FEA President Ford Address Legislative Panels on Teacher Quality
Collaboration, local solutions remain pivotal points in bolstering teacher quality
January 26, 2011
Contact: Mark Pudlow, 850.201.3223 or 850.508.9756
TALLAHASSEE – The president of the Florida Education Association (FEA) and the leader of one of its largest local affiliates affirmed Wednesday (1/26/11) that any successful education reform effort must occur in a collaborative and open environment, based on peer-reviewed research, developed locally, be student-centered and focused on continuous improvement of teaching and learning.
In two separate panel discussions before the Florida Senate Pre-K-12 Committee and the House K-20 Competitiveness Subcommittee, FEA President Andy Ford and Duval Teachers United (DTU) President Terrie Brady emphasized that Florida has experienced great success over the past several years. One example is Education Week’s Quality Counts report released earlier this month that showed Florida has the fifth best public school system in the country, up from 31st in the nation five years ago.
“Collaboration is a tool used when you share a legitimate purpose and goal,” FEA’s Ford said. “Our goal is to give students the best possible learning experience possible. We have proven time and again we are willing to collaborate, on the state level and on the local level. We will continue to collaborate on the policy and reforms that make sense: those policies that have a positive impact on our students and teachers and support staff.”
“Reform is hard, but it must be ongoing and failure is not an option,” DTU’s Brady said. “But we must have time to write and implement the elements of reform and they must be based on solid research. We must have local flexibility, foster trust in the reforms and they must be sustainable.”
Ford noted in his remarks before the Senate committee that this year’s process has been more open than the previous legislative session, when Senate Bill 6 was introduced and rushed through with no input from teachers and local school districts. He contrasted that with the effort over the state’s successful effort to secure a federal Race to the Top grant, which was approved only after all parties collaborated on a shared approach.
Others appearing before the Senate and House panels included local school superintendents and others from across the country who weighed in on their ideas for improving teaching and learning in Florida.
The Florida Education Association is the state’s largest association of professional employees, with more than 140,000 members. FEA represents pre K-12 teachers, higher education faculty, educational support professionals, students at our colleges and universities preparing to become teachers and retired education employees.
In the News
http://fltrib.com/new-teacher-merit-pay-bill-begins-take-shape
 |
Connect with us
|
FEA PublicAbout FEA |
FEA Member CenterMyFEA Login |
© 2012 Florida Education Association | Sponsored by the Florida Education Association
