Ftpn

Description

Save the Date: FCPN Symposium When: October 6-8, 2010 Location: Naples Grand Beach Resort FLDOE Race to the Top (RTTT) Grant PreK-12 Chancellor Frances Haithcock provided education legislative committees today with an update on the Race To The Top grant process. Click here for full document. Of particular note: dual application process with final proposal to be filed by December 31st and announcement in the first part of 2010; and see pages 4 and 9-12 for grant purposes and guiding assurances. Under RTTT, districts would participate as part of the state grant. Later, we'll be seeing the "i3" (Investment In Innovation) grants which will be direct federal to district competitive grants and will likely follow the RTTT principles. Also: House PreK-12 Policy Chair John Legg announced 7 project areas he plans to have the committee consider for 2010: * RTTT initiatives...conforming statutes to the grant * increasing the high school graduation rate * Implications and use of SAT/ACT student testing and scores * Issues surrounding "key transitional" levels--Prek to K, grades 5 to 6; 8 to 9; high school to college * "Tweaking" the FCAT system (nothing specific) * beefing civics/ science curricula and end of course assessment * Exceptional Student Education reforms (nothing specific) Last, Amy Baker, Director of Economic and Demographic Research (EDR), gave several committees an economic forecast review. Click here for full document. Nothing new, still looking at Spring of 2010 for bottoming of revenue drops and other indicators with very slow recovery. For FY11, there's a $900 million-plus shortfall between projected revenues and critical state needs; that increases to $2.6 billion when "high priority needs" are added (see last few pages). Of course, from FY12 on, it's sharply increased as federal stimulus funding ends, particularly for Medicaid and education. Tomorrow, Senate Ed gets updates and 2009 legislative issues including differentiated accountability, high school graduation and the FLDOE's strategic plan; Senate Ed Appropriations will review budget and ARRA funding. Interim Chancellor for the Division of Career and Adult Education Effective today, Loretta Costin will serve as Interim Chancellor for the Division of Career and Adult Education while Chancellor Lucy Hadi is on extended medical leave. Loretta rejoined the Department on April 1, 2008, as Vice Chancellor for the division, following her three-and-a-half year role as President and CEO of St. Joseph Living, Incorporated, a Land and Real Estate Development company. During her previous 19 years with the Department of Education, Loretta served as the Director of the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (2002-2004); Director of the Division of Workforce Development Education (2000-2002); Bureau Chief, Program Improvement and Accountability (1997-2000); Director, Standards, Benchmarks and Frameworks (1994-1997); Program Director, Marketing Education (1990-1994); and Program Specialist, Marketing Education (1990-1985). Prior to becoming an education administrator, Loretta taught Marketing Education at Rutherford High School in Panama City, Florida. Loretta is a native of Tallahassee, Florida, who earned her Bachelors from Florida State University, Masters in Educational Leadership from University of West Florida, and returned to Florida State University to work on her Ph.D. Enviropals: A New Public Television Series By Volusia County Teachers “Enviropals!” is a new 30 minute educational public television series created by two Volusia county high school teachers that you and your children are sure to enjoy. Seabreeze High School teacher Ray Grimard and Atlantic High School teacher Don Brunning are the driving forces behind the “Enviropals!”. They co-produced the scripts, wrote and performed the music, built the sets and props, and co-produced and co-directed the sixteen episodes which were shot at WDSC channel 15 studios at Daytona State College and various locations throughout the United States. The series focuses on educating and ultimately empowering young people on the importance of preserving the environment and expanding their interest in science. The target audience for “Enviropals!” is primary grade children ages 5-10. The main character and the series mascot for “Enviropals!” is an adorable and informative Red Panda named “Rae-Rae”. Rounding out the cast is “Safari Stan”, “Safari Sue”, the “Safari Kids”, and 16 colorful and energetic animal puppets. The setting for each episode takes place in the "Housetree"; a delightful living space that is situated in the magical land of "Naturia." Each episode has separately themed segments including: "Enviro-Do-And-Shows," "Envirotips," "Critter Connections," (2) music videos, and an off-sight "Treemail" (viewer email) adventure. Each episode focuses on a specific theme such as air, water and noise pollution, weather changes, alternative energy, national parks, rivers and several other environmental concerns. “Enviropals!” also has its own website at http://www.raerae.tv providing information for parents and children plus lesson plans that teachers can use to further engage their students. These lesson plans accompany all the different episodes of “Enviropals!” and are written to conform to both the Florida Sunshine State Standards, and the National Science Curriculum for elementary school science. “Enviropals!” is very unique due to the fact that this is the first GREEN-themed series to be distributed nationally under the PBS banner. The Enviropals also has an array of public service announcements out that have been airing since January 1, 2009. Check out local listings for air time. Enviropals will begin airing in Central Florida on September 5th on WDSC (CH.15) at 9am., internationally by mid-November, and as a nationally distributed series on PBS affiliates in late February 2010. 12.01.09: NATPL Newsletter 12.01.09: Banner Center for Biotechnology Newsletter 12.01.09: New Report- High School Drop Out Prevention 09.23.09: Cathy Schroeder Named Chief of Staff By The News Service of Florida Cathy Schroeder will be the new chief of staff at the Agency for Workforce Innovation. Schroeder, 38, had been communications director at the Department of Management Services since April 2007 but is stepping down Friday to become chief of staff to AWI Director Cynthia Lorenzo. Schroeder has also worked at the Department of Education and was vice president of public affairs at The Children's Forum. She also worked for Ron Sachs Communications. 10.08.09: Good Jobs Hard to Fill Click here to find good info about the gap in skills set from ACTE. Career Pathways Consortium Funding Announcement The announcement made by Vice Chancellor Costin at the Deans and Directors meeting was the first official announcement of what will happen with 2009-2010 Career Pathways funds held in “reserve” from the Perkins Basic funds. The “preview” announcement made in Ocala was that this was a consideration. Now that the decision has been made, we can move forward with our planning for July 1, 2009 and beyond. Language similar to this is what will be in the Perkins Basic applications for funding—both Secondary and Postsecondary applications: Development and implementation of programs of study are not accomplished in isolation and necessitate the use of a partnership between secondary entities and postsecondary entities. The utilization of existing consortium to carry out the state’s program of study requirements is encouraged and eligible applicants are permitted to “pool a portion of such funds available to not less that 1 other eligible recipient for innovative initiatives, which may include—implementing career and technical programs of study describes in section 122(C)(1)(A).” Section 135 (c)(19)(C). The state will not impose restrictions on the amount of basic grants funds used to develop and implement programs of study. From that language, you can see that (1) we are encouraging the continuance of the consortium structure, and (2) partnerships may use a portion of their funds to support positions needed to implement the programs of study initiative.

Products & services

Similar companies nearby