Tallahassee Democrat  response when asked to give myself a letter grade on how LCS handled the pandemic.

Grade: None

I am incredibly proud of the creative and compassionate response of the Leon County School Board, the Superintendent and our dedicated employees. When life changed overnight, we sprang into action for our children and families.

Our digital platforms for instruction didn’t work for some, so we quickly adopted a ‘forgiveness’ grading policy to relieve student/family stress. We fed thousands of children, provided mental health services, supported 800 homeless children, distributed laptops to needy kids, provided Wi-Fi buses to targeted neighborhoods, created a “drive-in” graduation ceremony and governed by Zoom.

In effect, we built the bicycle while riding it.  Only the community can give us a grade.
Rosanne Wood

It’s about communication-not a logo

It’s true that the district needs a special education teacher at Kate Sullivan Elementary School. But it’s not that we don’t have the funds to hire the teacher, as was implied in a recent news article. We simply can’t find a qualified applicant.

We are in the throes of a national teacher shortage. So how do we get a highly qualified applicant to move to Leon County and teach here? Marketing our schools.

For example, the first thing an out-of-state teacher looks at is our website, and we need to make it more attractive and informative.

How many parents know that in many of our elementary schools, we are now offering engineering, robotics and foreign language classes? Or that we will soon launch pre-IB programs at W.T. Moore and Hartsfield? Do they know our high school students can dual enroll and earn an AA degree or become certified in a vocational skill before graduation? I doubt it.

We have many outstanding programs in our public schools and it’s our job to let the public know about them.

As our highest priority, Superintendent Rocky Hanna and our school board have cut district costs and plowed millions of dollars back into our schools for safety, supplies, equipment, student activities, Pre-K programs and pay raises for all employees.

We live in a competitive world of choice, charters and private school vouchers. Public education used to be a monopoly. No competition. Every year, the students simply showed up. Not today.

There’s a reason you constantly see and hear advertisements for private and charter schools. Every child who leaves Leon County Schools takes $7,000 in state funding with them. Between home school, private school vouchers and charter schools, the district loses nearly $53 million dollars a year! We can’t sit idly by and watch funding drain from our innovative programs in the arts and technology.

Some have criticized our recent decision to hire an educational consulting firm to guide us. Simple answer — we can’t afford not to. If we don’t tell parents and the community about the many great choices they have right in LCS, how will they know? If 10-20 students stay in or return to Leon County schools, that will more than pay for our efforts.

We are also dealing with crisis situations at our schools. Most of the time they are false alarms. But regardless, parents demand immediate, accurate information. This takes a strategic approach to communication, and that’s part of this plan.

No one questions that a child’s first teacher is the parent. Yet we struggle to get some parents involved in their child’s education. What’s the solution? Improving communication with parents and assisting them in helping their child.

Everyone knows property values are affected by perceptions of “good and bad” neighborhood schools. It’s in our community’s interest that every child in every neighborhood have a great public school — and that people know about it.

So this initiative isn’t really about “branding.” It’s about communicating with parents, recruiting teachers, supporting our staff, building community support and maintaining our budget so we can deliver the highest quality education our students deserve. 

Rosanne Wood is on the Leon County School Board

It’s about communication-not a logo

It’s true that the district needs a special education teacher at Kate Sullivan Elementary School. But it’s not that we don’t have the funds to hire the teacher, as was implied in a recent news article. We simply can’t find a qualified applicant.

We are in the throes of a national teacher shortage. So how do we get a highly qualified applicant to move to Leon County and teach here? Marketing our schools.

For example, the first thing an out-of-state teacher looks at is our website, and we need to make it more attractive and informative.

How many parents know that in many of our elementary schools, we are now offering engineering, robotics and foreign language classes? Or that we will soon launch pre-IB programs at W.T. Moore and Hartsfield? Do they know our high school students can dual enroll and earn an AA degree or become certified in a vocational skill before graduation? I doubt it.

We have many outstanding programs in our public schools and it’s our job to let the public know about them.

As our highest priority, Superintendent Rocky Hanna and our school board have cut district costs and plowed millions of dollars back into our schools for safety, supplies, equipment, student activities, Pre-K programs and pay raises for all employees.

We live in a competitive world of choice, charters and private school vouchers. Public education used to be a monopoly. No competition. Every year, the students simply showed up. Not today.

There’s a reason you constantly see and hear advertisements for private and charter schools. Every child who leaves Leon County Schools takes $7,000 in state funding with them. Between home school, private school vouchers and charter schools, the district loses nearly $53 million dollars a year! We can’t sit idly by and watch funding drain from our innovative programs in the arts and technology.

Some have criticized our recent decision to hire an educational consulting firm to guide us. Simple answer — we can’t afford not to. If we don’t tell parents and the community about the many great choices they have right in LCS, how will they know? If 10-20 students stay in or return to Leon County schools, that will more than pay for our efforts.

We are also dealing with crisis situations at our schools. Most of the time they are false alarms. But regardless, parents demand immediate, accurate information. This takes a strategic approach to communication, and that’s part of this plan.

No one questions that a child’s first teacher is the parent. Yet we struggle to get some parents involved in their child’s education. What’s the solution? Improving communication with parents and assisting them in helping their child.

Everyone knows property values are affected by perceptions of “good and bad” neighborhood schools. It’s in our community’s interest that every child in every neighborhood have a great public school — and that people know about it.

So this initiative isn’t really about “branding.” It’s about communicating with parents, recruiting teachers, supporting our staff, building community support and maintaining our budget so we can deliver the highest quality education our students deserve. 

Rosanne Wood is chair of the Leon County School Board

Forty-seven cents per student just won’t cut it

Opinion:
Rosanne Wood, Your Turn Published 2:00 p.m. ET April 21, 2018
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The Florida Legislature allocated public schools a whopping 47 cents more per student for discretionary spending for the upcoming school year. In real terms, considering rising insurance premiums and inflation — that’s a big cut. Last year the school board received a hundred extra dollars per student, which wasn’t enough to provide needed teacher salary increases.

So what does this have to do with approving new charter schools? Well, if you hear a loud leaking sound near your local public school, be alarmed, but don’t be surprised. It’s not a gas leak — it’s the sound of funding being siphoned off to support private school vouchers and public charter schools.

Unfortunately, for every charter approved, the District gets poorer and less able to offer new innovative programs and choices for everyone’s children. Leon County has some new attractive programs in the works, but may not be able to afford them if our budget keeps shrinking.

The current local controversy over whether the school board should approve two more charter schools is not about believing in school choice, it’s about survival. In a perfect world where funding is plentiful and the playing field is level, it would be easy to say yes to all kinds of school options. Charters can be good vehicles for meeting parents’ preferences and experimenting with innovative ideas.

However, we are faced with a decision. Can we afford a dual education system when one slowly drains the other, plays by a different set of rules and leaves many children behind?

The Plato Academy charter application is from an out-of-town charter company with an out-of-town school board run by a for-profit management company. There are six of these charter chains in Pinellas County alone.

While they are considered “high-performing” charters, close inspection of Plato Academy student populations in Pinellas County reveal that their enrollment of African American, disabled and low socioeconomic students is far below the Pinellas district average (According to the DOE School Public Accountability Reports, 2015-16.)

In this application, no location has been named and we have no assurance that their student population will mirror Leon County. We do know the projected population of 728 students will drain at least $4.5 million dollars per year out of the Leon County school system once it is completely built out.

The proposed Classical Charter model is affiliated with the conservative Hillsdale College in Michigan and is being pushed by powerful politicians around the state. One was just approved in Martin County this week. But, at least this charter application was primarily written by local parents who clearly want this school option for their children.

Unfortunately, the other Hillsdale affiliated Classical charters in Florida also show a disproportionate enrollment of white, non-disabled, middle-class students. Carpooling is the only transportation plan, services for handicapped students are minimally described and no location has been announced. They also project 746 students with a similar $4.5 million funding drain.

What most people don’t realize is that buildings charters lease and improve with tax dollars are not publicly owned. If they fold, as four already have, it’s tax money down the drain. Furthermore, elected school boards have little discretion whether a new charter school is approved or not. If the application meets the mandated criteria, they are difficult to deny. If denied, they can appeal to the State Board of Education.

When school districts have tried to put local requirements in a charter agreement, such as a concrete justification of need, required bus transportation, a reflective student body, or location in an impoverished area, rules have been tightened to disallow restrictions.

The charter school contract no longer allows districts to add any conditions that the applicants don’t agree to. If the new proposal from the Constitutional Revision Commission passes, school boards will be bypassed completely.

By not recommending the two currently proposed charters, Superintendent Hanna is asking the question, “If DOE says that we can’t build a new school because we have plenty of available capacity, how can we authorize two new charter schools for over 1,400 students?”

What if 10 charter proposals were submitted that met the required criteria? Would the School Board have to approve all of them? Maybe so. Where do we draw the line?

All parents want schools that meet the needs of their children. So do we. But when your car tire is leaking and you can’t afford a new car, you fix the tire first. You don’t buy a shiny new car.

Both proposals have interesting elements and I hope Leon County Schools can incorporate some of them into our existing public schools. But that takes resources, and 47 cents just won’t cut it.

Rosanne Wood was a principal for 32 years and now serves on the Leon County School Board.

(Photo: Pat Bagley/The Salt Lake Tribune)

Leon County School Board signs resolution against arming teachers

Published 8:58 p.m. ET March 27, 2018, Tallahassee Democrat

I was proud to introduce a resolution to make sure only certified law enforcement officers are armed on our school campuses. This is all about keeping our students safe and our school employees focused on their mission- to educate kids!

The School Board voted  unanimously to adopt this resolution, one of the first in the state.  To ensure safe campuses, there will be a certified law enforcement agent on each campus as well as increased monitoring and safe school practices.

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Opinion: It’s time for legislators to be the heroes

teachers are heroes picture of rosi
Rosanne Wood, Your Turn
Published Feb. 19, 2018, Tallahassee Democrat

Teachers are heroes every day. Now, It’s our elected officials’ turn.

Countless teachers put themselves on the line every day for our children. Some days it’s a small act, like a hug, a phone call to a parent, breaking up a fight, teaching empathy, resiliency; you name it.

And then there are the big acts — like throwing yourself in the trajectory of bullets from a military assault rifle to save your students’ lives. Whatever it takes; that’s what teachers do.

As a mom, a grandma, a former principal and now an elected School Board member, I call upon our governor and Legislators to take their turn to be heroes. Thoughts and prayers are not enough.

It is ludicrous that our state laws allow 18-year-olds (or anyone else) to buy military-style assault rifles. They serve only one purpose — to kill people, lots of them. It is a sorry state of affairs to inject fear into children by teaching them how to hide or run in the case of an active shooter on campus. Yet at this point, we must.

I don’t think living in the land of the free and home of the brave means our school children should have to hide in closets or our teachers should be expected to take bullets to protect them. 

I want our elected officials to be brave and stand up to the pressure causing them to be afraid to protect our children with sensible gun safety reform.

No doubt about it, more safe school money and mental health counselors are needed. But that’s not enough. We cannot arm our way out of this danger.

The young people from Parkland and around the country are leading the way. They say enough is enough.

On Wednesday many of us will gather with them at the Historic Capitol at noon to demand action at the “Rally to Support Gun Safety Reform.” We will rally to ban assault rifles as they were from 1994 to 2004. We will rally for common sense.

The best antidote to feelings of helplessness is action. Bring your children for a live civics lesson on Wednesday. Show them what democracy looks like.

Rosanne Wood is a mom, grandma and Leon County School Board member.

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Opinion: HB1 not the cure for school bullies or bullied

Rosanne Wood, My View,  Published Nov. 16, 2017, Tallahassee Democrat

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As a public-school principal for 32 years, and now as an elected school board member, I consider protecting our students from violence and bullying our sacred duty. No child should ever feel afraid to attend our schools.

I’m sad to say we live in a culture where many children are exposed to violence or can be harassed any time of day on social media. Without adequate supports in place, the resulting trauma can spill over into our classrooms. Our kids and public schools need the Legislature’s help more than ever.

We desperately need early intervention programs, more mental health counselors, and proven safe school programs to protect all children. These measures would help us prevent bullying in the first place.

We are told over and over there is no money for such things.

Meanwhile, House Bill 1 aims to divert up to $40 million for private school vouchers (“Hope Scholarships”) to parents seeking a way out of a public school because their child has been bullied or has been in fights. However, in this bill, parents can use this reason even if their child started the fight or the problem has been completely resolved at the school.

I support zero tolerance for student bullying. Florida Statute 1006.147 requires every public school to investigate, report and protect any student who is victimized by bullying. Parents and superintendents already have many options to transfer students to another classroom or public school as needed.

HB1 is not the answer; it opens Pandora’s Box for those who want a voucher to attend a private school yet does nothing to prevent the remaining students at the public school from being bullied. Neither does it provide any resources to help us address the problems of the troubled child who is doing the bullying or starting fights.

Let’s be honest. This bill seeks to establish a new public avenue to fund private and religious schools at taxpayer expense.

Furthermore, calling this a “Hope Scholarship Program” so folks can donate $20 instead of paying that tax when registering a car, seems like a ploy to disguise what this really is. Unknowingly, people will be diverting tax dollars to a private school voucher program instead of paying taxes that could otherwise support needy children in public schools.

During the 2016-17 school year, Florida corporations were allowed to divert $539 million to the Florida Tax Scholarship program to 1,733 participating Florida private and religious schools. No standards or accountability required.

I can’t understand why the Legislature keeps channeling our tax dollars away from our public schools when our need is so great and their duty is so paramount.

In a time when public schools are in such need, diverting more tax dollars to private schools that are not accountable to them makes no sense to me. Aren’t public schools their primary responsibility?

If the House passes this bill, the message to public schools will be loud and clear: “You don’t respect us to look out for the very students we are pledged to protect and educate.”

Our public schools need financial support and real solutions, not a new $40 million car registration gimmick disguised as hope.

Rosanne Wood is a member of the Leon County School Board and was the principal of SAIL High School for 32 years.

 

Great School Choices in Every Neighborhood

 

Here I am proposing a Magnet School/Choice Task Force to the Superintendent and School Board.

Americans love choice; walk through the cereal or toothpaste aisle at any store if you’re not convinced. All parents want the very best for their children. Many are willing to make sacrifices of money and convenience to enroll their child in what they perceive as the best available school. The fact that this year Leon County Schools had nearly 3,700 new choice requests for a school outside of their home-zoned school proves this point. Another 1,000 parents are homeschooling their children and 5,000 are choosing our 41 private schools, not including FAMU or FSU Developmental Research Schools.

There are many good reasons people choose a school other than their zoned school, such as work proximity, special programs, religion and tradition. There are also very ill informed reasons caused by misleading school grades, rumor mill, prejudice and misconceptions.

Often schools are too busy dealing with what they are doing to effectively market themselves and create new programs. It’s up to us in the Leon County School District to help them.  To do this right, we’ll need help from the business community, developers, realtors and the City and County governments to help us make every school a good choice and an informed choice.

My Proposal–Include a wide-range of stakeholders to:

  • Map out a long-range vision/plan to make all schools attractive to a broad socio-economic mix of students.
  • Provide district support to existing magnet schools and programs and create new attractive, dynamic K-12 magnet programs in targeted schools.
  • Design a marketing campaign to better inform parents of new and existing Leon County School options to those who are choosing to attend private, home, charter and public schools outside their school zone.

Thank You Scientists!

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March for Science Rally in Tallahassee, Florida

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Rosanne speaking at the Tallahassee March for Science Rally April 22, 2017. Thank you scientists!

Next month I’m getting cataract surgery- I’ve worn glasses since the 6th grade. With new multi-focal lenses, I likely won’t ever have to wear glasses again. In places like Burma, doctors are curing the blind with 20-minute cataract surgeries. -Thank you scientists.

Today I was directed here by GPS with this very small device that fits in my pocket-which is also my camera, audio book, personal stereo, international news source, instant argument solver (thank you google), my dictionary, calendar, mini-movie theater, address book and control over my hearing aids when I get them (per my daughter- it won’t be long)—Thank you scientists.

We are surrounded by the tangible and intangible outcomes produced by the meticulous work of scientists around the world. So, a big thank you from all of us!

We all have a role to play to save the planet. What should we do? For me, education is the obvious answer.  Here’s what I want:

Parents-The first time your toddler discovers that mixing water and dirt together can create a cool mud pie, I want you to celebrate your miniature scientist and nurture that sense of wonder and discovery from then on.

Teachers and Administrators-I want you to realize, that despite all the pressures for good test scores and school grades, that there IS time for developmental play/recess, field trips, science labs, thematic learning and hands-on problem solving.

Everyone-I want you to know that school and fun do not have to be antonyms; they can be synonyms. There is nothing more fun than learning how to read a book or play an instrument or do a science experiment in a lab.

I want you all to remember–Children are naturally curious and love to learn. They will persevere IF we can just refrain from draining all the joy and adventure from learning. No adult nor child likes constant grading, testing and tedious homework. School should not be about stress; it should be about challenge—and that’s what science is.

Science makes sense of the world and teaches us to question things don’t make sense. Science teaches students how to make and defend an argument based on real facts supported by evidence.

Our education system needs a make-over. Students literally have all the facts and figures that they need at their fingertips. Science education needs to start on day one of pre-kindergarten with that first mud pie or bumble bee that lands on the flower. The Scientific method which values trial and error and learning from mistakes should be at the core of our instructional methods.

Legislators and policy makers: I want you to listen to educators.  We need to have a serious talk about what does and does not work when it comes to nurturing our future scientists and mathematicians, as well as our artists and poets. We need you to use the scientific method and research how to save our public schools-It’s not rocket Science! Start by asking a teacher.

Next attract young people and working scientists to become teachers by providing a good salary. Teaching is the most noble profession; we need to treat it as such.  And if any of you out there want to become a teacher-we need you, now more than ever.

I can tell you with certainty that the path we are on now, which rewards correct answers on tests over in-depth learning is not the way forward. If we are counting on the next generation to save our planet- we need to make sure they can solve complex problems, not just answer multiple choice questions. Science is the opposite of being rewarded for the right answers; science is about asking the right questions.

My earth day t-shirt didn’t arrive on time, but here’s what it said and what I believe– NO SCIENCE, NO LIFE— KNOW SCIENCE, KNOW LIFE.

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