Florida Public School Choice Consortium’s Online Calendar

Nigel Whyte

CalendarThe Florida Public School Choice Consortium (FPSCC) is working to refresh and renew its website with a more contemporary look and feel and functionality with a new public share calendar.  Look for a reorganized site with rich updated information, member access only pages and a new online calendar in the coming weeks. 

This new calendar is hosted on the www.FPSCC.net website, has a search feature, and one can submit events and items for inclusion by clicking on “Add New Entry” at the bottom of the page.  The www.FPSCC.net site averaged over 2,000 unique visitors last quarter, so others can see events of interest that you post.

The new public calendar can be viewed and used at http://www.fpscc.net/calendar/month.php.
 

NSU’s Judith Stein Inducted Into the Florida Association for Career and Technical Educators Hall of Fame

 

Judy SteinJudith S. Stein, Ed.D. receives The Florida Association for Career and Technical Educators (FACTE) Hall of Fame Professional division at the 43rd Annual Conference of FACTE in Orlando on August 5, 2009.

The Florida Association for Career and Technical Educators (FACTE) 43rd Annual Conference was held August 3-6, in Orlando.  This year’s conference offered an opportunity of professional development, workshops and informative sessions for the career and technical educators to participate in and gather new and innovative ideas to take back to their classrooms and programs.
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Miami-Dade Schools' Assistant Superintendent Joins NSU's National Institute for Educational Options

 

Michael BellNova Southeastern University's Fischler School of Education and Human Services announced that renowned national and local school choice leader, Michael Bell, joined its National Institute for Education Options as Educational School Reform Program Director.  Prior to joining the Institute’s team, Mr. Bell served as assistant superintendent for school choice and parental options in the Miami-Dade school district, the fourth largest school system in America. The experiences Mr. Bell brings with him are significant to the work of the NSU’s National Institute for Educational Options (NIEO), which has been leading work in K-12 educational options since 1998 at the Fischler School of Education and Human Services. Read more »

FACSA News

Carla McMullen

Judith SteinFACSA members have been busy over the past quarter working together to share best practices.    Members have developed a strong mission statement and draft goals for the organization:

The mission of the Florida Association of Charter School Authorizers (FACSA) is to collaboratively equip districts with professional standards and best practices to authorize and support excellence in chartering for all students
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Check Out the New FPSCC Website!

Nigel Whyte

Nigel WhyteBased on your input, the Florida Public School Choice Consortium has worked hard to reorganize and restructure the content on the www.fpscc.net website.  We aimed for improved functionality, usability, organization of information and of course -- aesthetics.  See some of the improvements today at www.fpscc.net!


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Hillsborough's Superintendent Shares Award

Pansy Houghton

Pansy HoughtonAs one of the two winners of the Dr. Carlo Rodriguez Champion of School Choice Awards in 2008, Hillsborough County Public Schools Superintendent MaryEllen Elia was awarded a sizable scholarship toward a doctoral degree at Nova Southeastern University, Fischler School of Education. 

Because of her responsibilities as superintendent of such a large school district, Mrs. Elia requested and was granted permission to transfer the scholarship to a Hillsborough County educator.

“I was grateful and honored to win… I did not want the scholarship award to go unused, so I was able to arrange for it to be transferred to someone else in our school district who wishes to pursue a doctoral degree,” Elia said.

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DOE Honors Champion of School Choice Award Winners

DOE Press Office

The winners of the annual Dr. Carlo Rodriguez Champion of School Choice Award were recognized earlier this week in Miami by the State Board of Education. The Florida Public School Choice Consortium, in collaboration with the Nova Southeastern University Fischler School of Education, bestowed the award to Dr. Pansy Houghton, Director of Student Planning and Placement for Hillsborough County, and Lois C. Lee, District Director of Specialized Programs and Schools of Choice for Miami-Dade County. The President of the Florida Public School Choice Consortium Audrey Lewis-Potter, presented the awards to the recipients during a brief ceremony.

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Professional Development in Problem-Based Learning

Josephine Glove

Professional Development in Problem-Based Learning (PBL) was conducted for Miami-Dade County Schools of Choice Magnet Lead Teachers. Dr. Joyce VanTassel-Baska, Professor of Education and Executive Director of William & Mary’s Center for Gifted Education at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia conducted the training session. This training was held during the Schools of Choice 7th Annual Choice Summer Institute on June 10 – 12, 2009, at Nova Southeastern University’s North Miami Beach campus.


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Keeping Up with the Florida VPSC Grants

Palm Beach and Monroe Counties Continue as Partners for the Voluntary Public School Choice (VPSC) Grant

Liz Shapiro

On Thursday, June 11, Yolanda Miranda-Hill and the University of South Florida Evaluation team visited Marathon High School to tour the culinary facilities and to discuss activities with Palm Beach and Monroe County who are partners of the VPSC grant. The University of South Florida Evaluation Team interviewed key Palm Beach County personnel involved with the VPSC grant in Palm Beach County on Wednesday, July 23.

The first day of school, August 24, Chef Green, at Marathon High School, welcomed the first Choice Culinary Career Academy students. Chef Linda Pearson, at West Boca Raton High School, selected her second hour Choice Culinary Career Academy students as the class to “buddy–up” with the Marathon High School Culinary students. 

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Polk County’s Voluntary Public School Choice Grant Update

Carla McMullen

Carla McMullenPolk County has been very busy during the 2008-2009 project award year for the Voluntary Public School Choice Grant.   Three separate workshops were offered to the nine coalition districts participating in this grant; Polk, Hillsborough, Osceola, Indian River, Lake, Pasco, Manatee, Sumter, and Orange Counties.    In January 2009, a PMI workshop was provided to district charter authorizers to learn strategies for creating accountability measures for charter schools.  In April 2009, three strands were offered; 1) Middle Years Program IB training for teachers, 2) Charter Renewal training for district authorizers, and 3) Choice training for district choice administrators. 



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Keeping Up with the Parent Resource Centers (PRC)

It’s All About Choice, Hard Work and Enthusiasm

Ofelia Hampton

Ofelia HamptonIn the eight months I have been working under the Voluntary Public School Choice grant, I have had the pleasure of seeing both Fresh Ministries and Gadsden’s Mobil Unit continue on their path of success, and unfortunately, on the other side of the scale I have also seen the Cuban National Council (CNC) in Orlando close.  In an effort to provide Orange County with much needed support, we have been working diligently with a new organization, Latino Leadership, which will provide their community the necessary tools and information vital to the academic success of all students in that region.



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The Florida School Choice PRC’s Second Annual Parent Liaison Retreat

Jayne Caudill & Katy Beth Twist-Harty

Jayne CaudillOn September 21, 22 and 23, 2009, The Florida School Choice Parent Resource Center had its official second retreat for the second funding cycle of Florida’s Voluntary Public School Choice Program. 

Katy Twist-HartyThis annual retreat took place at the Nova Southeastern University North Miami Beach Campus.  The theme was “There’s No Stopping Us Now: We’re On The Move” and remained a motivational centerpiece throughout the conference as a theme song similar to the popular 1979 disco R&B song from McFadden & Whitehead “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now.” 

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August Report
South and Central PRCs

Venches Papillon

Venches PapillonDuring the Month of August the South and Central PRCs have been very busy interfacing with parents during many events and targeted schools activities.

On August 16, 2009, we participated in the Miami Dade County Public Schools’ Back to School rally at the American Arena where we gave out 75 book bags and received 102 new names of students from the targeted schools assigned to our PRCs - The event was overwhelming and well attended. In addition, ALL aboard had their Tutoring Mobile outside the arena and was able to connect with many families about PRC and the services they provide to the community.

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Statewide School Choice Parent Advisory Council Update
Seven Meetings held in North, Central and South Florida

Bill Storms

Bill StormsThe “Statewide School Choice Parent Advisory Council” has now completed seven official meetings. The seventh meeting, a conference call, was held on September 2, 2009 to work on the upcoming year’s Strategic Plan and plan for the Dr. Carlo Rodriguez Champion of School Choice Summit to be held in Orlando on November 18, 2009. Part of the planning was to establish an agenda of work for the eighth (face to face) meeting at the Summit. The sixth meeting was also a conference call, and Council Members spent much of the time developing additional strategies to establish Local School Choice Parent Advisory Councils. The fifth meeting was held on April 7th, 2009 at the Florida Department of Education Turlington Building in conjunction with the “Academies on the Hill” Conference in Tallahassee. The Council’s Mission, “All Florida Parents will be informed of all educational options and opportunities” is quickly becoming a reality.  In the meetings and back home in the member’s regions, protocols for sharing parent information and concerns on all Choice Options are being established. SCPAC Members are establishing a much needed communication link between local School Choice stakeholders and the Department of Education.

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St. Johns County School District receives the Garrett Morgan Technology and Transportation Education Program Grant

Jay Steele and Paula Chaon

Jay SteeleThe St. Johns County School District has received a federal grant from the Department of Transportation for $94,286. The purpose of the Garrett Morgan Technology and Transportation Education Program (GAMTTEP) is to improve the preparation of students, particularly women and minorities, in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) through curriculum development and other activities related to transportation.

The grant was awarded to Ponte Vedra High School's Academy of International Business and Marketing in partnership with Duval County's Academy of International Trade & Logistics. The collaborating partners represent k-12 education agencies, higher education institutions, state and national job-training centers, and several leading logistics business firms, all of whom understand the value of real-world exposure and its return on investment from the workforce of tomorrow.  The partners have identified relevant activities that will enable teachers and students alike to touch on seven components within the broad transportation and logistics industry.


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