also appeared with Democratic U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler to announce a proposal that would replace touch-screen voting machines, which have no paper trail, with optical scan machines, which count paper ballots. "He has made a very strong first impression," said Peter Brown, assistant polling director for Quinnipiac. "It's Charlie Crist's show." By comparison, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, who won re-election the same day Crist was elected, has a 54 percent approval rating compared to 18 percent who said they don't like how the Democrat is handling his job. Florida's junior senator, Republican Mel Martinez, was at 48 percent favorable to 22 percent unfavorable. According to the poll, 59 percent said owners of homes of equal value should pay the same amount of property tax no matter how long they've resided in the home. Seventy-seven percent support the governor's call to double the homestead exemption from $25,000 to $50,000. Florida voters, however, were not enthused about moving up the date of its early March presidential primary to increase the state's presence in picking the eventual nominees. While Democratic voters were slightly more amenable to the idea, just 46 percent overall said they liked the idea compared to 36 percent opposed to it with 19 percent unsure. "It's hard to get people excited about political maneuvering," Brown said. Could an Adult Learn in a Place like This? Black and Hispanic Students Significantly More Likely to Report Poor Climate for Learning in their Schools (Reality Check 2006, Issue No. 2) May 31, 2006 Michael Hamill Remaley or Claudia Feurey at 212-686-6610 Nearly One-Third of Black Students Report Serious Disruptions and Distractions New York City – If an adult were forced to work in an environment where disrespect, bad language, fighting, drug and alcohol abuse and other bad behaviors are inflicted by a relative few, but tolerated or winked at by management, it might be considered a "hostile workplace," a report released today by the nonpartisan research organization Public Agenda points out. Substantial numbers of the nation's black and Hispanic students report conditions like these in their schools, according to a Public Agenda national survey of parents, middle and high school students and teachers. Asked to rate their schools on key academic and social dimensions -– resources, promotion policies, dropout rates, truancy, fighting, drug and alcohol abuse and others -- black and Hispanic students are more likely than their white counterparts to report "very serious" problems in nearly every category. In "Reality Check 2006: How Black and Hispanic Families Rate Their Schools" (the second report issued this year in the Reality Check 2006 series), Public Agenda found that American students have much in common regardless of racial or ethnic background. Majorities of all students back higher standards, say their teachers do a good job in most respects, and express some level of concern about lack of respect, profanity, and drugs and alcohol abuse in their schools. But for minority kids, academic problems like high dropout rates and kids getting passed through the system without learning, and social issues like profanity, disrespect for teachers and drug and alcohol abuse are far more prevalent and "serious" in their schools. According to the report, about 3 in 10 black youngsters attend schools with considerable turmoil: 30% of black students report that teachers spend more time trying to keep order than teaching 30% say their school has very serious problems with drug and alcohol abuse 32% report very serious problems with fighting and weapons 33% say their school is not consistent in enforcing discipline and behavior rules 37% say their school has a very serious problem with kids cutting class 52% say their school has a very serious problem with kids who lack respect for teachers and use bad language Nearly half of Hispanic students (48%) report that their school has a very serious problem with kids dropping out. Jean Johnson, Executive Director of Public Agenda's new initiative Education Insights and an author of the report said, "This is not grumbling from a group of easily-shocked adults who haven't been inside a school in years and still haven’t come to grips with today’s teen fashions. These are the judgments of young people themselves who say problems like truancy and disrespect for teachers are very serous in their schools -- not just 'somewhat serious,' but 'very serious.' A lot of these kids are highly aware that their schools are not serving them well, and that has to be discouraging." Minority parents are also more likely to report serious academic and social problems in their schools. Half of black (49%) and Hispanic (52%) parents say that it is a very serious problem that local schools are "not getting enough money to do a good job," compared to a third of white parents (33%). Minority parents are also twice as likely as white parents to say fighting and weapons are very serious issues and are more likely to question whether local school district superintendents do enough to ensure that schools are safe and orderly. Teachers in minority schools are more likely to complain about large classes, poor teaching conditions and lack of parental support. Wendy D. Puriefoy, President of Public Education Network said, "In a national school environment that monopolizes resources toward increasing performance on standardized tests, this new report from Public Agenda reminds us all of the need for additional investments in creating powerful learning environments, promoting respectful dialogue, ensuring student safety, and strengthening healthy school cultures. The perception gap between adults and students of different races and income levels exposes that we, as a nation, continue to tolerate a public education system that is separate and unequal." This edition of "Reality Check" does include some particularly heartening findings for those who seek silver linings. Majorities of all students -- black (66%), white (72%) and Hispanic (71%) -- report that they have had a teacher who was able to get them interested in a subject that they hadn't really liked before. Additionally, most parents (61%), across racial and ethnic groups, believe their children's schools are better than the ones they attended when they were young. When Will We Listen? "Much of the testing and standards debate has focused on disparities between minority students and others, but this research shows, yet again, that just looking at curriculum and testing while ignoring basic conditions in schools not only puts the cart before the horse, but leaves the horse unshod, unfed and wandering through the fields," Public Agenda President Ruth A. Wooden said. "These findings suggest very strongly that rowdy, unsettled schools are a significant hurdle to learning for far too many minority youngsters. What we have here is the unambiguous testimony of students, parents and teachers in minority schools -- they want policymakers to make addressing the school environment a major priority." About Reality Check 2006 "Reality Check 2006" is a set of public opinion tracking surveys on important issues in public education. From 1998 through 2002, Public Agenda conducted an annual survey of parents, teachers, students, employers and college professors covering standards, testing and accountability. In 2005 and 2006, Public Agenda revised and updated these surveys to cover a broader range of issues, including high school reform, school leadership, teacher preparation and quality, school funding and other issues. The tracking survey will be repeated periodically as a service of Public Agenda's Education Insights initiative. Perspective: Education at crossroads of past failures, future needs DIANE GLASS & SHAUNTI FELDHAHN Woman to Woman Publication Date: 02/18/07 Does desegregation violate a student's rights? DIANE GLASS Dormant in the hearts of many affluent, white parents lives just a little racism. They don't want to see their little Johnny lose his bid for an elite academy, especially after they've plopped down thousands on extracurricular programs aimed at honing his test-taking skills. It may seem as if these well-meaning parents want only what's best for their child, but at the core of their parental angst is a dangerous assumption about class privilege. Children born in more privileged families get a soft launch into the real world, commanded by their parent's higher salaries, which affords them the luxury of living in relatively crime-free suburbs with excellent school districts. Their privilege assures them the greater likelihood of success and advantage. So when they receive a rejection letter from their preferred school, in favor of Juanita or Leon, the parents of these children get vocal about their children's rightful place, not about what's best for the public good. While it is true that laws allowing racial segregation no longer exist, laws don't have to be on the books to be abided. Live in the right neighborhood, with enough money, and your kids can attend an all- white school peopled with the best teachers. And in the cities still determined to retain a racially diverse mix in the classroom, lawsuits are chipping away at their efforts. White parents are angry if their child doesn't make it into their first-choice institution. Both of these scenarios are not only myopic, they underestimate what education is about. "Many white suburban parents make tremendous efforts to provide the best possible opportunities for their children, never realizing that isolating them in privileged virtually all-white schools actually harms their ability to understand and function effectively in a society where more than 40 percent of their age group is nonwhite and the numbers are rising yearly," says Gary Orfield, Harvard professor of education and social policy. Education is about more than taking SAT tests. It's about relating to other people. So while parents may think desegregation favors only the disenfranchised who have little hope of ever attending a good school, it's also about teaching isolated, affluent children how to successfully navigate in the racially diverse nation they'll be thrown into someday. SHAUNTI FELDHAHN What is racist is the assumption that minorities do not want a choice of their own. Where forced desegregation discriminates against those who didn't want to attend a given school, school choice puts the power squarely in the hands of the vulnerable students who need it most. At one time, forced desegregation was a necessary step in an effort to change a culture. But today, many minorities in urban areas support school choice instead. Cleveland, Milwaukee and Washington, D.C., are just three school districts with highly popular school-choice and voucher programs. Recent studies have even shown that those voucher-program schools are more diverse than other area public schools. In a phone interview, Rebeca Huffman, president of the Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options, emphasized that these programs "help with natural desegregation and give low-income families a choice" -- a choice that many of them wouldn't otherwise have, and that forces a healthy competition and rise in standards. "In a school choice environment," she said, "the dropout rate is cut in half." She added that Milwaukee administrators have even told her that school choice was "the best thing that happened to their school system, because it has made their schools so much better." While well-intended, Diane's view ignores the reality that forced desegregation does not promote educational excellence for the most vulnerable. And if the current type of school choice promotes excellence, we may have just seen a "dramatic break in the dam" that goes even further, as Robert Enlow of the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice recently put it. On Feb. 2, the state of Utah passed a universal school choice voucher program that includes private schools. Desegregation happens naturally -- without coercion -- when you give people a choice. As the Hispanic Council's Rebeca Huffman put it: "School choice is not a silver bullet, but it is a powerful motivator for schools to improve. And after all, school choice has been practiced by wealthy families forever, by moving to wealthy suburbs or paying for private schooling. It should be a fundamental right for every parent to have a choice for their child. Not allowing choice is not the America my parents came to." Enrollment fall may snag plans for new schools By Don Jordan Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Sunday, February 18, 2007 A continuing drop in public school enrollment has planners reevaluating about 70 construction projects planned for the next five years. New enrollment data shows a 5,300-student drop since October 2005, according to Palm Beach County School District officials. And with 15 new schools scheduled to open during the next six years, officials want to make certain enough students will be walking through each front door when that first school bell rings. "Some of the new schools that we thought we would need sooner, we're pushing further out into the horizon," said Kristin Garrison, the district's planning department director. The enrollment slump will push back school construction if demographic data shows the projects are not needed immediately, but the downward trend won't boot any plans off the to-do list entirely. The 3 percent enrollment drop during the past 1 1/2 years is the first of its kind in more than 30 years of growth in the district. Superintendent Art Johnson said in November that demographers predict an additional loss of 2,000 students by next fall. Construction already had been pushed back for six new schools designed to provide enrollment relief to other schools, after "data trends" showed they were no longer needed. The building plan earmarks $1.3 billion for new construction during the next five years. And with less new space needed, the district is able to focus on the older schools, said Joseph Sanches, the district's facilities management chief. Although only one new school was built this year, seven schools were modernized or replaced. There are plans to replace 18 other schools in the next five years. "If we are able to push back some of the new schools, that frees up more money for modernizing schools and moving those projects up," Sanches said. The recent drop-off in enrollment is in stark contrast to the explosive growth that prompted Palm Beach County residents to approve a half-cent sales tax in 2004 to help foot the bill for new schools and buy better technology. At that time, district planners projected an average 4,300-student gain each year for the next five years. Taking into account the projection for next year, the school district will have lost an average 2,250 students each year since the tax was approved. Still, the new schools are needed, said George Elmore, chairman of a committee appointed to oversee how the tax money is spent. The tax will last through 2010 and raise $560 million. "I don't really think the little bit of down-trend in students is going to have that much effect," he said, adding that the committee is monitoring enrollment figures. Demographers are expected to report updated enrollment predictions by next month. The predictions are based on a number of factors, including new housing developments and the number of foreclosures, Garrison said. The planning chief also pointed out that, although the district is shrinking overall, enrollment in areas with more affordable housing is climbing. In fact, a new West Palm Beach Area elementary school, set to open in 2009, was added to the capital plan this year to relieve to schools that are expected to reach capacity soon. "I don't think there is one group or person who knows exactly what is going to happen," Garrison said. "We don't have this type of experience with this type of environment." School board member Paulette Burdick said she sympathizes with parents whose hopes of having a new school in their neighborhood are delayed. "I would love to give every community what they'd like to have, but there is no funding to accomplish this," Burdick said. "If there is no demographic data, then the school should be postponed until it's needed." ***** SCHOOLS: Compliance Forms are due ***** March 1, 2007! There are new requirements this year like fingerprinting, background checks and standardized tests. 6,000 New Scholarships Available for Low-Income K-12 Students Florida P.R.I.D.E. and Children First Florida, Florida Corporate Tax Credit scholarship funding organizations, will award approximately 8,000 new scholarships for the 2006-2007 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 $37,000 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 Florida Corporate Income Tax Credit scholarship program provides K-12 scholarships that currently allow over 14,000 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 PanhandleHYPERLINK "http://www.childrenfirstcf.org/" \t "_blank" P.O. Box 49099 Jacksonville Beach, Florida 32240 (904) 247-6033 or (407) 702-2607 cforster@scholarshipfunding.org Alachua, 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, HYPERLINK "http://www.childrenfirstcf.org" Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Volusia, Wakulla, Walton, and Washington Florida P.R.I.D.E. - Serving Tampa Bay, South Florida and Marion County P.O. Box 1670 Tampa, Florida 33606 (800) 782-9140 info@floridapride.org Broward, Charlotte, Citrus, Collier, Dade, DeSoto, Dixie, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lee, Levy, Manatee, Marion, Monroe, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota,HYPERLINK "http://www.floridapride.org" Sumter School Year 06 - 07 Income Eligibility Guidelines Persons in Household Annual Household Income 2 $24,420 3 $30,710 4 $37,000 5 $43,290 6 $49,580 7 $55,870 8 $62,160 9 $68,450 10 $74,740 11 $81,030 12 $87,320 13 $93,610     For each additional person, add $6,290     Effective from June 1, 2006 to June 30, 2007

 

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