Florida is Not a First-Round Winner

The U.S. Department of Education announced only two first-round winners: Delaware and Tennessee. Both Delaware and Tennessee had strong teacher support for their applications - a fact that the U.S. DOE highlighted on its Web site.

Florida educators look for more collaboration in second phase of federal Race to the Top grant

As Florida’s teachers and parents are organizing across the state in opposition to the Florida Legislature’s latest heavy-handed education reform scheme, today’s announcement by U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan that Florida was not included in the first round of the federal Race to the Top Grant was testament to the lack of collaboration by the Florida Department of Education with others in the education community.

“It’s unfortunate, but understandable,” said Florida Education Association (FEA) President Andy Ford. “But the good news is that Florida will get a second chance to get it right.

“The Florida experience has repeatedly shown that true collaboration is the only way to enact lasting and meaningful reforms,” Ford said. “We are optimistic that in the second phase of the Race to the Top application process the most important voice in the conversation will not be ignored. We need true reform driven by those who understand our schools and students the best: our teachers.”

The federal competition was specifically designed to foster collaboration between all education stakeholders. The FEA had hoped to engage in meaningful collaboration with Florida Education Commissioner Eric Smith and the state Department of Education (DOE). The grant guidelines suggested that state applications that reflected a strong collaboration between school districts and local union leadership were more likely to succeed.

After a promising start on the Race to the Top application in August, education stakeholders were abruptly closed off from the process by the Florida DOE. After repeated attempts to restart discussions, the FEA had no choice but to oppose the state’s Race to the Top approach because it did not include teacher input or follow the guiding principles agreed upon by the Florida School Boards Association, the Florida Association of District School Superintendents, the Governor’s Office and FEA.

Today’s decision by Duncan was a clear sign that Florida’s Race to the Top Grant application was lacking in one vital area -- collaboration between the state Department of Education and FEA.

“We appreciate the goals that President Obama is seeking for the nation.” Ford said. “By getting another chance to apply for the Race to the Top grant, it will give us another opportunity to turn those goals into reality for the students of Florida.”

Conversely, Florida Senate President Jeff Atwater has taken a sledgehammer approach to education reform as he and Florida Republican Party Chair John Thrasher, strong-arm a punitive and test-heavy education reform bill through the Legislature.

“The FEA is optimistic that the DOE will toss aside the hammer and have an open, honest conversation about the types of programs teachers have been telling us we need,” Ford said.

For more than a year, an FEA work group has been compiling recommendations of how local unions can work with districts to help turn around failing schools. The recommendations of the Transforming Schools Task Force are research based and student centered. The FEA will be releasing those recommendations as discussions around the second phase application begin.

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.