Graham Center Event: Making Elections Work in the Sunshine State and Beyond

Posted on July 27, 2016 by stevemasy

On August 1st, the Graham Center at the University of Florida will be hosting an incredibly relevant event in this election season, Making Elections Work in the Sunshine State and Beyond. You can RSVP to the event here. From the event announcement:

This one-day, all-day event, taking place on August 1, will highlight the advances Florida and the nation have made in administering elections since the 2000 election. Planned participants include co-chairs of the President’s Commission on Election Administration; U.S. Election Assistance Commission commissioners; election administrators from Florida and other states (including current Secretaries of State); prominent scholars at the University of Florida and other institutions; campaign consultants; and members of the media.

The event is sponsored by the Department of Political Science at the University of Florida, the Informatics Institute, the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections, and the Bob Graham Center for Public Service. You can RSVP to the event here. The event will be streamed live on the Bob Graham Center for Public Service’s website at www.bobgrahamcenter.ufl.edu.

Program

8:30 a.m. – Breakfast

9 a.m. – Welcome

9:15 a.m. – Panel 1: State of Florida and the Nation since 2000

10:30 a.m. – Break

10:45 am – Panel 2: Election Technology

12 p.m. – Lunch & Mock Election

1:30 p.m. – Panel 3: Voter Registration

2:45 p.m. – Break

3 p.m. – Panel 4: On the Lookout for Litigation

4:15 p.m. – Closing

5 p.m. – Reception

This looks to be an excellent and engaging discussion of the last decade and a half of Florida and national electoral history. The Graham Center always hosts excellent events, and this will definitely be worth your time. Our own Dr. Terri Fine, an expert herself on electoral politics, will be in attendance.

You can RSVP to the event here. The event will be streamed live on the Bob Graham Center for Public Service’s website at www.bobgrahamcenter.ufl.edu.

Citrus Ridge: A New PUBLIC SCHOOL Civics Academy in Florida

Posted on July 6, 2016 by stevemasy

Over the past few months, the Florida Joint Center for Citizenship has worked with teachers, administrators, and district leaders in Polk County to help with the creation of a brand new public school, one dedicated to K-8 civic education: Citrus Ridge.

Breaking Ground

Citrus Ridge, created with the support of local Congressman Dennis Ross, is a K-8 institution that will embed civic learning and civic life throughout school governance, relationships, and curriculum.

civics ridge

Citrus Ridge’s very mission statement is centered around civics and the importance of civic life:

Community
Inclusion
Variety
Innovation
Collaboration
Success

Discussing CIVICS

Our own Valerie McVey and Peggy Renihan, as well as our Teacher Practioners in Residence, have been heavily involved in the planning and work with Citrus Ridge. Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the first leadership team meeting for the school, and it was a great joy to see these teachers and administrators hard at work in learning about and understanding how the emphasis on civic life makes Citrus Ridge a unique public school.

First Steps

A heavy emphasis was placed on ensuring that school culture reflects that civic engagement and civic learning.

school culture

T.U.D.E aligns well with both the C3 Framework and with the Six Proven Practices of Civic Education, both of which will play a role in the curriculum and instruction of the school.

So what exactly is T.U.D.E? These principles draw on a number of sources for inspiration: the state of Florida’s civics benchmarks, the C3 Framework, the Six Proven Practices, and others. Take a look at them below. How do you see them reflecting the importance of civic knowledge, civic skills, and civic dispositions?

TUDE

Most excitingly, we are in the process of finding ways to integrate the concept of action civics into the school and curriculum. It will involve students in addressing problems within their school and community, developing the skills of citizenship such as collaboration, critical thinking, deliberation, and discussion, and encourage students to ‘live’ their citizenship. Some examples are: providing towels for an animal shelter, discussing more recess time versus special area versus free choice, deliberating the school dress code, and thinking critically about the causes and effects of current event that effects our community, state, or nation. Indeed, our new action civics coordinator (reviewing applications now!) will spend a great deal of time at Citrus Ridge as we start to launch this school into the civic stratosphere.

There is so much more to say and do concerning Citrus Ridge: A Civics Academy. We will keep you updated as we get closer to the start of the year and into the new school year. FJCC is excited and grateful for the opportunity to work with some excellent people on this, and let me just thank all of the team that has worked so hard to get this off of the ground. It is a great step forward for civic education in Florida and, we hope, it will be a model for this state and the nation!

Public Feedback on ESSA Legislation and Funding

Posted on June 22, 2016 by stevemasy

Good morning, friends in civics! In this post, you will find an alert from our state Education Commissioner, Pam Stewart. She is asking for public input on the Every Student Succeeds Act. I encourage you, as engaged and active and concerned citizens, to take some time and provide the FLDOE with the feedback it is seeking. If you are interested in social studies education, now is the chance to make your voice heard in this state!

I am writing to let you know that the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) is now accepting public input on the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and that I would greatly appreciate your engagement in this very important dialogue. Through July 22, 2016, all members of the public will be able to submit comments on each component of the law, and we will consider this feedback as we develop Florida’s draft state plan. To access the public input form, please visit http://www.fldoe.org/academics/essa.stml.

For ease, we have divided the feedback form into specific sections named in the law (#1-7), each title named in the law (#8) and U.S. Department of Education draft regulations (#9). You are welcome to provide input on as many of these as you would like, but you are not required to respond to all. Likewise, it is not mandatory to answer every question on a specific topic.

Challenging State Academic Standards
Academic Assessments
State Assessment Grants
Statewide Accountability System
School Improvement
School Support and Improvement Activities
Direct Student Services
General Comments by Title of the Act (Titles I-VIII)
U.S. DOE Draft Regulations on Accountability, State Plans and Data Reporting

It is important to note that, as we continue through this process, there will be additional opportunities for stakeholders to offer suggestions. Once FDOE develops Florida’s draft state plan, we will again ask you and all of our state’s education stakeholders to provide feedback before the state plan is submitted to the U.S. Department of Education.

The Florida Department of Education is sharing this news with all of our stakeholder groups, and we encourage you to do the same. Attached is a flyer that can be printed for or emailed to your local constituents and a badge for use on social media.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email ESSA@fldoe.org and a member of the FDOE team will get back with you. We thank you for your time and thoughtful input.

Sincerely,
Pam Stewart