Santa Rosa EA General Membership Meeting on January 24th
Santa Rosa EA will be hosting a General Membership meeting on Tuesday, January 24th at Henderson Hall (7810 Navarre Parkway, Navarre). All Santa Rosa EA members are invited, as we will be discussing the campaign to obtain employee bargaining rights, participating in a question-and-answer session, and hearing from member benefits representatives. Refreshments will be served and members will be eligible to win great door prizes. Please plan to attend, as Santa Rosa EA wants to hear from YOU!
Our elected leaders need to hear from you!
Textbooks, school funding, employee working conditions, student testing, curriculum. Think these aren’t legislated by those who have no education background? Think again. Our elected leaders go to Tallahassee each year to make laws affecting schools, students, and employees alike. Who better to speak with legislators about public education than public educators?
Santa Rosa EA currently is looking for educators who are interested in meeting with our local state legislators to relay our concerns and present our ideas to help students and public schools – before the Legislative session begins in Tallahassee this March. Santa Rosa EA will provide training about how you can advocate effectively for public education. Please email [email protected] to indicate your interest in being part of this important team!
H&R Block discounts- Exclusively for Santa Rosa EA members
Our association-owned company, Creative Benefits for Educators, has partnered with the largest national income tax preparation services company, H&R Block, to provide special savings and benefits for FEA members – new customers to H&R Block will receive a $25 discount, and returning FEA members will receive “Tax Identity Shield,” fraud protection ($35 value) free for the year. H&R Block has offices throughout Florida, and in most cases there is an office within 5 miles of nearly every member. H&R Block tax preparers have an average of eight years of experience in preparing returns so no return is too large or too small for them to assist.
To take advantage of this offer, please click link below, and click “Print my Coupon” at the bottom of the link to present coupon at your appointment with H&R Block. To find a location convenient for you, click “Store Locator,” or enter zip code. https://www.hrblock.com/hrb-offers/fea
State News
Just last week, a panel of school superintendents made recommendations to increase instructional time, reduce the disruptions of testing, reduce testing time, and yet remain compliant with federal ESSA requirements. More specifically, these discussions included:
- Eliminating required end of course exams in English, U.S. History, Civics, Algebra and Geometry.
- Allowing the use of paper and pencil as well as computer based examinations.
- Substitute nationally normed tests for state assessments.
- Exempt high performing students from state assessments.
- Moving test administration to the last three weeks of the school year.
- Returning full determination of teacher evaluation to the districts – in other words remove the state imposed use of VAM in teacher evaluations and allowing districts to determine student growth measures.
After the superintendents’ presentation, Commissioner Stewart and the DOE presented a State Assessment Program Overview followed by a discussion of the current assessment system and suggestions for improvement.
Even though this all seems promising, keep in mind there is no bill yet, as it is very early in the legislative process – but, there is hope…
Join Our Action Alert List
It’s important to recognize every decision made in your school district has a political origin. Legislators create laws that govern everything you do on the job. They often make these decisions without consulting the people impacted the most. It’s one of the main reasons why it is important for all members to take action. We need to hold lawmakers accountable. The only way to change what’s happening in Tallahassee is to get involved, especially during the legislative session and the upcoming elections. CLICK HERE TO JOIN
National News
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Clark County, Nevada educators used funds available through the Every Student Succeeds Act to bring highly effective teachers to high-needs schools.
As Need for Foreign Languages in School Grows, Access Continues to Shrink
Employers want workers who can speak another language, but lack of support at the K12 level has led to declining levels of proficiency among adults.