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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Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) Conference

The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) welcomed over 8,000 attendees, which was held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee.  The ACTE conference gave career educators an opportunity to discover new approaches, find solutions to shared challenges, share best practices with colleagues, and leave with constructive new ideas to take back to their schools. Chef Jeff Henderson, South Central Los Angeles native and award-winning chef, opened this year’s Convention as the Opening General Session speaker.
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Judy's Journal

Judy Stein

Happy New Year for the new decade! We do not know what this decade will bring; however, we do know that there are students to teach, parents to inform about their school choices and schools, and systems of schools to reform and reenergize!  We are pleased to continue our cooperative agreement with the Florida Department of Education (FDOE), Office of Independent Education and Parental Choice for the Voluntary Public School Choice grant and to work with Miami-Dade and Hillsborough counties (which were also were funded) among only fourteen grants in the nation under the Voluntary Public School Choice (VPSC) program 2007-2012.
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Gadsden County Students “Stop, Drop and Read!”  IT’S YOUR CHOICE!

Audrey Lewis-Potter

Gadsden County Superintendent Reginald James believes that “reading is the language of learning.”  He has a commitment and a passion for encouraging every child to read and has found a way to involve not only parents and teachers in this worthy goal, but district staff and community leaders as well.

The Superintendent’s initiative is called “It’s Reading Time- STOP, DROP, READ.”  Between the hours of 6:00 and 8:00 PM each night, students are asked to “stop” what they may be doing at home, “drop” down with a good book, and “read!” Read more »

Florida Public School Choice Consortium’s Online Calendar

Nigel Whyte

The 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.

Florida Charter School Conference a Success

Julia Somers-Arthur, DOE, OIEPC

What do you get when you bring over 500 educators together for three days, add forty presentations, workshops and demonstrations on topical issues by leading experts, and season with opportunities to connect, share ideas, network and win door prizes?  You get the synergy of the Thirteenth Annual Florida Charter School Conference!

Themed “Charters – Not Just Another Public School!” the conference, is the thirteenth and largest of the annual Charter School Conferences.  Held in Orlando from the 16th – 18th of November, this year’s conference drew 513 registrations, 130 more than last year.  Adam Miller, DOE Charter Schools Director, is pleased with the success of the conference. “This has been our biggest so far, and I think our best.”


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Groundbreaking Dr. Carlo Rodriguez Champion of School Choice Summit

by Wendy Victora
Taken from Northwest Florida Daily News

Over 150 educators participated in The Florida Public School Choice Consortium (FPSCC) conference as they celebrated its 5th year with the inauguration of the Dr. Carlo Rodriguez Champion of School Choice Summit. The 2009 FPSCC Conference encompassed all aspects of school choice in Florida. Prior to his untimely passing in 2007, Dr. Rodriguez served as Executive Director of The Office of Independent Education and Parental Choice for the Florida Department of Education (FDOE). Read more »

FACSA News

Carla McMullen

In November 2009, the Florida Association of Charter School Authorizers (FACSA) facilitated a session at the Florida Department of Education 2009 Charter School Conference for authorizers and charter school operators. Approximately 40 people attended the session.



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Governor's Recognition Scholarship Essay Winner

Perdy San, Pahokee Middle High School

The Florida Prepaid College Foundation has selected Angelica Zavala, an 8th grade student from Pahokee Middle/ High School, as the winner of the FY10 Governor's Recognition Scholarship Essay Contest.  A board member (or representative) from the foundation would like to present the award (valued at $16, 550) at the February 17th Board Meeting to the student and her family. We are very proud of Angelica here at Pahokee Middle High School. Angelica's plans for the future are to finish High School and attend the University of Florida; she wants to be a lawyer. Her advice to other students is to listen to their parents and work hard in school-it will get them far.

Again we want to congratulate Angelica in her accomplishment and her enthusiasm.

National Career Academy Coalition Conference

Judy Stein

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Career Academy Model, which was celebrated in the city where academy concepts started.  Special conference events and activities were held in the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  Forty years ago, the first career academy opened its doors at Edison High School in Philadelphia. Today, there are thousands of career academies throughout the country, and academies are recognized by many as the best in-school model for student success. This conference provided opportunity for dialogue, exploration, and networking which will continue to move academies and smaller learning communities to the highest level.


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U.B.Kinsey/Palmview Elementary School of the Arts
Performs at Opening Ceremonies of New Target Store in West Palm Beach

Sharon Campbell

The much anticipated opening of the newly built Target store held its’ opening ceremony on Tuesday, October 6, 2009.  The Palm Beach Lakes High School Band played outside the store to start the festivities.  The ribbon cutting ceremony began with cheers from members of the neighborhood, who were so excited to see their beloved Target re-opened.
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Title I Award

Jeff Welsh, Principal

Youth Co-Op Charter School (YCCS) is proud to announce that it is a recipient of the 2008 - 2009 Title I Distinguished Schools award, given to those Title I schools that show strong sustained academic achievement, and an ability to close the achievement gap among its lowest students.  While there are almost 14,000 Title I schools in the state of Florida, only 17 schools earned this award.


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Statewide School Choice Parent Advisory Council Update

Bill Storms

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 Council Members’ 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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NFB Académie

Jeff Welsh, Principal

In 2002, a unique collaborative partnership of the Okaloosa County School District and Northwest Florida Ballet (NFB) established the NFB Académie, to date-Okaloosa County’s only school of the Fine and Performing Arts.  Today, NFB Académieoffers children who want to dance – regardless of their economic means–the opportunity to develop their natural abilities, and a strong academic program in a nurturing and supportive learning environment. With instruction in Ballet, Art, French, Music and academic studies based on district public school criteria, the Académie provides students in third through eighth grade a demanding academic curriculum in an artistic environment.
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