QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
# 1 2 3 Question Do Marching Band students get Physical Fitness Credit? If so, What other classes are eligible for such credit? Person to Respond Chief Academic Officer (Acting) B. Kingsley [email protected] 754-­‐321-­‐2618 Has the switch from Block Schedule to 7 Periods saved money? If so has the money saved been earmarked for a particular initiative? Chief Financial Officer B. Leong [email protected] Has there been an effect on AP Chief Strategy and Operations Officer 754-­‐321-­‐1990 Response Two seasons of an interscholastic sport at the junior varsity or varsity level AND a grade of “C” or better on the Personal Fitness competency test waives the full one-­‐ credit physical education requirement. Students do not earn credit under this option; instead the physical education requirement is waived. Other waiver options are available for students who participate in a semester of marching band, a semester dance course, or two years of a JROTC program. Students graduating under the ACCEL 18-­‐credit graduation option also waive the physical education requirement. When the District transitioned to the uniform high school schedules early in 2012 -­‐ 2013 school year, it used realized savings to assist schools in meeting the Class Size Reduction requirements and avoided significant financial penalties from the State for non-­‐compliance. However, since the arbitration ruling in August of 2013 required providing student instruction for six of seven class periods daily, these savings are no longer available. The district’s performance on the AP exams has remained stable, if not QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
4 5 6 scores resulting from the switch from Block Scheduling to a 7 Period schedule? What is the reason for the vending machine and school lunch choice changes? Do 11th Grade students need to take the FSA assessment if they are taking AP Language? What steps can be taken to avoid events such as the recent Bomb Threat? M. Woods [email protected] 754-­‐321-­‐2610 Chief Strategy and Operations Officer M. Woods [email protected] 754-­‐321-­‐2610 Chief Academic Officer (Acting) B. Kingsley [email protected] 754-­‐321-­‐2618 Chief of Staff J. Moquin [email protected] 754-­‐321-­‐2650 improved over the past two years. In 2011-­‐12, we had 11,981 students in the District on a block schedule and 49.9% scored at proficient or above levels. In 2013-­‐14, the District had 12,034 students take AP exams and 51.3% scored at a proficient level or higher representing improvement since the transition from Block Scheduling to a 7 Period schedule. Changes made align with a mandate from the National School Lunch & Breakfast Program per the 2010 Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act approved by Congress. For more information visit: http://www.fns.usda.gov/school-­‐
meals/healthy-­‐hunger-­‐free-­‐kids-­‐act Yes. All 11th grade students are required to take the ELA FSA regardless of their course selection. At all times, student and staff safety is the District’s highest priority. The District maintains a comprehensive Critical Resource Manual outlining the appropriate protocols to enact during emergency situations, such as the recent Bomb Threat. The District also enjoys excellent partnerships with local emergency services departments, and leverages these relationships when responding and investigating such events. Individuals are encouraged to immediately report any knowledge of a potential situation/event to QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
7 In AP Classes such as AP Biology and AP Statistics, what can be done to provide a class set of textbooks, in addition to a take home set? Chief Academic Officer (Acting) B. Kingsley [email protected] 754-­‐321-­‐2618 8 What will happen to vending machine offerings in regard to new nutritional requirements? 9 Why are there 40-­‐50 students in non-­‐core classes? Chief Strategy and Operations Officer M. Woods [email protected] 754-­‐321-­‐2610 Chief Portfolio Services Officer L. Brown [email protected] 754-­‐321-­‐2100 10 How is the funding of sports and extra-­‐curricular activities decided? Chief Portfolio Services Officer L. Brown appropriate authorities. Textbooks for all core content areas are distributed on a one book per student basis as per Florida Statute. If schools want to purchase additional textbooks, they can use the instructional materials budget allocation given to each school, or arrange for books to be transferred between schools by using the Destiny Textbook Management System. In addition, AP textbooks are available online through the BEEP student portal. Current vending machine items may be replaced. Items must comply with the Smart Snack Rule (HHFK 2010); relating to calories, sugar, fat & sodium amounts. Items analysis & approval occurs at the district level. The State Department of Education defines which classes are identified as core classes. Any available funding must be prioritized to meet this state identified mandate for class size in these classes. By limiting the number of students allowed in state mandated classes, a greater number of students are placed in non-­‐core classes. While the incident of 40-­‐50 students in a class is not the norm, some classes do rise that high in classes such as physical education or band/chorus where interest and need may be greater. The funding for athletics is provided by the county to cover most major expenses including transportation, equipment, supplies, security, officials QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
11 [email protected] 754-­‐321-­‐2100 Are students taking AP exams Chief Academic Officer (Acting) (referees), EMS units, conditioning of all equipment on an annual basis, helmet purchases, coaching supplements, swimming pool maintenance and rental for schools without pools. These expenses are included in the annual budgeting process. The remainder of the expenses has been offset by athletic events ticket sales and/or fundraising. Extra-­‐curricular programs are also supported through this process. The county pays the supplements for school-­‐based coordinators of Academic Competitions (Foreign Language, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies). The District provides additional funds to support in-­‐county and state competition registration and travel expenses in Art, Foreign Language, Language Arts, Mathematics, Music and Drama, Science, Social Studies and Vocational Education extra-­‐curriculum activities. The District continues to support substitute teachers needed when teachers must accompany students to competitive or leadership development events While the district assists in covering the large expenses associated with sports and student activities, additional funds to support athletic and non-­‐
athletic activities come from student fund raisers and booster clubs. No. Students taking AP, IB, AICE or dual enrollment courses do not have to QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
required to take correlating EOC exams? If so, why? B. Kingsley [email protected] 754-­‐321-­‐2618 take the corresponding State EOC for the respective subject. Students may choose to do so in order to meet the requirements for the Scholar Diploma Designation. However, a passing score (3 or higher) on an AP Biology or AP US History exam will meet the EOC test requirement for the respective EOC exam requirement for the Scholar Diploma Designation. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
12 13 What are the plans to ensure that school lunches are healthier? More appealing? What is the plan to expand resources to Music and the Arts? 14 What can be done to offset lost student club fundraising due to restrictions on foods that can be sold? Chief Strategy and Operations Officer M. Woods [email protected] 754-­‐321-­‐2610 Chief Academic Officer (Acting) B. Kingsley [email protected] 754-­‐321-­‐2618 Chief Portfolio Services Officer L. Brown [email protected] 754-­‐321-­‐2100 Meals offered must comply to the USDA Meal Pattern guidelines, with an emphasis on fruits & vegetables. Food and Nutrition Services’ Food Shows and focus groups will provide data on local student preferences for meals. If the SMART Bond is approved on November 4th, funding will be made available to upgrade, replace or create music and art rooms for schools that have specific programmatic needs that have been identified. If the SMART Bond is approved, this will enable existing capital funding to be used in other ways, which can include music and art. For example, in this year's District Educational Facilities Plan, the District is funding $1.7 million for music and art equipment to try to address some of the programs with the highest need. If the SMART Bond is funded, it is anticipated that District Educational Facilities funds can continue to be used in this capacity. The District recently supported a student led meeting of the Student Government Association presidents at FAU, the students conducted fund raising brainstorming sessions and a number of great ideas were proposed. Each Student Government Association president will be sharing ideas with their peers at each school to determine a best fit for QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
15 16 17 Can the District offer a free SAT and ACT prep class after school or on weekends? Why is the District continuing to focus on the implementation of the Marzano Evaluation System? Chief Academic Officer (Acting) B. Kingsley [email protected] 754-­‐321-­‐2618 Chief Talent Development Officer E. Calabrese [email protected] 754-­‐321-­‐5044 Can a Town Hall atmosphere be maintained during the SSOS steering committee process, keeping all engaged? Chief School Performance & Accountability Officer D. Blackburn [email protected] each school. Schools typically offer SAT or ACT prep classes on Saturdays that are free to students. Up until this point it has been a school-­‐based decision to offer these classes. We will look into the possibility of having some District based sessions at strategically located schools. Florida Statute 1012.34 was amended in 2011, requiring school districts to adopt and implement a research based evaluation model. Additionally, in order for districts to receive a portion of the federal Race to the Top funding, the Department of Education (DOE) required districts to explore various evaluation models and to negotiate a new system with their teacher unions. The District and BTU negotiated the use of the Marzano Instructional Framework. Each year the DOE requires districts to provide an evaluation plan that includes the implementation of the new evaluation model to avoid possible sanctions. Annually, the District’s evaluation plan has been approved by the Florida Department of Education. Steering Meetings are a smaller subset of the community meetings, which lend themselves naturally to increased engagement. That said, however, we will not turn anyone away from participating in the Steering Meetings. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
18 When is Virtual Counselor graduation information going to be available again? 19 In regard to EOC, are students encouraged to take classes on-­‐line when Florida Virtual prepares students for EOC? 20 Can students take classes on Florida Virtual in addition to Broward Virtual? 21 Are students allowed to take classes out of normal sequence, without having passed the pre-­‐requisite? 754-­‐321-­‐3838 Chief Academic Officer (Acting) B. Kingsley [email protected] 754-­‐321-­‐2618 Chief Academic Officer (Acting) B. Kingsley [email protected] 754-­‐321-­‐2618 Chief Academic Officer (Acting) B. Kingsley [email protected] 754-­‐321-­‐2618 Chief Academic Officer (Acting) B. Kingsley [email protected] 754-­‐321-­‐2618 Virtual Counselor’s Graduation Information feature will be available by October 13, 2014. Students that have not been successful in an EOC course have the option of either taking a Florida Virtual or Broward Virtual course over the summer to reinforce the skills they may have missed during the school year. These courses will help prepare the student for their EOC retake. Yes. Students may take courses through FLVS in addition to BVS. Possibly. Students who are taking a course where knowledge of content in a previous course is critical to student performance in that course, the student should be advised to first master the content of the previous course (for example knowledge of Spanish 1 is critical to mastering Spanish 2). In a course where knowledge of the content in a previous level course has QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
22 Are there any caps on the number of students that can ride on any one bus? Chief Strategy and Operations Officer M. Woods [email protected] 754-­‐321-­‐2610 23 Can AP students exempt out of an associated mid-­‐term? 24 Will Glades Middle be able to re-­‐
establish their advanced course track? 25 What can be done to address implementing more positive behavior Chief Academic Officer (Acting) B. Kingsley [email protected] 754-­‐321-­‐2618 Chief School Performance & Accountability Officer D. Blackburn [email protected] 754-­‐321-­‐3838 Chief Academic Officer (Acting) B. Kingsley little or no bearing on the performance in the next level, it may be advised to continue in the next level course and then complete a course recovery for the failed course when appropriate. Caps exist on buses, depending and the size of the actual bus. You can transport up to the max number of students that the bus is designed and equipped to carry. Example, a 65-­‐passenger bus can transport up to 65 students at 3 students per seat (each seat equipped with 3 seat belts). If you are aware of any instances involving overcrowded buses, we encourage you to call Transportation Services at #754-­‐321-­‐4400. No. School Board Policy 6000.1 specifies that students in AP courses may not exempt the mid-­‐tem assessment for that course. Yes. Parents of qualifying students were contacted the week of September 29th with an invitation to have their child participate in the advanced course track program. This will begin on the first day of the second quarter. Broward County Public Schools has taken the following actions to implement more positive behavior interventions for students: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
intervention? [email protected] 754-­‐321-­‐2618 1. Requiring each school to develop and implement a school-­‐wide Positive Behavior Plan 2. Providing the PROMISE initiative for students who have committed non-­‐violent misdemeanor offense in lieu of arrest 3. Strengthening Tier 1 (core) for behavior through strategies such as CHAMPS, PAX (Good Behavior Game), and social skills training 4. Applying Response to intervention (RtI) protocols focused on assisting students with their individual behavioral needs 5. Training all school leaders on Positive Behavior Intervention Support Implementing a $3.75 million School Climate Transformation Grant, aimed at developing an infrastructure district-­‐wide for Positive Behavior Intervention Supports.