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November 2007 Newsletter

Message from DOE Teacher Liaison, Nicole Flesvig
While Hispanic Heritage month has officially ended, International Education Week allows us to celebrate world cultures and heritage. This issue contains some resources to assist you in continuing the international celebration with your students. This issue also contains information about new FCAT Sample Test materials, Florida’s new Education Commissioner, opportunities to get girls involved in science, technology, engineering, and math and recognizes a few of the many outstanding Florida teachers. For questions about any of the articles below, contact me at JustforTeachers@fldoe.org.

“Just for Teachers” is always looking for news about what is going on in Florida schools. To share your school’s celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, International Education Week, or other events, contact JustforTeachers@fldoe.org.

International Education Week: November 12-16
International Education Week is just around the corner, and provides teachers and students opportunities to explore other countries, customs, languages, and traditions in addition to our own. It is also an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education worldwide. This joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education helps promote programs that prepare Americans for a global environment.

To access promotional materials, suggested activities for students, or test your global IQ with the Global IQ quiz, visit the International Education Week Web site.

Resources for exploring world cultures are also available from the Smithsonian. Click here to access them!

Teacher Tools: 2007-2008 FCAT Sample Test Books and Answer Keys
The Department of Education recently released more tools for teachers and students, to allow you to prepare for the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). The FCAT Sample Test Books and Answer Key Books are produced to help students take the mathematics and reading (grades 3-10), science (grades 5, 8, and 11), and writing (grades 4, 8, and 10) tests. The Sample Test Books are designed to help students become familiar with FCAT by providing helpful hints and offering practice answering questions in different formats. The Sample Answer Keys are designed to be used by teachers to explain to students the answers and solutions to the questions in the Sample Test Books, and to identify which Sunshine State Standards benchmark is being tested by the question. Click here to access these materials online.

Florida’s Proposed New Science Standards
The draft Sunshine State Standards for Science are now available on www.flstandards.org for public review and comment. In the interest of ensuring that these standards are clear, concise, and accurate, the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Mathematics and Science invites you to rate each of the benchmarks and provide valuable feedback to the writers. Public input will close on December 14. Input concerning the proposed standards can also be provided during four public meetings scheduled to take place in November at the following locations:

November 7, RA Gray Building, Tallahassee
November 15, Jones High School Auditorium, Orlando
November 20, Jefferson High School, Tampa
November 27, Coral Springs High School, Coral Springs
November 28, The Schultz Center for Teaching and Leadership, Jacksonville

For more information, please contact Todd Clark, Office of Mathematics and Science, at (850) 245-0764 or visit http://www.fldoestem.org.

Teacher in the Spotlight: Debbie Fahmie, Cypress Elementary School
2007 Osceola County Teacher of the Year & State Finalist
Debbie Fahmie’s classroom is filled bright and early every school day with students experimenting with new and unusual instruments, writing musical compositions, or rehearsing a song to sing at an upcoming performance.

“Mrs. Fahmie is more than a teacher, she is an inspiration,” writes teenager Donald Rupe about his second grade teacher. Donald only had Deborah as a teacher for a short time, but vividly remembers playing the xylophone, tambourine and recorder for the first time in her class 13 years ago. That’s the kind of teacher Deborah Fahmie is: memorable and impacting. The Cypress Elementary K-5 Fine Arts teacher makes such an impression that this year marks the third time in 16 years of teaching that she has been nominated as the Osceola County Teacher of the Year. She is a charter member of the Department of Education’s Florida League of Arts Teachers professional development and mentoring program, and a founding member of the Osceola Arts for a Complete Education Coalition, for which she has organized numerous events to raise funds for student arts scholarships. In addition, the Osceola County School District entrusted Deborah to develop a $30,000 arts education project titled “Children’s LitARTure, Working Artistically with Children’s Literature.” She not only developed this integrated project, but also trained teachers from all disciplines from Pre-K through 12th grade on how to implement the program in their schools. Deborah’s students have been invited to perform at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, side-by-side with singing star Celine Dion, and most recently, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Her superintendent has described her as “the keystone to all positive academic and social gains for Cypress Elementary students.”

To recommend a teacher for the “Just for Teachers” Teacher Spotlight, contact JustforTeachers@fldoe.org.

Meet the Next Commissioner of Education: Dr. Eric J. Smith
The October issue of the “Just for Teachers” newsletter reported on the State Board of Education’s selection of the new Florida Commissioner of Education. The State Board voted unanimously to choose Dr. Eric J. Smith to lead the Department of Education. Prior to Dr. Smith being named as Commissioner, Dr. Smith was Senior Vice President for College Readiness for the College Board. In this position, he organized a new division to focus on a strategy to assist school districts in improving their high school graduates’ enrollment and completion rates in higher education. From 2002-2006, Dr. Smith was the Superintendent for Anne Arundel County Public Schools in Annapolis, Md.

Look for more information about the Department’s new Education Commissioner in an upcoming “Just for Teachers” newsletter.

Girls Get IT!: Resources for Getting Girls Involved in Information Technology
“Girls Get IT!” is an effort to create a network in Florida that offers girls and young women exciting opportunities to connect and explore the worlds of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM), leading to rewarding careers.

Girls Get IT! is a partnership between Cisco Systems, Inc., the Florida Community College and State University Systems (including Tallahassee Community College), and the Florida Distance Learning Consortium developed to create gender equity in the areas of Information Technology (IT) and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

According to Project Director Leah Cook, less than 20 percent of the current Information Technology (IT) workforce is female while nearly 75 percent of future jobs will require some type of use of technology. "Everyone agrees you have to get to them early, in middle school while they are making important decisions about their academic future," says Leah Cook, Project Director for the Girls Get IT! initiative. "Many times, once math gets difficult, we lose them."

The Girls Get IT! partnership provides:

  • Access for girls throughout Florida to participate in fun and educational activities related to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math;
  • New strategies and tools for teachers and students to discover the ever-changing world of technology;
  • Opportunities among education, community, and business organizations to develop best practices and information sharing capabilities; and
  • Opportunities to empower young women to explore careers in IT and STEM by offering mentors, internships, and a pathway into the workforce.

To access resources designed to spark students’ interest in IT and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, visit www.GirlsGetIT.org.

Governor Crist Announces Hispanic Heritage Educator and Student Awards
Three outstanding Hispanic educators were honored by Governor Crist with the inaugural Excellence in Education Award for their contributions to education in Florida. Each received an award check for $1,500, as well as a $500 gift certificate for office supplies, made possible by event sponsors. The winners are as follows:

  • Isabel Garcia, Coral Park Elementary School, Miami
  • Ingrid Robledo, George Washington Carver Middle School, Miami
  • Monica Sleeter, Hillsborough High School, Tampa

Three students were also honored for their outstanding essays. Essays addressed the topic, “In what way will you impact the future of the Hispanic community in Florida and why?” Each student will receive a four-year full tuition scholarship to the Florida state college or university of their choice and a laptop computer. The winners are as follows:

  • Gladys Levy, Devon Aire Elementary School, Miami
  • Elisa Lemerond, Tomlin Middle School, Plant City
  • Pedro Quevedo, Hialeah Senior High School, Hialeah

For more information on Florida’s Hispanic heritage, visit www.FloridaHispanicHeritage.com.

Did You Know?
The “Just for Teachers” Web page now contains FAQs on Major Areas of Interest. This page was developed in response to questions from Florida educators. To access this page, visit the “Education Legislation” section at www.fldoe.org/justforteachers.