Florida stands ready to lend a helping hand to ensure students can carry on with their studies, ... We want these students to have the ability to stay in school and we want their families to have the peace of mind of knowing that their son or daughter will continue their education, regardless of the tragedy that surrounds them now. |
For me or anyone else within the Department of Education to state a personal belief on this subject or to presume what may or may not be included in the revised science standards would be nothing short of negligent, ... It would destroy the integrity of the open process we have worked hard to establish. |
For next year, we need people in Florida, ... We're putting all our eggs in the recruitment effort. |
Gulf Coast teachers who have lost or left their homes due to Katrina's devastation are being forced to make important decisions on how to continue with their lives, ... Here in Florida we have a critical need for qualified teachers and that need increases each day as our state population grows and schools struggle to meet class size requirements. We welcome these evacuated teachers and students alike with open arms and waiving the certification fee is one small effort to make this transition as smooth as possible. |
I'm not going to let the press advance the time frame in which I address that subject, ... Our science standards are not going to be reviewed until next year at the earliest. |
If they have similar course requirements, they have a similar certification exam and they're certified, why make them go through the standards that may be one or two courses different just for Florida where it doesn't really make the difference between a quality teacher and a teacher that's less qualified, |
If you've done a good job teaching it, and the students have learned it, they'll answer whatever question is on the test, |
It will satisfy curiosity, probably, more than anything else, |
Life is becoming more and more complex, |
People are cutting back. They are getting higher bills and they're cutting back. |
Remember, it's a 10th-grade test, |
That's the premise that we have followed in redirecting administrative funds to problem areas, as opposed to some of the more Draconian measures we were faced with. |
They need to know that there is a significant amount of money there before they can plan in earnest, |
We have to get students rising to that higher standard. |
We're going to take that into account, ... with open arms. |