At the August 27th Leon County School Board (LCSB) meeting, elected officials approved an application seeking revenue for the district’s turnaround plan for Bond Elementary, Oak Ridge Elementary, and Pineview Elementary.
The LCSB submitted a Turnaround School Supplemental Services Application to the Florida Department of Education in compliance with Senate Bill 7070. The Board requested a total of $680,327 from the Turnaround Schools Supplemental Services Allocation (TSSSA) to fund implementation plans for each school.
Bond, Oak Ridge, and Pineview are all eligible for TSSSA funding based on turnaround status. Information provided at the meeting details an implementation plan with seven action items and associated budget estimates for each school.
The proposed allocations show Pineview receiving $148,651, Bond receiving $305,389, and Oak Ridge $226,987. Detailed budgets for each school are listed below.
The plan for improving student academic proficiency, one of the required action items, makes up a large part of each school’s budget estimate. Bond plans to provide afterschool and Saturday instruction through its existing Eagle Program, estimating a cost of $87,000 to pay teachers in the program.
Oak Ridge will use $23,000 to develop an “Academic Academy designed to provide tutoring to students beyond the school day.” Pineview will spend $34,803 paying teachers to develop “differentiated practice” reading and literature homework to respond to individual students’ needs.
To gauge academic improvement, the schools must create “clearly defined and measurable high academic and character standards.” All three schools plan to continue their existing strategies in this area—classroom walkthroughs, the Positive Behavior Intervention Support program, and more.
Each school also must offer professional development focused on “academic rigor, direct instruction, and creating high academic and character standards.” Oak Ridge will spend $40,000 on workshops and professional development for teachers and administrators. The goal of the workshops is to create strategies for helping students meet standards in math, science, and ELA.
Another action item requires schools to “identify, recruit, retain and reward instructional personnel.” All three schools plan to publicly celebrate teachers by recognizing their successes in student academics and behavior, but the memo does not include how the schools plan to identify and recruit personnel.
The schools are also required to build community relationships through services like enrichment programs and parent events. Oak Ridge estimates spending $55,000 on a STEM activity center and afterschool tutoring. The school will host community programs at its P.O.P. (Preparation, Opportunity, Progression) Center.
Similarly, the schools must attempt to get parents more engaged in their children’s educations. Bond will use $78,940 to host monthly parent workshops and events like a STEAM/STEM Night and a Community Enrichment Day.
Finally, each school must have a sustainability plan. Bond will use $55,479 to maintain community relationships through a parent liaison, Oak Ridge will dedicate $8000 to its after-school program, and Pineview will spend a total of $47,740 on tools like interactive classrooms and a reading garden.
The sustainability plans aim to ensure that each school will continue improvement even after turnaround.
Estimated Budgets
LCS Requests $680,000 for Elementary School Turnaround Strategy added by Lexie Pitzen on
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How much of this money is going to the retired “bring backs” that Super Rocky promised to get rid of? Check for funds to Olk, Wright, Henderson, etc.
My question is about #4, “Describe how instructional personnel will be identified, recruited, retained and rewarded = NO FUNDS ALLOCATED”
It would seem to me that if you want more incentivized interest by our educators then take the money and work to pay them more. Some of the money is being used for teachers, but why is the bulk of this money not used for this as an incentive? Teachers work hard. Don’t believe it? Go try and have a full day of class, oh, prepare for the kids an hour before they show up. Then teach all day. Then work with students after school or attend meetings for groups you are placed on. Then go prepare lessons for the next school day. Go home, grade papers, work on projects, and that’s with your students, not even your own children. Think you can keep up? I doubt it, and then be asked with barely little extra money to stay even longer and give up a Saturday. It’s ridiculous, but our teachers do it every day. 46th out of the state for teacher salary. Yeah, why should a teacher want to do this again. Use the money wisely LCSB. Give it to the teachers, first and foremost. Then you might start seeing some better results.
Money will never be the solution to education.
Not used like this…the money could be spent wisely(boarding schools) and affect a positive result.
How much have these schools paid for the worst test prep math program Acaletics? What is the involvement of LCS Foundation Nick Maddox with this program? What is Pam Hightower doing with the emails to the owner? Test prep is supposed to be against state statute but hey it is the Rocky Horror Test Prep factory. How about Godby and Rickards putting most students in AP US History to game the system.
Whoever commented on this needs their head examine! Look at the data and the results! The founders actual three children grow up using ACALETICS and All attended Harvard and/or Cornell. Maybe you need to have your family member try it if they are smart enough!
The Tallahassee Democrat refuses to answer questions about Nick Maddox because Mary Ann Lindley endorsed him even though he was running a scam that he was touting as a Seminole Boosters fundraising Foundation when actually it was defunct and never raised one dime. Bob Gabordi refused to report it and Mary Ann Lindley endorsed him anyway.
He has created chaos in his path as he did nothing and said nothing during the joint dispatch problems that took the life of several citizens and a deputy sheriff. Nick Maddox voted for the Waste Pro contract that Gary Yordon and Scott Maddox were illegally involved with and receiving money for. The Waste Pro services have been disappointing and they under serve our citizens. Nick Maddox is on the board for the CRA and we all know the problems there. There was drama with Nick Maddox’s former aide that the county had to pay off for which the reason has yet to be divulged publicly. The Tallahassee Democrat refuses to report on Nick Maddox’s track record
at the Leon County Schools Foundation where he is leaving and now he is handed a position at the Boys & Girls Club even though he has no education or experience in that area.
It is one thing to endorse Maddox but it rises to a more disturbing scenario when everyone looks the other way and says and does nothing.
I do not see where Nick Maddox and Mary Ann Lindley have contributed anything favorable to Leon County.
Sounds like they are asking for more money to do the same things they have failed at for the past three decades.
Rocky Hanna is a Failure, as are the illustratrus Assistant Superintendents who never applied for or were interviewed for a job yet are paid over $100, 000 each while teacher are the 46th lowest paid in Florida.
Gregory, Cox, Kraul, Bell, Rodgers…wow!
Rocky pays his henchmen top dollar while teachers are the lowest paid in Florida.
Despite the fancy breakdown of the various subjects to receive money which our leftist run school board has provided, all we have here is a situation in which our leftists in charge are feeling the publics wrath at their inept and inefficient operations, along with their realization that if they dont attempt this fake Hail Mary play for the money … the voting public will toss them all out next election.
Yep thats what we have here.
Anyone who thinks this desperate “throw money at the problem” scheme is going to be successful is a moron. It never works and the chance of a good bit of the money being diverted to stupid stuff is pretty much a sure thing.
Heck some of the money will actually end up in the unions hands.
Get real folks; the leftists always will do exactly as described above with the money. They already have a plan in place to fudge the numbers to make it all look like some improvements will have been made.
Its straight out of the leftist play book. Its what they do.
The Leon County School Board just needs you voters to elect Steve Stewart to clean their mess up within the already allocated budget.
Leftists throwing money at a problem never works.
Is Steve running???? He’s got my vote and I’m one of the “leftist” you speak of. I taught school around here and I agree with your criticisms and the plan to throw more money at this problem is stupid. The money would be better spent putting these vulnerable students in boarding schools. I truly hope Steve runs for the school board….that’d be a no brainer.