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Foundation for Rural Education Excellence
Supporting Academic Achievement in
Rural Northeast Florida Communities
January 2023 Newsletter
The Foundation for Rural Education Excellence, a registered 501 (C)(3) organization, was founded in 1998 to facilitate philanthropic support for rural school districts of the North East Florida Educational Consortium (NEFEC): Baker, Bradford, Columbia, Dixie, Flagler, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Levy, Nassau, Putnam, Suwannee, and Union Counties as well as Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind and PK Yonge Developmental Research School. Working collaboratively, our mission is to enhance academic success and career opportunities for rural students in northeast Florida.
Employment Law Professional Learning Series
NEFEC's HR Network participated in the first of a series of employment law sessions on January 13th.

David Marsey, a partner with Rumberger/Kirk in Tallahassee, led a half-day training on the legal implications of conducting employee investigations.

Future sessions will focus on consistency in documenting and imposing discipline, strategic approaches to collective bargaining, correctly paying minimum wage and overtime, and recent changes in employment law.
NEFEC Professional Learning Website
When NEFEC's instructional team facilitates a regional session of professional learning, the resources from the session are made available on the pl.nefec.org site. 

Using this site, participants register their attendance, access content during the session, and collect resources for use after the session is completed. If they miss a session they can visit the site to see what they missed. When participants collaborate during the session on chart paper, photos of the charts are uploaded for future access. 
To the right is a participant-created chart about formative assessments from one of the recent Coach Cadre sessions. 

The benefit of regional PL is the cross-district collaboration that occurs, but only if that collaboration is recorded and shared so they can go back to it in their district and think about how it applies to their work in the context of their individual schools and roles. 

The goal is that teachers, coaches, and administrators have access to each of the PL sessions through this site even if they are unable to attend due to illness, lack of substitute coverage, or other reasons.   
NOELs Celebrate Literacy Week
Take a deep dive into literacy and splash into new words with Florida students, educators, and parents this month for Celebrate Literacy Week!

At the January NOELs (NEFEC Organization of Education Leaders) meeting, attendees engaged in a carousel of famous quotes from children’s literature in preparation for the upcoming event!

Celebrate Literacy Week raises reading awareness and inspires students to read every day!
Mark Your Calendars
25th Annual Golf Tournament

FREE's annual golf tournament is scheduled for March 24, 2023, at The Palatka Golf Club.
Summer Leadership Conference

NEFEC's Annual Summer Leadership Conference is scheduled for July 10-11, 2023, at the Sawgrass Marriott in
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL.


Foundation for Rural Education Excellence
(352) 317-0621

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