Adult Business…On The Backs Of 8 Year Olds
Florida schools will begin administering the FSA on Monday, March 2… The pressure is on to assure the data is collected at all costs.
Last week, the Florida Department of Education (FL DOE) handed down instructions for handling opt outs to districts: OCPS Parent Notification Letter
A handful of districts have chosen to be respectful of parents’ choice to refuse the FSA this year… others have not. Seminole County has been courageous in this regard and issued a comprehensive FSA Question and Answer Guide.
In the absence of the “whole truth” from the DOE, this clarification has been needed to quell the confusion and fear-mongering that was so cunningly targeted at parents and teachers. Seminole County’s Guide was the first bit of truth to come out of any district since the commissioner issued her chilling letter. Parents across the state have been asking the same of their districts. So far, only Brevard, Hillsborough, Lee, and Polk Counties have joined Seminole County in similarly supporting children and families statewide. We are grateful for this demonstration of true leadership.
On Thursday, however, when asked by a TV reporter for her position on choice testing in Orange County, Supt. Barbara Jenkins responded,
As a parent, I am embarrassed and ashamed that these statements represent my school district.
What greater “undue burden” has any parent placed on our children, as young as eight years old, than the state’s burden of excessive high-stakes testing to harvest data, to secure school funding, and to threaten job security for Adult Business…On The Backs Of 8 Year Olds | Opt Out Orlando:
Last week, the Florida Department of Education (FL DOE) handed down instructions for handling opt outs to districts: OCPS Parent Notification Letter
A handful of districts have chosen to be respectful of parents’ choice to refuse the FSA this year… others have not. Seminole County has been courageous in this regard and issued a comprehensive FSA Question and Answer Guide.
On Thursday, however, when asked by a TV reporter for her position on choice testing in Orange County, Supt. Barbara Jenkins responded,
“We are hopeful that parents won’t have children’s educational careers at risk over this adult issue, so we have no provision for opting out.”
She was, at the time, accepting a check for $10.3 Million from Gov. Rick Scott for the state’s School Recognition Program, awarded based on last year’s test scores. That statement protects the state’s interests, not our children’s. To this, we say:“WE, in the opt out movement, are no longer confident that our children’s well-being is the state’s priority over these adult issues, and have therefore sought and found provisions for opting out. We refuse to continue to fuel the testing machine with our children’s data. WE WANT OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS BACK AND WE ARE DONE.”
On Friday, Supt. Jenkins underscored the district’s position by sending this e-mail to parents. But that was not enough. The message also went out as a robo-call and in text messages, all in the space of an hour. Supt. Jenkins is Florida’s 2013 District Data Leader of the Year. Her message is clear. We want the data… and we will have it.What greater “undue burden” has any parent placed on our children, as young as eight years old, than the state’s burden of excessive high-stakes testing to harvest data, to secure school funding, and to threaten job security for Adult Business…On The Backs Of 8 Year Olds | Opt Out Orlando: