"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them."
- Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)
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Attention Superintendents:
The Countdown is on to Register for the Exclusive
Blue Origin "Launch to Learning" Event
Through a working partnership with Blue Origin's Club for the Future, Northeast Florida Regional STEM2Hub and other STEM-related organizations, FADSS is excited to extend this unique educational opportunity and exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the Blue Origin manufacturing facility and Launch Pads to all Florida superintendents and one administrator per district, and Florida’s three educational consortium executive directors. This event marks the first time a group has been afforded this extensive, behind-the-scenes tour of the Blue Origin Manufacturing Complex and Orbital Launch Site at Cape Canaveral.
The deadline to register is Monday, May 23, 2022. Detailed information and a link to register was emailed to all superintendents. If you need the information and link resent to you, please email Diana Oropallo.
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A Great Time to Celebrate |
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When I was a high school principal and throughout my 10 years as superintendent, one of my favorite times of the year was graduation time. It wasn’t because I was looking forward to the end of the school year. It was because I loved participating in high school graduations.
There is nothing more thrilling than seeing the excitement, pride, and joy on the faces of students as well as parents/loved ones, as students walk across the stage to receive their diplomas. Each student has endured their own challenges and successes. And given the extreme disruption to education and challenges to learning that were brought about by the COVID pandemic, these students rose to the occasion and persevered. That is certainly something to celebrate!
Likewise, we need to celebrate and recognize the tremendous sacrifices and hard work of teachers and administrators to ensure that learning continued throughout this challenging time; school staff that kept schools running; cafeteria workers that kept students fed; school nurses who tended to the sick; bus drivers who transported students to and from school; and myriad others that played a daily role in ensuring that public school students had access to a high quality education.
This is a great time of the year to celebrate, and to pause and reflect on the hard work and dedication that have brought our young people to an exciting time in their lives.
Thank you for your dedication, service, and commitment to Florida public school students and public education!
Yours in Education,
Bill Montford
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FSBA | FADSS 2022 Joint Summer Conference
We are looking forward to seeing everyone at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay on June 9, for a day of learning, sharing of best practices and collaboration. We will have the pleasure of hearing from new Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz, and the opportunity to continue the conversation started with Senior Executive Chancellor Jacob Oliva at FADSS Spring Conference. Heather DiGiacomo, Chief of Staff for the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, will present on student attendance and CINS/FINS, and we’ll also hear from two current superintendents – Robby Edwards (Lafayette) and Diane Kornegay (Lake) – as they address instructional practice through building programming and creating common vision.
We look forward to seeing everyone in Tampa!
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Welcome to the Florida Superintendency |
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Dr. Kevin Hendrick selected as the next Pinellas County Schools Superintendent. Hendrick succeeds retiring superintendent Dr. Michael Grego. |
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Dr. Carmen Balgobin takes the reins as the new Volusia County Schools Superintendent. |
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Dr. Christopher Bernier is sworn in as Lee County Schools Superintendent on May 16, 2022. |
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Free Resource: Workouts for Continuous Improvement |
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Impact Florida has just released a new resource for education teams, developed with the input of FADSS members. Workouts for Continuous Improvement can help your team strengthen their continuous improvement muscles. The workouts take 90 minutes or less to complete and are designed to stand alone or work as an iterative process from beginning to end of an implementation effort. The workouts are self-facilitated activities that help guide teams to strengthen their use of data and build a culture of continuous improvement in Florida schools.
- Workout 1: Defining the Problem
- Workout 2: Testing Assumptions
- Workout 3: Implementing a Solution
- Workout 4: Go/No Go Decision-making
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Deadline Approaching for Florida Rural Cohort Grant
School districts and community-based organizations in rural areas of Florida have shown remarkable resilience and innovation in their meal programs by working together to increase food security for kids in their communities. No Kid Hungry FL recognizes the enormous power of these collaborative efforts, and that’s why we’ve created the first ever Rural Cohort Grant. If selected, a school district will receive $50,000 to support their partnership with an organization, and they will have the opportunity to meet virtually with other members of the Cohort from around the state to exchange best practices and solutions to challenges. Deadline to submit the application is June 3 at midnight.
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USDE: States Can Apply For Extension to Spend Federal Funds
Schools may get more time to spend federal COVID relief funding on building renovations, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) said in a letter Friday. States can apply for extensions to finish planned building upgrades, giving schools until April 2026 to spend the relief funds on facilities improvements, an extension on the previous September 2024 deadline.
“The Department does understand the need for schools to address urgent and pressing projects, including school infrastructure projects, intended to safeguard the health and safety of students, educators, and staff during this pandemic,” wrote Assistant Education Secretary Roberto Rodríguez.
Schools that receive extensions would still have to commit the funds to specific projects by September 2024, but they would have another 18 months to actually spend those dollars. For instance, a district could sign a contract for a building renovation in September 2024 and then pay that contractor over a period of 18 months.
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Analysis: How Medicaid Can Help Schools Support Students’ Mental Health
Source: Phyllis W. Jordan, Anne Dwyer, Bella Dimarco | The74.org | May 22, 2022
Among the COVID-19 pandemic’s most pernicious aftershocks is its impact on student mental health. Isolated at home, disconnected from friends and suffering trauma from family members’ job losses or pandemic-related deaths, students are experiencing high levels of anxiety and depression.
About 44% of adolescents experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness during the pandemic, compared with 37% in 2019, according to a recent survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In schools, students’ struggles manifest as misbehavior, disengagement from classwork and spiraling absenteeism.
Recognizing this, districts across the country are using federal COVID relief aid to bring mental health professionals into schools and to expand social-emotional learning. Public schools have received nearly $190 billion in three waves of federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds that can be used for a range of priorities, including school-based mental health supports.
But this unprecedented infusion of federal aid also creates a challenge: how to sustain new school staff positions when the funding expires at the end of 2024. Medicaid, the federal-state partnership that provides health care for millions of public school students, could be part of the solution — as long as states take the necessary steps to use it and federal agencies back them up.
Continue reading this article HERE.
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FADSS 2021 - 2022 Annual Business Partners |
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Be sure to follow FADSS on Twitter [@PublicSchoolSup] and tag FADSS in your district tweets so we can share the great stories and happenings in Florida public schools across our state!
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Florida Association of District School Superintendents
208 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32301
850.577.5784
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