Volunteer Experience- Field Trip to USF

I have been wrapped up in FCAT I forgot to blog about the 8^th grade AVID student’s trip to USF. So you planning I was planning a trip for my 8^th grade AVID students to the University of South Florida in Tampa and Busch gardens. The one thing special about this trip more than of my students have never left Orlando, this is not uncommon for where I teach. So students have been excited all year about this trip. As part of the AVID program we try to expose students to the college experience. It’s easy to tell students about college but it’s another thing for them to experience it themselves.

The cost of the trip was $39.00 dollar which included their ticket to Busch garden. Which is an added bonus since it’s only five minutes down the road from USF. My principal pays for the charter buses when we travel. We make sure the students pay less as possible because we are income neighborhood. I made sure at the beginning of the school year I informed students and parents about the $39.00 so they could start saving. I also made sure at every parent night I mentioned the Tampa trip so parent weren’t shocked when students came home with a permission slip. I was shocked when the permission slips went home that first week, by the end of the week I had at least 20 back. Which is very shocking because students usually wait until the last minutes and normally parents don’t have the money right away? This was a great sign we were off to a great start. I have to students four weeks to get their permission slip and money turned in. I was really excited that we had 5 parents and family members volunteer to chaperon this trip. I think because I made the parents and student well informed that this way I had such a great turn out. That is the one thing I noticed about teaching in a Title1 low income school, as teachers we have to give parents and students more notice/time when it come to field trips.

So the day of the field trip students have to be at school by 8:30 which is an hour before school starts. This is an all day field trip. We leave the school at 9:00 a.m. and return at 8:45 p.m. Trust me it’s a long day but it’s so worth it. The energy and excitement from the students is amazing. I know they appreciate it as well. It’s a lot of paper work and a risk to take students out of the county but the memories they will have about this trip is priceless.

We arrive on USF campus a little behind schedule because of the I-4 traffic and our bus driver took the wrong exit. LOL! I can laugh about it now but it wasn’t so funny thing when you have two charter buses filled 64 students and 10 chaperones. The first part of the college tour USF student greets us and take us to visit the following site on campus: College of education classroom, library, student union, dining hall, and dorm rooms. The students enjoyed seeing the sites on campus but the dorm rooms it what sold them on USF. They were just too excited able being able to pick roommates and living with their friends. We all know if you want to keep your friend don’t live with you while in college. LOL.  The last part of the tour the, students get to participate in a jeopardy game and all the information they learned on the college tour were asked during the game. Students loved it. The winning team received bumper stickers and some other USF items. Our tour ended around 1:30 and we headed to Bush gardens. Of courses that was the icing on the cake. I think I had more fun than the students. I love roller costars. My students couldn’t believe that were riding roller costars with their teacher. After the USF trip the students truly had a different respect for me. Over all it was a great trip. We got back to school right at 8:45 p.m. as planned. Oh I forgot to mention we went on a Friday so of course parents were late picking up students. We didn’t leave until 10:00 p.m. because one parent forgot to pick up his daughter. What we knew that was going to happened it happened all the time.  Like I said before the USF trip was great, parent and students thanked me and now all of the want to attend USF and not UCF because of the dorm rooms. Until next time…….

Pensions and the Budgets:

 Today CTA sent this e-mail out to all the teachers at my school today. I just amazes me how they are cutting so much from state workers but not paying us what we are worth. I just wanted to share this information and hopefully it will share other teachers that haven't been given this information....

Until time....

Both the Florida House and Senate have passed bills requiring state workers to contribute to their pensions. They have also passed their annual budgets. But in each case, the House version differs from the Senate version and those differences need to be worked aout before final versions of each emerge.

Within days, both of these bills will be going to a conference committee, where selected members of both chambers will work out the details of the budget, including the pension provisions.

ON THE BUDGET:

The Florida Legislature will continue to work toward a budget compromise this week that will “lower the price” or slash additional money from school district budgets.  Our ability to provide quality education to Florida’s children is threatened by this thoughtless policy of budget cutting.

As we have previously commented, the House and Senate are similar in approach and overall reductions.

·         Both decrease the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) by approximately $1.1 billion from last year (6.2%)

·         Both lower per student funding to around $6,350, a loss of over $463 per child, a 6.8% decrease.

·         While Class Size is funded at $2.87 billion, we know this amount is insufficient to cover the real costs of implementation.  We are working to maintain the integrity of the Class Size Amendment but also allow for flexibility at the local level.

·         We know that ridiculous political promises have lead both chambers to attempt to balance the education budget on the backs of teachers and ESPs by forcing contributions to their retirement plan. 

Both chambers end the .25 local property tax, which allows districts to raise much needed funds.  If this policy passes the loss per student jumps to over $500 per student -- this is a significant loss.

·         Both chambers cut school recognition funding

·         Both chambers cut non-FEFP items like:

o   Decreasing ESE funding

o   Decreasing assistance to low performing schools

o   Practically eliminating Teacher of the Year and School Related Personnel of the Year.

Oblivious to the magnitude of these cuts, the legislature continues to pass legislation that is underfunded -- or more likely unfunded.

·         Passage of SB 736 was a mammoth unfunded mandate

·         Charter School Bills SB1546/HB7195: by increasing enrollments, changing the requirement that students live within the district, requiring additional services of the district to the charter providers – another huge unfunded mandate

·         Class Size SB1466/HB 5101 underfunded

More Unfunded Mandates:

·         Digital Schools - HB7197 – changes the programs and requires high schools to take one course on line.  Requires all assessments online.  Technology funding is cut. 

·         New PE requirements:  appropriately adds PE instruction in K through 5 be delivered by certified teachers – no funding

·         Public School Choice - SB1822/HB1331 - These bills expand choice based on flawed grading system but provide no recognition of Class Size compliance or transportation costs.  It’s unfunded!

ON PENSIONS:

The main differences between the House and Senate proposals are the elimination of DROP (Deferred Retirement Option Plan) and the employee contribution rate.  Both the House and Senate will require employee contributions to their FRS pension plans.  The House has a flat rate of 3% for all salary levels.  The Senate has a tiered payment approach: 2% on the first $25,000 of compensation, 4% on the second $25,000, and 6% on the third $25,000.   For example using $51,000 salary:

2% on $25,000 ($500) + 4% on $25,000 ($1000) + 6% on $1,000 ($60) equaling a $1560 employee contribution.

The House proposal would close DROP to new enrollment as of July 1, 2011.  The Senate proposal does not close DROP until mid-2016. 

The Senate bills are:

SB 2000 – Appropriations

SB 2002 – Implementing Appropriations

SB 2100 – Retirement

SB 2120 – PreK-12 Education Funding

The House bills are:

                                                HB 5001 – Appropriations

                                                HB 5003 – Implementing Appropriations

                                                HB 1405 – Retirement

                                                HB 5101 – PreK-12 Education Funding

Last Day of FCAT

Today was the last day of FCAT testing it went great! I survived another year of FCAT testing. For the most part all the student felt they did well just by general conversation nothing in detail. It going to be hard to get the student’s back focused after a week of testing. I really wish we had spring break after FCAT. So students can regroup after testing. But overall despite our A.C. problems in the beginning of the week this testing season went pretty good. Until time……

FCAT Day 3

So today was FCAT math! No problems with the A.C. today thank God! It was a long day. Normally we get out at 3:00 p.m. on Wedesnday but do to FCAT we extended the time to 4:00 p.m. Do to so many of our ESE and ELL students with extended time and accommodation. We had students testing from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Which meant that students that regular testing accommodation was stuck with one teacher all day. Students get restless after being in one room for 8 or more hours. Tomorrow is the last day of FCAT testing students will be taking science. I pray tomorrow goes just as smooth as today with all considering. Until next time.......

FCAT Day 2

FCAT day two was much better today. The A.C. was still not working when we came in this morning but it kicked in before the students started testing. So we are officially done with FCAT reading.  For some reason the state decided to do the FCAT Reading in two days. Monday was session one and Tuesday was session two. Wednesday we have FCAT Math all in the same day and I don't stand why we wouldn't do the math in two days as well. We normally have early release on Wednesday in Orange County but since we are doing FCAT Math Orange County canceled early released day. Normally we have problem with our students showing up on FCAT days. Either they are no show or really late but so far this as of Monday and Tuesday we tested 98.8% of our students which is great for my school.

On a side note we are dealing with Merit pay issue and CTA teachers pay. Most teachers who have been teaching in Orange County for at least 5 or more years are 1 to 2 steps/years behind on the pay scale because we haven’t gotten raises or steps in 3 years. What is even worst a new teachers coming into7 Orange country with the same about of years of experience will make more than a current OCPS teacher. CTA and the county office sent out an e-mail last Friday and last night stated how they are going to fix the problem but it really doesn't fix the problem. I tell people often I don't teach for the money but for the love of it. Until next time...........

FCAT Testing day 1

So today was the first day of FCAT testing OMG!!! What a day it was.......So this year the state decided we would do FCAT after Spring Break what a bad idea. So we have been back from break two weeks and trust me students are still in spring break mode. I am not so sure if it was a good idea to test them after spring break. So this year I am testing 7th grade. I have first period planning so I am testing another teachers students but after 7 years of teaching I am use to testing other teacher’s students.

 So I walked into school this morning early because we check all the testing materials this is normal FCAT protocol. Its 80 degrees in the school the A.C. is not working at all. So we are sweating at 8:00 a.m. account all testing materials praying that they get the A.C. working before we start testing in the next 3 hours. Of all days for the A.C. to go out it goes out on the first day of FCAT testing. My school is an older school so we are always having problems with the A.C. Needless to say they didn’t get the air fix until the test was just about over. I am sweating trying to proctor the test. But these are the things we have to deal with when you teach in an urban setting. Now my friend who teaches at an affluent on the east side of Orlando their A.C. went out as well this morning but theirs was fixed within the hour. It just shows you the differences in schools in the same county. It’s just sad. I pray tomorrow our A.C. is working so that we all are comfortable during this stressful time of FCAT testing. 1 day of testing down 3 more to go. Until next time………

FSU Trip

Spring is over for Orange County! We are now in full FCAT mode. Students and Teachers are all stressed at my school. I still don't understand why we had spring break before FCAT this year. With FCAT being less than two days away students are still in spring break mode. It's hard getting them back focused. I truly feel that our students are ready for FCAT. It's just all the stressed that comes along with testing. The 8th graders our little more stressed than my 7th graders because they are tested on all stubjects. Plus they need to FCAT to move on to 9th grade. I am so ready to get testing over and done!
Also the FSU trip went great will blog about it next time......

Until time.......

AVID College Tours

As the AVID coordinator I plan college tours. It's easy to talk about college to student’s but it's another thing show them the college experience. So far this school year I have taken my student to 4 colleges this year. UCF of course back in October. Last college tour for this year will be to the University of South Florida in Tampa and as a bonus Busch gardens after the college tour. Think my 8^th graders are more excited about Busch gardens part. Most of my students have never left John Young and Oakridge Road, some taking them to Tampa is a big deal. This is the second year I have taking students to Tampa. It’s a lot of paper work to take students out of the county but it so worth it in the end. So permission slips will good home on Monday. I am telling my students they have 28 days to behavior in their other core classes. If you misbehavior, or referrals they know that they will not be going on the trip. This is only trip student’s have to pay for and that only because of Busch garden tickets which cost $39.00. My principal pays for all the transportation for field trips. I know some students might not be able to afford the trip so I have asked to teachers to donate to help pay for students who can’t afford the $39.00.
Until next time….

Second AVID parent night Feb. 10th

Each nine weeks I host an AVID parent night this is to get the parents to be active in their child’s learning. It’s so hard to get parent at my school to come out from parent’s nights. I just had one about 2 weeks ago. In order to get parents to come out I have to give them at least a month notice so they can get off work early. Parent night usually starts at 6:00 p.m. to give parents time to get off work and to the school. I also provide dinner and child care service for families during parent night, so parents don’t have any reasons not to show up. This last parent night I had about 100 parents to show up which is great!  On the agenda for this parent night was the 8^th grade AVID student’s trip to the University of South Florida and Busch gardens and 8^th grade transition to high school AVID program…….

Until time………

AVID Program

I am the AVID coordinator and Elective teacher at my school. I teach in a Title 1 urban school. The AVID programs helps our students prepare for college starting in middle school. Here is a little about the AVID program and what I do at my school. My Blog and travel experiences will be based on my experiences as the AVID coordinator and Elective teacher.

AVID is...

• AVID is an acronym that stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination.
• AVID is an in-school academic support program for grades 4-12 that prepares students for college eligibility and success.
• AVID places academically average students in advanced classes.
• AVID levels the playing field for minority, rural, low-income and other students without a college-going tradition in their families.
• AVID is for all students.
• AVID is implemented school wide and district wide.

The AVID Student

AVID targets students in the academic middle - B, C, and even D students - who have the desire to go to college and the willingness to work hard.  These are students who are capable of completing rigorous curriculum but are falling short of their potential. AVID pulls these students out of their unchallenging courses and puts them on the college track: acceleration instead of remediation.

The AVID Elective

Not only are students enrolled in their school's toughest classes, such as honors and Advanced Placement, but also in the AVID elective.  For one period a day, they learn organizational and study skills, work on critical thinking and asking probing questions, get academic help from peers and college tutors, and participate in enrichment and motivational activities that make college seem attainable.  Their self-images improve, and they become academically successful leaders and role models for other students. 

The AVID Curriculum

The AVID curriculum, based on rigorous standards, was developed by middle and senior high school teachers in collaboration with college professors.  It is driven by the WICR method, (writing, inquiry, collaboration, and reading).  AVID curriculum is used in AVID elective classes & in content-area classes in AVID schools.

Until time....... 

Hopefully this will post

What a pain this has been. For some reason every time I try to post it say error on page. So let see if this will post!

Last Week February 7th

Last week was kind of hard two of my students a 7th grader and 8th grader were expelled all in the same week. It just breaks my heart because they are really good kids. I truly believe once they get through this they will truly learn from their mistakes. These are the type of things we deal with when teaching in an Urban school. I have learned after 3 years that I can't save everyone but I try my best to reach each one to let them know that you do not have to let your environment consume you.
 Until next time.....