Legislative Committee Submits Letters of Concern to Chancellor Haithcock and FL Education Commissioner Dr. Eric Smith

On October 3, 2008, a delegation of Florida Social Studies educators and FCSS/FASSS Lobbyist Bob Bedford met with both the Commissioner and Chancellor of Florida public schools. Letters of concern with supporting documentation were left with both officials. Although both officials expressed some dismay that the organizations were not entirely happy with the newly revised state social studies Next Generation Sunshine State Standards, they were very supportive of other requests contained within the letter. Later that day, FASSS president Jason Caros, emailed a thank you letter to both persons. (See other postings for this and his report of the meeting.) Promises of support for the announced goals contained within this letter were made, especially with regard to implementation of an accountability program for social studies within the state of Florida.
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Florida Association of Social Studies Supervisors
Florida Council for the Social Studies

October 3, 2008

Dr. Frances Haithcock
Chancellor, Florida D.O.E.
Turlington Building, Suite 514 325 West Gaines Street Tallahassee, Florida 32399

Dear Dr. Haithcock,

Florida educators are anticipating the curriculum changes that will soon result from the State Board of Education adoption of the Next Generation Standards for Social Studies. Since at least 1986 social studies teachers have gone on record with the Department to urge state accountability for our discipline area. Knowing the success of any such accountability program depends upon the quality of the state’s curriculum standards, we have also long urged the revision of Florida’s social studies curriculum standards. We applaud the Department for undertaking this initiative. Draft standards have been produced with the input of representative stakeholders and experts in the field. The standards apparently will soon be approved by the State Board of Education and then be permanently released to educators and the public.

We would be remiss, however, if we did not inform you at this that we have concerns both as the developmental process and the current status of these draft standards. We are unanimous in our belief that in order to have produced exemplary standards, the revision process should have been given the time that it deserved. Unfortunately, this has not been the case.

There were problems from the onset of the curriculum revision process. Too few classroom teachers with elementary experience were part of the initial meetings. There were many months of inactivity for members of the committee as leadership changes and funding issues delayed its work. The draft standards were released at the worst possible time – literally at the end of last school year – when teachers had little time to review them and offer constructive comments. Finally – based upon the limited time that was available to writers this past summer – the writing teams were unable to correct some of the gaps and weaknesses which still remain. As a result, although the standards are exemplary in many respects and in some ways superior to the previous standards, we feel additional time and resources should be devoted to this initiative.


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Perhaps not surprisingly, we found our colleagues in the area of science and language arts voicing similar concerns over the same process when they developed their curriculum standards. We therefore urge that the process of developing and refining the Next Generation social studies standards be continued and that additional resources be provided for their development.

We additionally urge that the Department take steps to move forward with plans to develop end of course high school assessments that will include social studies. We recommend in particular that the Commissioner commit to the development of an exemplary assessment in American History at the high school level. At no time in Florida’s history have we been able to accurately determine to what extent districts live up to the civic and historical mission of our schools. Many national reports and our own state’s rapid demographic changes increasingly make such an assessment vital to the preservation of the Republic. The draft standards for American History at the high school level would facilitate the construction of such an assessment even as work on these standards might continue to be refined at other grade levels.

It is our hope and expectation that the vacancy left by Mr. Levon Terrell be immediately filled by a full time experienced and qualified specialist for Social Studies within the Department. We also wish to once again urge that social studies be added to the state’s Student Progression Law for the elementary grades and to FCAT as soon as this is practically possible. We urge that increased attention be devoted to the importance of non-fiction reading on all Departmental curriculum packets and on FCAT. The revisions to the Third Grade Assessment Portfolio, for example, are insufficient in meeting the vital need for our students to acquire the necessary background knowledge so essential for improved reading comprehension. Nor do these selections model exemplary social studies readings. We welcome your support for the elementary teacher survey being currently conducted by the Florida Joint Center for Citizenship. This survey seeks to ascertain the status of social studies teaching in grades K-5 and to evaluate the impact of testing in our area. Finally, we welcome your presence at the upcoming Florida Council for the Social Studies Annual Conference being held October 24-25 in St. Petersburg in order to establish and maintain an excellent link of communication between yourself and Florida’s social studies teachers.

We look forward to your thoughts on the above ideas and in discussing with you ways that Florida students may be better prepared to lead productive lives as responsible citizens in a truly interdependent world.

Sincerely,

Jason Caros
President, Florida Association of Social Studies Supervisors
Vice President Elect, Florida Council for the Social Studies