Spring Break with Santa Rosa EA!
While the upcoming break is a time to relax and recharge for many, some educators take the opportunity to sharpen their work skills and learn new ways to do their jobs. WE are offering both!
Santa Rosa EA will be offering two professional development courses from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. next week:
• March 21st at the Hampton Inn and Suites, 7710 Navarre Parkway, Navarre
• March 22nd at Bennett Russell Park Event Room, 5417 W. Spencer Field Rd, Pace on the 22nd.
The first session, True Colors, will help you to learn about YOUR personality type using a personality-type analysis based in Jungian psychology – and how your type influences your relationships, your choice of profession, your role in peer groups, and your leadership choices. The following session is all about Stress Management, where you can learn tips and strategies for de-stressing, decompressing and revitalizing to help you do your personal best in your work.
And for a little fun, Santa Rosa is offering FREE Bowling on March 23rd at Oops Alley (3721 US-90, Pace, FL 32571) from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
PLEASE – RSVP to Rachel McCleery, [email protected] or text 440-223-5279 and indicate which date/location you wish to attend!
Are you ready for CHANGE and not more of the same?
Are you ready to have an organization which represents the needs of all employees, regardless of their work location, years or service, or contract status? If so, then it’s time for a change, and not more of the same. Santa Rosa EA values member input, communicates with all, and advocates for the common good. Currently, we are collecting Showing of Interest cards to petition the State for a bargaining unit election. Please complete the card (the top is for teachers and the bottom for Education Staff Professionals), and send it one of two ways:
- Mail to Santa Rosa EA, P.O. Box 723, Milton, FL 32570
- Email us at [email protected] to arrange for your card to be picked up at your worksite
State News
Legislators shift proposals from pay raises to bonuses
The Florida House and Senate both have plans to expand a bonus program for teachers, but what little chance there was of a teacher pay increase faded Wednesday as the lawmaker who proposed the idea dropped it. Sen. David Simmons, chairman of the PreK-12 Education Appropriations Subcommittee, said he no longer is pursuing his proposal for a $200 million pay increase. Simmons decided instead to back expansion of the Best and Brightest teacher bonus program. He said the bonuses would provide money to retain veteran teachers and recruit more people to join the profession. House and Senate bills would expand the Best and Brightest Scholarship bonuses for teachers, now limited to those who received “Highly Effective” on performance evaluations and scored in the top 20 percent of college entrance exams. In the House plan, teachers also will be considered if they graduated cum laude from college with at least a 3.7 GPA and score in the top 30 percent on college entrance tests or postgraduate tests such as the GMAT, GRE or LSAT. The Senate plan would expand the program to consider teachers who received a 3.0 college GPA even if they didn’t score high on college entrance exams. The House also has a proposal to increase bonuses for some teachers who instruct International Baccalaureate students.
National News
Forgotten Purpose: Civics Education in Public Schools
Research into this long-neglected corner of the curriculum reveals surprising misconceptions about civics, and the promise it holds for student achievement.