URGENT APPEAL FROM NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EDUCATION

Forwarded by Elizabeth Smith, Manatee County

As you know, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recently released his plan for revising the Elementary & Secondary Education Act, called A Blueprint for Reform. Unfortunately, the Blueprint failed to list geography as an enumerated discipline in its public definition of a “well-rounded” education. This omission is troubling—especially since No Child Left Behind (“NCLB”) set an important precedent by recognizing geography as a “core academic subject.” TGIF aims to correct the oversight that leaves geography as the only one of the nine core subjects under NCLB not to have received designated federal funding since NCLB went into effect in 2002.

We here at National Geographic view the omission of geography from the Blueprint as an oversight, particularly because geography was included in President Obama’s FY11 budget, and the Administration has expressed a commitment to environmental sustainability and global citizenship. However, we simply cannot trust that geography will have a strong future without our vocal support. Now is the time to take two key steps to highlight the importance of geographic literacy. Both steps depend on you acting this week (April 19-23).

(1) Write to Secretary Duncan

Please modify the attached letter and email it directly to Secretary Duncan. As the authors of the Blueprint, he and Assistant Secretary for Policy Carmel Martin need to hear from the constituency for geographic literacy. We need you to send your email this week (April 19-23).

(2) Get Your Steering Committee and “Go-To” TCs to Write Congress

Please also contact all the members of your Steering Committee—and identify 10-20 additional key TCs—and direct them to modify and send the attached language via email to their respective congressional delegations by next week (April 26-30) or earlier.

This tightly-timed two-week push will coincide with the period that key leaders will be debating what to include in education reform. During this time, it is critical that Members of Congress hear from the Alliance Network that geography must be “put back on the map.”

Your Liaisons will be in touch this week to answer any questions you may have and I am always available. Please make this a priority—I will be visiting the Hill personally over the next week to ensure TGIF’s champions that we are doing all we can to push the bill and they will need to cite your Alliance’s emails as proof of a groundswell of support as they, in turn, speak to their colleagues and to key education committee members.

Thanks again for all you are doing!

Sincerely,


Chris Shearer


* * * *

Sample email to Arne Duncan
From Alliance Coordinators

During the week of April 19-23, please modify the email below to reflect your name, Alliance affiliation, and passion for geography education, and email it to: arne.duncan@ed.gov with a “CC” to carmel.martin@ed.gov


Dear Secretary Duncan:

As a geography educator from [State], I was very concerned to learn that your recent “Blueprint for Reform” of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act did not include geography as an enumerated discipline in the public definition of a “well-rounded” curriculum.

For years now, geography has been recognized by “No Child Left Behind,” and its predecessors, as a core academic subject essential for preparing students for careers, college, and citizenship. Unfortunately, an oversight has left geography as the only core subject not to receive dedicated federal funding for teacher training and educational improvement. Fortunately, the “Teaching Geography is Fundamental” Act (TGIF, S. 749, H.R. 1240), as introduced in the 111th Congress, would authorize the first-ever federal support of geographic literacy.

I know that you will be hearing from many influential institutions and national leaders about priorities for reforming “No Child Left Behind.” Please know that our nation must have better geography education. The Obama Administration has been strongly committed to global citizenship and environmental sustainability. Geography uniquely addresses these issues—from cultural studies and natural systems to economic interdependence and human-environmental interaction. Our students will need such knowledge and skills to succeed in life, to secure employment in a global marketplace, and to analyze important federal initiatives as citizens of the United States and the world.

Here in [State], I am part of a volunteer network of university professors and K-12 teachers, called the [State Geographic Alliance]. Together, we connect educators to training, materials, and networking to help them pursue high-quality standards and to excel in the classroom. Our time and energy has been supported over the years by local universities, the state legislature, local foundations and corporations, and the National Geographic Society, which provides annual core funding for the Alliance. The only potential partner not “on the map” is the federal government.

As you develop your vision for ESEA reauthorization, please ensure that geography is again included in the definition of a “well-rounded” curriculum, and please include funding for geography education as proposed in TGIF.

On behalf of my colleagues in the Alliance and across the state, and our students, thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Name
Address
Title
* * * *

Sample email to Your Members of Congress
from TCs and Steering Committee Members

Please modify the email below to reflect your name, Alliance affiliation, and passion for geography education, and email it to your House Representative and both your Senators (instructions for finding their emails are attached).

Dear [Senator, Representative]:

As your constituent and a member of the [State Geographic Alliance], I am writing to urge you to support the “Teaching Geography Is Fundamental” Act (TGIF, S. 749, H.R. 1240).

TGIF enjoys bipartisan co-sponsorship from nearly a quarter of both the House and Senate. Passing TGIF would be an important step in correcting the oversight that has left geography as the only one of nine core subjects under “No Child Left Behind” not to have received designated federal funding for education improvement and teacher training.

As a teacher who volunteers time to the [State Geographic Alliance] to help train other educators on world-class materials and standards, I know that passing TGIF is a necessity. Without it, our state will not be able to keep up with attrition in the educational workforce, much less develop additional high-quality teachers in this vital subject.

A solid geography education is critical for all students of [State] to comprehend the world around them, understand their place in the world and succeed in the global economy. Further, a strong geography education is necessary to prepare our children to fill and attain the over 70,000 new skilled jobs in geospatial technologies that are coming available each year nationally.

It is my hope that you will sign on as a co-sponsor of TGIF and help enact this important legislation this year.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Name
Address
Title
Phone Number

* * * *
How to Send an Email to Your Elected House Representative
and Both Your Senators

House of Representatives

Modify the suggested geography education advocacy letter in Word and then open up your Web browser (Firefox, Explorer, Safari, etc).

Go to the House of Representative’s main homepage at: http://www.house.gov/

Toward the top-left of the homepage click the link to “Write Your Representative” (it has an easy-to-spot graphic of a hand holding a pen).

Follow the easy-to-use instructions to connect to your Representative’s Website.

Once you reach the email page for your representative, fill in your contact information and cut-and-paste your message from Word into the online message form and “send” it.

Thanks!


Senate

Modify the suggested geography education advocacy letter in Word and then open up your Web browser (Firefox, Explorer, Safari, etc).

Go to the Senate’s homepage at: http://www.senate.gov/

Scroll to the very, very bottom of the homepage and click on the bottom-left link for “Contact”.

Follow the instructions for Contacting Senators by Email using the link to the “Senators from Your State”.

Once you reach the email pages for each of your Senators, fill in your contact information and cut-and-paste your message from Word into the online message form and “send” it.

Thanks!

Letter to Jeb Bush's 'Foundation for Florida's Future'

April 30, 2009 DRAFT LETTER

Kristy Cambell
Communications DirectorFoundation for Florida’s Future
kristy@afloridapromise.org

http://www.foundationforfloridasfuture.org/who_we_are.php?sub_page_id=25


Dear Ms. Cambell,

In what way, if any, does the Foundation for Florida’s Future have a role for ensuring that students in Florida’s public schools will be given the requisite skills for historical knowledge and citizenship that will enable them to lead productive lives as participants in the democratic process? Civics, History, Social Studies (whatever we wish to call it) represents a majority of what is commonly referred to as Florida’s Required Instruction Act (FS1003.42), but by statute it is not even required to be taken into consideration when a student is being promoted from one grade to the next at the elementary grades. (A former Florida Chancellor of Public Schools supported adding social studies to the state’s Student Progression Law and despite unanimous approval one year by the Florida House of Representatives and the entire Senate Education Committee, this bill also somehow ‘died’.)
For over 22 years social studies educators have REQUESTED accountability from the state for the efforts they make in classrooms each day. Repeated attempts to introduce legislation to address this need seem to be stalled almost every year.
Over two-thirds of approximately 1700 elementary teachers across Florida admit they teach civics and history less than 2 hours per week. They must wonder why teach it at all, of it’s not even needing to be considered for grade promotion. Florida is only one of two southern states not assessing social studies in any way at some grade level. We have been told by former key legislators that because subjects like American History are taught in a widely different manner in many different areas of the state depending upon local needs and demographics that it would be very difficult to assess Social Studies in Florida. I personally believe that if the legislature as a whole believed this, it would be a recipe for state and national disaster. Already our former adversaries are almost gleefully predicting the dismemberment of the United States in 2010.
Numerous reports abound about the lack of knowledge our students have about their own nation’s history and its governmental and economic system. I need not list them all here. Our state has been criticized in the by national leaders in the Congressional House and Senate for its shortsightedness. Having lobbied for over one generation for the state to live up to its civic responsibility, I would be very interested in what how Foundation is planning to address this crisis. I would be most delighted to see some literature from the Foundation or your plan for how our state may reverse this dangerous course.

Sincerely,

Jack Bovee
Legislative Chair, Florida Association of Social Studies Supervisors and the Florida Council for the Social Studies

FCSS Ex Dir Trimble on Textbook Changes!

April 8, 2009

Dear Senator Wise,

As a long time Social Studies Teacher and Supervisor and a former participant or chair of three state social studies adoption committees, I would like to express my concern regarding current plans to extend the adoption cycle from 6 to 8 years. My concerns focus on four issues:
(1) Content of the material - new discoveries and developments, changes in curricular focus and events make science and social studies materials very time sensitive. Although technology has been of assistance in providing current information, its accessibility, format, and readability for students make it less valuable than current information in a basic textbook.
(2) Pedagogy - ways of organizing and presenting material in texts are constantly evolving. Students today are exposed to a greater range of media than students in the past and need the most interesting and stimulating instructional materials possible. Format alone changes drastically in an 8 year period.
(3) Physical practicality - 8 years us a long time for a book to last, with 8 to 16 users, depending on its use in an 18 or 36 week course. As textbook conditions deteriorate, so does the care students utilize, further impacting durability. From a fiscal standpoint, districts will often have to spend money at the six year point to replace unusable books, which will then have a shelf life of only 2 years before needing to be replaced in the new cycle.
(4) Fiscal practicality - the possibility of maintaining the same price for an 8 year period is unlikely. Although on rare occasions, costs go down, more commonly they increase, resulting in the state paying more money for a product that is as much as 8 years behind the current best methodology in textbook production.

Your assistance in opposing the effort to change the adoption cycle would be appreciated. A short term budgetary downturn should not translate into an 8 year impact on Florida's students. In spite of efforts to change classroom environment and improve
tools available to teachers, the textbook still remains the basic tool of teachers.

Theron L. Trimble,
Executive Director, Florida Council for the Social Studies
Chair, Fund for the Advancement of Social Studies Education, National Council for the Social Studies

Sample Letter Using Our Blog-Links for 'Evidence' - text version with hyperlinks working

One advantage of this website is that it enables powerfully written letters to embed hyperlinks to important documents to provide instant 'evidence' to the points we wish to make to legislators, news editors, leaders of civic groups or even colleagues. Here is one 'informal' email that was quickly thrown together to demonstrate to a community leader across the state the position of FASSS/FCSS during the 2009 legislative session. For this reason, legislative committee members should be very familiar with the resources on the webpage!

___________________________________________

Hello Rich ---

I’ve heard plenty about the book, but haven’t a copy and thus can’t comment. I put it up with Mark Levine’s “Men in Black” (which I have read) and some others on the Constitution. It’s on my list to ‘read’ this summer.

Civics is vital, but so are the other strands of the ‘social studies’ --- American History, World History, Economics, and Geography. We’re not opposing the current CIVICS campaign, indeed some of my best friends are leading that charge, but many of us feel ALL of the social studies strands need taught and assessed. The new version of HB0013 (Rep. McBurney) in Tallahassee has been amended to no longer assess these other strands of Social Studies. It would ONLY assess civics and ONLY at the seventh grade. There are some other problems with the bill – down the road, if a student failed the state’s end of course civics exam by a single point, for example – that student would be denied credit in the course, one day’s poor work thus negating the other 179 days in the course! NO educator I know embraces such a thought and Florida doesn’t do this for FCAT. Maintaining this logic will mean the civics exam must be a ‘minimum test’ – something else we would oppose. For more information you may want to add to your ‘favorites’ our legislative website at http://fasss-fcss-legislative-news.blogspot.com/ . The letter of ‘concern’ on the Civics Bill may be found on page https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh-RNnawWv2bW6YF78rrLeA4luk9FwiQZtilXifdUDvejZsssSyVqYAjzISACXs83IxCuy60RZfpP8zNwcX-ldF0Ne73FkEoJo7bA-cMxcvdWKNhjKz7twdV07k5cLjkLgEek_PtDPVvQ/s1600-h/FCSS+Position+on+CS+H0013.bmp of that site. (Hoover your ‘mouse’ over the document, then ‘click’ to bring it to full size for reading/Printing.)

There are already several bills in existence that requires civics be taught – one that has been on the books for many, many years is called “Florida’s Required Instruction Statute”. You may find many references to ‘requiring’ the teaching of the “Constitution” and “Bill of Rights” and “Declaration of Independence” as well as the content of specific history, economic education and patriotism in this kaw. You may find a copy of that law on our website at http://collier.k12.fl.us/CandI/ss/Docs/legnews/RequiredInstructionStatute.pdf If you want other examples of other bills requiring civics be taught let me know.

The MAIN PROBLEM rests in the assessment of this content. As I mentioned to your group in my visit, this has NEVER been done in Florida and to assess ONLY the civics strand now is only 25% of the battle in my own personal view. It would be tantamount to assessing only “biology” and not the rest of the sciences, or only ‘geometry’ in all the fields of mathematics. (Ask Bernadette Bennett in your county for her thoughts on this, too, for another opinion though.)

At the VERY LEAST, we ‘supervisors of social studies’ endorse the assessment of Civics AND History at the state level. You can’t have one without the other. And assessing ONLY civics would leave out much in our history, let alone a great deal of world geography and economics. And by the way, when you talk to legislators be sure to point out that Florida is only one of TWO southern states that do not assess social studies in any manner. (See evidence on our website go to: http://collier.k12.fl.us/CandI/ss/Docs/Assessments%20by%20State.pdf ) Mind, you we ALWAYS preface our comment with the need to assess ALL of our curriculum strands.

At the national level, there is a bill that would correct much of our problem -- by holding the states accountable by comparing their students’ performance in the areas of civics and history on a periodic basis-- and despite what some might refer to as the “pork” that is in it, I’m convinced it’s the only thing that will help! At the very end of this bill are a few words and a few dollars to actually begin to hold up to ten states accountable for teaching civic and historical literacy!! The rest of the bill includes hundreds of millions of dollars for other projects, thus it may or may not ‘pass’ Congress.

Information about this NATIONAL measure (sponsored by Kennedy, Byrd, and Alexander) may be found on our site at these links: (1) http://fasss-fcss-legislative-news.blogspot.com/2009/03/fasss-urges-congress-to-pass-naep.html
(2) http://fasss-fcss-legislative-news.blogspot.com/2009/03/florida-pushes-to-reform-naep-expand.html
(3) http://fasss-fcss-legislative-news.blogspot.com/2009/04/nche-endorses-s659-pg-1.html (page one) and
(4) http://fasss-fcss-legislative-news.blogspot.com/2009/04/nche-endorses-s659.html (page two)

In conclusion, social studies professionals have been fighting since 1988 (SINCE 1988!!) to get Florida to hold our districts and schools accountable for all the content described in the states’ ‘required instruction statute’ cited above. (By the way, did you notice any (ANY!!) mention of reading, mathematics or even science in that bill? Evidence of our battle in 1988 may be found at: http://collier.k12.fl.us/CandI/ss/Docs/legnews/1988FASSSLetter.pdf ) And again, we’d like to see ALL of the social studies assessed, not just ‘one’ strand of our curriculum.

Many groups have endorsed the idea of testing all of the social studies over the years. Here’s an impressive one dating back to 2001 at http://collier.k12.fl.us/CandI/ss/Docs/legnews/LWV%20Letter%20to%20Sec.%20Horne.pdf . If you and your organization would like to ‘go on record’ calling for the same, it would be a great stimulus to doing things ‘the right way’. I would be delighted to add your group to a growing list of organizations calling for this necessary step. But I urge we do it ‘right’. Getting ‘one-fourth a loaf’ may be an excuse to never give us the rest! And given the sorry state of legislative history on this matter, this is no idle ‘worry’. For an example of how bad things got over one simple bill which the ENTIRE House of Representatives once voted for and ALL MEMBERS of the Senate Education Committee see “An Example of How an Eminently Worthy Measure Repeatedly Fails to Become Law” at http://www.collier.k12.fl.us/ss/Docs/legnews/History%20of%20Progression%20law.pdf

Thanks again for being a great supporter of our cause. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Jack Bovee
Legislative Chair, Florida Association of Social Studies Supervisors and Florida Council for the Social Studies

FLORIDA PUSHES TO REFORM NAEP, EXPAND HISTORY AND CIVICS LEGISLATION

March 30, 2009


The Honorable Senator Lamar Alexander
455 DIRKSEN Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510 (202) 224-4944

Dear Senator Alexander,

The Florida Association of Social Studies Supervisors (FASSS) applauds your efforts to strengthen and consolidate a number of vital programs affecting the teaching of United States History and Civics into another measure – S659. The provisions of this bill will greatly enhance and strengthen these subjects in the nation’s public schools. Florida’s social studies teachers can attest first hand to the effectiveness of such programs as: “We the People,” “Project Citizen,” “National History Day,” “National Close-Up,” and the “Teaching Traditional American History Grant Program.” Moreover, your provision to implement and expand student and teacher summer academies in these disciplines will additionally serve to revitalize the civic and historical mission of the nation’s public schools.

Even more significantly is the provision within the bill to provide equity – by ensuring first time comparability to a national profile -- of these vital subjects on the 2010 National Assessment for Educational Progress program. Unlike other core curriculum subjects and despite repeated attempts to correct this problem in previous Congresses, states have yet to be held accountable in these areas. Florida’s Social Studies educators feel such comparisons are vitally important to the civic health of our nation. Not long ago, American History and American Government were briefly eviscerated from the list of course requirements all Florida students had to successfully complete for graduation. Although these requirements have since been reinstated in Florida, events continue to threaten the civic health of both our state and nation. At a time when drastic demographic changes are challenging the vital civic mission of our schools and when our former adversaries glibly predict the imminent collapse of our Republican form of government, it is imperative that Congress pass this important provision within S659.

FASSS is committed to the entire proposal and will work to secure additional co-sponsors for the bill. We will also aggressively urge like-minded national groups and organizations to join you in this vital campaign. We urge that you make this legislation a priority!

Sincerely,

Jack Bovee, Legislative Chair
Florida Association for Social Studies Supervisors

Cc: Honorable Senator Robert C. Byrd
Honorable Senator Edward M. Kennedy
Honorable Representative Betty McCollum
Susan Griffin, Executive Director, National Council for the Social Studies
Cynthia Stout, Executive Director, National Council for History Education
Lee White, Executive Director, National Coalition for History

FCSS Position on CS H0013 - March 27, 2009

NATIONAL HISTORY DAY - CALL TO ACTION

CALL TO ACTION
CALL CONGRESS TODAY IN SUPPORT OF NHD FUNDING
FOR FISCAL YEAR 2010

Please read this full email.
National History Day (NHD) is asking for your help to gain support from members of Congress for a $5 million National History Day appropriation that will help our state programs grow and improve.

Thanks to your efforts, NHD was included in the omnibus bill for FY 2009 with an appropriation of $500,000! It’s important to note that to be included in a congressional budget for the first time is a major accomplishment. National History Day clearly has the attention of members of Congress, so let’s try and build on our success for the 2010 budget. Keep in mind that we have programs across the country that could use the extra help of an increased congressional appropriation.

Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) is circulating what is called a “Dear Colleague” letter. The letter is similar to a petition that members of Congress sign in support of funding a program (click here to view the Dear Colleague Letter).The Dear Colleague asks all members of the House to sign their name to the letter supporting NHD. This letter is addressed to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Subcommittee asking them to support funding NHD in the FY 2010 budget. It is very important to get support from as many members of Congress as soon as possible. This is a very common practice which is implemented during the appropriations process. It is important that we get as many signatures as we can – as soon as we can (in the next two weeks). The appropriations committee will literally count every signature and the more signatures we have the better chance we will have of getting $5 million in support.What to do?Never called your Member of Congress before? Don't worry, it's easy! When you call your Representative, your call will be answered by a receptionist. Tell him or her that you want to leave a message for the Representative. The receptionist will take down your message.

We need your help. Congress must hear from you today!

NHD NEEDS YOUR HELP TODAY! We have two weeks and it is critical that you pick up the phone today to contact your members of Congress and ask them to sign the NHD Dear Colleague Letter. Our goal is get as many members of Congress to sign this letter in two weeks which will demonstrate wide-spread support for funding for the NHD program.

When calling a Representative’s office, tell them:
Your name and the city and state you live in.
You say you’re calling today to urge the Representative to sign the Dear Colleague letter, in support of funding for National History Day in the FY 2010 budget. The letter is being circulated by Rep. Van Hollen.
Tell them why this money would be helpful to the NHD program in your state and district.
How would it make an impact to increase the number of participants and improve overall programmatic efforts in the state.
Tell your member of Congress they can contact Sarah Schenning in Rep. Van Hollen's office at 225-5341 with questions or to sign the letter.

How to Contact a Member of Congress
To find your Member’s contact information, including phone and fax numbers, visit http://server1.streamsend.com/streamsend/clicktracker.php?cd=6739&ld=30&md=46&ud=977a466ab7652e25059e8305f0223662&url=http://www.house.gov/, http://server1.streamsend.com/streamsend/clicktracker.php?cd=6739&ld=30&md=46&ud=977a466ab7652e25059e8305f0223662&url=http://www.senate.gov/, or call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask for your Representative.

If you have any questions contact Noah Shaw at National History Day at 301.314.8379

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.
____________________________________

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.


Page two October 3, 2008



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

Legislative Committee Meets with Commissioner Smith!

October 13, 2008

Dr. Eric Smith
Commissioner, Florida D.O.E.
Turlington Building, Suite 1514 325 West Gaines Street Tallahassee, Florida 32399


Dear Dr. Smith,


Please allow me to express personal thanks to you on behalf of Florida’s social studies teachers for taking the time to recently meet and discuss with us ways to ensure the best education possible for our students. We are encouraged to hear that the Department plans to send an appropriate person to our upcoming state conference later this month and that you will move to fill the now vacant position of Social Studies Specialist within the Department. We also applaud your desire for the Department to move forward with plans for several end-of-course social studies assessments at the high school level. With regard to this, we additionally encourage you to formally submit to the consortium of states that are working to develop such assessments Florida’s desire that these become an urgent priority. They are especially needed in light of the fact that Florida and many other states have never been able to determine to what extent school districts fulfill their vitally important civic mission. Additionally, we welcome your desire to see increased use of non-fiction readings in the social sciences be developed and used by the Department for Reading purposes or for FCAT preparation and assessment. We agree that it is vital that children be equipped with the necessary background knowledge that comes from their exposure to the social studies curriculum and which so often leads to increased reading achievement.

The subject of the Next Generation social studies standards will soon be taken up by our Board at our upcoming annual meeting. We look forward to discussing this with our members and promise to continue to work with you on the implementation of quality standards for Florida’s children.

Sincerely,

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

Legislative Committee Meets with Chancellor Haithcock!

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,


Please allow me to express personal thanks to you on behalf of Florida’s social studies teachers for taking the time to recently meet and discuss with us ways to ensure the best education possible for our students. We are encouraged to hear that the Department plans to send an appropriate person to our upcoming state conference later this month and that you will move to fill the now vacant position of Social Studies Specialist within the Department. We also applaud your desire for the Department to move forward with plans for several end-of-course social studies assessments at the high school level. With regard to this, we additionally encourage you to formally submit to the consortium of states that are working to develop such assessments Florida’s desire that these become an urgent priority. They are especially needed in light of the fact that Florida and many other states have never been able to determine to what extent school districts fulfill their vitally important civic mission. Additionally, we welcome your desire to see increased use of non-fiction readings in the social sciences be developed and used by the Department for Reading purposes or for FCAT preparation and assessment. We agree that it is vital that children be equipped with the necessary background knowledge that comes from their exposure to the social studies curriculum and which so often leads to increased reading achievement.

The subject of the Next Generation social studies standards will soon be taken up by our Board at our upcoming annual meeting. We look forward to discussing this with our members and promise to continue to work with you on the implementation of quality standards for Florida’s children.

Sincerely,

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

Appeal on Student Progression and 'Fast Track' Omission of Required Courses - 2003

Fighting for Florida's Civic Core Curriculum

Email sent to Mr. James Durso, legislative aide to Senator Lee Constantine in 2004 over the state’s elimination of required social studies courses for graduation, by FCSS-FASSS legislative chair Jack Bovee. Thanks in part to information supplied by the FASSS/FCSS legislative committee, Florida had been condemned on the floor of the U.S. Congress – both in the House and Senate – for this action, and the desire of Republican leadership in Tallahassee (Senators Evelyn Lynn and Lee Constantine) to amend the statute by requiring at least one social studies course expose students to ‘instruction regarding democracy and the history and principles of the United States of America’ was deemed insufficient by Florida's Social Studies educators. This plea to Senator Constantine fell upon deaf ears and his amendment passed the Florida Senate Education Committee ‘as is’. It was only when Jack Bovee, legislative chair for FCSS/FASSS at that time, was able to contact Senator Anna Cowin to explain our continued opposition that she agreed to amend the measure in the Educational Appropriations Committee by restoring our three required courses. Once Senator Cowin 'moved' her amendment restoring American History, American Government, World History and Economics as graduation requirements for ALL students, no senator dared cast a vote against it. Florida's traditional 'civics core' of three required courses were once again thus required of all students receiving a Florida diploma. The letter below offers insight into this legislative battle and cites many other problems besetting Florida’s social studies curriculum at that time. Florida's Social Studies educators remain forever indepted for former Senator Anna Cowin for her assistance during this time.

__________________________________________________

Dear Mr. Durso:

We spoke last week about the amended language for SB 364 that would require at least one of the three social studies credits for graduation "to include instruction regarding democracy and the history and principles of the United States of America."

The Florida Council for the Social Studies, the Florida Association of Social Studies Supervisors, the Sons of the American Revolution and several other civic minded groups are reviewing the amended language to see what our formal response will be. I believe we will have some remaining concerns with the legislation as amended and I would like to share these with you in the hope the proposed language may be improved.

The new required (1) year credit language above is a reduction of the former (2) credits traditionally required in the past and which remain in force for the majority of students who will undoubtedly remain in the 24 credit track. These two credits are (1) in American History and (.5) each in American Government and Economics.

The new language does not address the former CORE civic education 3 credit mandated program which ALL students had to successfully complete. At the present time, students may graduate without World History, or without American Government or Economics. As a result, Florida no longer has a civic education core of courses required for ALL of its students! Better Algebra – the only course now required for all students in all three graduation tracks – be left as an elective than the state disband what has been traditionally its three credit civic core curriculum. We are moving toward a two tiered educational system, one that prepares all students for mastery of algebraic reasoning, but does NOT require they all have the same exposure to civic knowledge! The present language undercuts what has always been a primary purpose of education since the establishment of our public schools. In light of Florida's rapidly changing demographics, the civic core ought to be maintained, not disbanded. This is a recipe for state and national disaster!

Due to FCAT testing in the areas of MATH, SCIENCE, READING, and WRITING, social studies educators affirm that far less attention is being devoted to civic and historical knowledge, especially at the elementary and middle school levels, than in the past. Students are arriving in high school with far less knowledge and aptitude with regard to civic understanding than they have in the past. To now reinstate only one third of the traditional core will merely serve to exacerbate the problem!

The current language, although an improvement over the 'open to any elective' language passed last year, would still allow 1 credit courses such as Psychology or community service to be substituted for the traditional core curriculum courses. Students excelling in math and science may readily opt for AP Psychology and other, sometimes far less rigorous social studies electives, so that they can devote even more time to the AP math and AP science courses that this new law will allow them to substitute for the former ‘civic core’. As a result, some of our best and brightest students may NOT be receiving an adequate preparation for the only job ALL students will have upon graduation – that of citizen!

Since there is no accountability in any way for what Florida’s students know about our nation’s past or civic knowledge, no end of course assessment or FCAT for any social studies area, it would seem that successful completion of "prescribed civic education' courses would be a desirable feature that ought to be retained. Indeed, we have lots of data on how well our students at every grade level do on math, reading and science assessments. We operate in total darkness, however, with regard to civic knowledge. Better to allow students to complete credit in the traditional civic core by demonstrating proficiency on assessments specifically designed for this purpose, than to allow them to skip out on taking such courses!

The new language may not satisfy the bill recently submitted by Congressman Jim Davis (Tampa) that would seek to deny some federal funds to states that do not require students to complete separate "courses" in American Government and American History. Should his bill be approved, Florida will risk of losing millions of dollars in federal funding.

The fact that districts may opt to increase the graduation requirements and specify the return to a civic core, does not lessen the responsibility of the state for providing ALL students with the opportunity to learn about our government and nation. Quite frankly, since the loss of instructional time at lower levels, and the lack of prior civic knowledge students are bringing into high school, a one credit course is simply not enough time to teach the intricacies of our nation's past heritage, the essential principles of our governmental and economic systems, and to equip them with the knowledge of the history of the world and current global issues to prepare them to act as informed decision makers when they graduate.

Finally, whereas the nation and other states seem to be enhancing their civic education programs and requiring more from students in this area, Florida seems to be retreating from its statewide civic responsibilities. There is currently not even the requirement that a student's performance in social studies be even taken into consideration when that pupil is being promoted from one grade to the next. Nor is there any plan at all to develop an assessment instrument to gauge the civic understanding of our students, whether it would be FCAT like or not. Nor is there the movement to improve the social studies Sunshine State Standards, despite past promises from the Florida Department of Education to do so and two independent audits of the state's educational standards which cite that urgent need. The Shanker Institute study found Florida's civic education standards to be in the worst category among the various states. (see attached)

In short, the state has for many years placed its head in the sand with regard to civic education and the amended language does little to restore the previous core of high school courses which earlier legislators saw fit to describe as the 'minimum' required for high school graduation.
I urge that you review the two reports to the right and discuss these concerns with Senator Constantine at once. Hopefully, the bill may be amended to fully restore our high school civic education program during the next legislative hurdle.

Sincerely,

Jack Bovee,
Legislative Chair, FCSS and FASSS

FCSS Fights for 'Education for Democracy Act' - 2007

Sons of the American Revolution Lobby DOE for Increased Emphasis on History!

March 29, 2004


Hon. James Horne
Commissioner of Education
325 West Gaines St., Suite 1514
Tallahassee, FL 32399
FAX: (850) 245-9667

RE: HB-0081 and related

Dear Commissioner Horne:

This letter is being written on behalf of The Florida Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (sometimes the SAR is called the President's Society as all US Presidents but four have been members since we were organized in the late 1800's; Governor Bush also is a member).

As you might expect, we are particularly interested in having our young people understand how our country was formed and, especially, the historic, civic and economic principles on which it is based. To that end, we are very supportive of having American History, Government and Economics taken into consideration as a basis for promotion in the schools and as a requirement for High School graduation.

Indeed, we were quite dismayed last year when appropriate bills (both House and Senate) easily cleared committee but were not brought to a vote. Moreover, we are concerned about some of the unfortunate interpretations currently being made about the relevant bills for this year (SB- 0426, SB-0364 and, especially, HB-0081). We are particularly disturbed to learn that they may not be acted upon this year either. Do you not agree that is most urgent that the cited Social Studies be taken as seriously as mathematics, reading, writing and (now) science? We appreciated the support given to this initiative by your Chancelor of K-12 Programs, Jim Warford (see attached letter), and hope that the department will continue to ensure that student’s performance in social studies is taken into the equation when they are being considered for promotion.

In any event, our members are generally monitoring this situation -- with a number of us from the Education Committee and the Board of Management actively doing so. We sincerely hope that these bills will be passed this session.

Thank you for your kind consideration of this communication and your support of good civic
education in the State of Florida.


Sincerely,


Harry Hollien, PhD
FLSSAR Regional Vice President and
Chair, Education Committee

Copies to:
Chancellor James Warford
Dr. Cornelia Orr
Kathy Mizereck
Senator Lee Constantine
Representative Bev Kilmer (she’s running for Congress)
Mr. Jack Bovee

LWV Lobbies DOE For Social Studies FCAT

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF FLORIDA
540 Beverly Court
Tallahassee, FL 32301-2506

V: 850/224-2545 Fax: 850/222-4485
E: lwvf@tfn.net www.naples.net/presents/lwvf


October 26, 2001


Mr. Jim Horne, Secretary of Education
Florida Board of Education
Turlington Building
Suite 1614
325 W. Gaines St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399

Dear Mr. Horne:

The League of Women Voters of Florida is aware that social studies is not included in the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. In this regard, the League has long lamented the fact that many adults, much less students, do not understand our three branches of government and how they function. Many young people do not understand the basic principles of constitutional government in America, its structure of checks and balances, and the interplay of its political parties and interest groups.

The last election crisis in Florida and the events of September 11 remind us of the great importance of citizenship preparation and foundational understandings of our government. Such knowledge provided to students now will produce future citizens who realize the importance of participating in shaping their communities as well as a global neighborhood. It appears that now, more than ever, this lack of knowledge should no longer continue. Preparing our youth to be responsible members of a democratic society is one of the most important missions of American education.

We wish to advise that the League of Women Voters of Florida strongly supports the inclusion of the Sunshine State Standards for Social Studies in the statewide FCAT assessment program. We sincerely ask you to support this issue before the legislature in their 2002 session.

Furthermore, it is noted that the Social Studies Program Specialist Position within the Florida Department of Education remains vacant. There is no doubt today about the importance of this vital position in our Department of Education. The League of Women Voters of Florida urges you to take whatever steps are necessary to fill this position at the earliest opportunity in order that oversight of teaching and testing of social studies in Florida can be properly maintained.

Sincerely,


Jane A. Gross
President

Cc: Mr. Jack Bovee, President
Florida Association of Social Studies Supervisors

(for an original copy of this letter, contact Jack Bovee)

Museums Appeal to Commissioner Crist for Social Studies FCAT

May 4, 2001

Mr. Charlie Crist
Commissioner of Education
Florida Department of Education
Plaza 0-8 the Capitol
Tallahassee FL 32399-0400

RE: Social Studies and the FCAT

Dear Commissioner Crist,

As someone who discovered Florida history quite by accident, and then has
worked in the field for over 20 years, I find it incredibly ironic that this
subject is so poorly taught in schools. The reason that teaching Florida
history has such a low priority is because it isn't on the FCAT.

I know you don't mean for schools to teach the test, but that's what
happens. Schools and teachers are judged by their students' performance on
the FCAT, and as a result, what's on the test has become a high priority.
What isn't on the test becomes nonimportant.

So teachers gloss over the minimal curriculum guidelines for teaching
Florida history. They themselves tend to be sadly lacking in their own
knowledge of Florida history. Teaching Florida history without a firm
background is like asking me to tune your car. Sure, I can follow the manual,
but I hope you're not expecting your car to start when I get done. Without
knowledge of Florida's past and the interests that have steered its
development, our children are going to have a difficult time of directing its
future.

Please add Florida history to the FCAT. Its omission was a glaring
oversight and one you can correct.

Sincerely,

Patti Bartlett
Director, Fort Myers Historical Museum