From: Patricia Levesque (Patricia@afloridapromise.org) Sent time: Sunday, January 22, 2012 7:39:49 PM To: Padget, John? Desai, Dr. Akshayi? Martinez, Roberto? Feingold, Barbara? Chartrand, Gary? Shanahan, Kathleen? Bradshaw, Sally Cc: Mary Laura Bragg (MaryLaura@excelined.org) ? Joanna Hassell (Joanna@afloridapromise.org) ? Robinson, Gerard? Abbott, Lynn? Jaryn Emhof (Jaryn@excelined.org) Subject: school grades workshop -- invitation to press conference on Tuesday Attachments: Bileca and Benacquisto Parent Empowerment combined draft one pager.docx Dear members of the State Board of Educa on, I won't be appearing at your workshop on school grades tomorrow. However, I wanted you to know that the Founda on supports the department 's recommended changes to the school grade calcula on. I 'm available by cell if you have any specific ques ons - 850-443-1290. Also, I wanted to invite you to a press conference on Tuesday at 11:30 in the 301 Capitol. The Founda on is holding a press conference with Senate President Mike Haridopolos, Ben Aus n with Parent Revolu on, our bill sponsors Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto and Rep. Mike Bileca, former Sen. Al Lawson and other stakeholders. The press conference is on the parent empowerment bill. The bill does primarily two things: 1) creates a parent trigger - similar to california's law that gives parents the ability to direct school boards to select a specific turnaround differen ated accountability op on and 2) it ensures no child is assigned to an ineffec ve teacher two years in a row. I've a ached a short white paper on the legisla on. If any of you are interested in a ending the press conference, please let us know. Thank you for all the hard work you do serving on the state board of educa on. Patricia Bileca and Benacquisto Parent Empowerment combined draft one pager.docx The Foundation for Florida's Future SUPPORTS and asks you to VOTE YES on HB 1191- Parent Empowerment by Rep. Bileca and SB 1718 by Sen. Benacquisto The Foundation for Florida's Future asks that you vote YES on HB 1191/SB 1718 in the House K-20 Innovation Subcommittee/Senate Budget Subcommittee on PreK-12 on January 24th. HB 1191/SB 1718 recognizes that parents should be empowered to ensure their child receives a high quality education. A study by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation reports 98% of teachers surveyed believe family involvement in their child's education has a "strong" or "very strong" impact on student achievement. HB 1191/SB 1718 involves parents in their child's education by equipping moms and dads to make informed, impactful decisions regarding the quality of their child's teachers and school. Highlights: Empowering parents in this manner is vital, as parents are the only ones whose decisions are motivated Turn Around Schools purely by love for their child. Creates Parent Empowerment Act to enable parents to choose the intervention model to transform their child's persistently failing school. Allows democracy to prevail. When the majority of parents unite and sign the petition, their voice is heard. Increases parental awareness and involvement in schools. Picture of the country with states with PT leg passed green PT considering yellow Look at state on HB 1331 for example Insist on High Quality Teachers Students cannot be assigned to an "unsatisfactory" or "needs improvement" teacher 2 years in a row. Guarantees every child receives a highly effective or effective teacher at least every other year. "Choice, not chance, determines your destiny." - Aristotle Your support of our legislative priorities will be reflected in the grade you earn on the 2012 Florida Education Report Card. Please direct any questions to Joanna Hassell, Policy Analyst, at (850) 298-8571 or joanna@afloridapromise.org. www.afloridapromise.org P.O. Box 10691 o Tallahassee, Florida 32302 o (850) 391-3070 o (786) 664-1794 fax