AREA EDUCATORS PROTEST E-COMP PLAN

Unfortunately, I had to work Thursday afternoon while Polk County area teachers, staff members, and administrators held a protest at Lakeland's Lake Mirror Ampitheatre. Otherwise, I would have been glad to join them.

The demonstration was to show their disdain for the state's new effectiveness compensation plan (a/k/a E-Comp), which ties teacher bonuses to how their students perform on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). The plan, as determined by a state Department of Education formula, rewards the top ten percent of Florida's teacher with a bonus equal to at least five percent of their salary.

There is nothing wrong in using standardized testing as but one means to show what areas students are doing well in and where they need assistance. But the FCAT has become such a high stakes test that is relied on simply too much. How well a student does on the test determines everything from school grades to school funding to student promotion and high school graduation.

It was great to see school district officials joining teachers in the protest. Superintendent Dr. Gail McKenzie and two members of the School Board were present and spoke to the gathering.

We need to support our educators. This is not only a case of bonuses, and this is not just a Polk County issue...but one that touches every school and district across Florida and across America. I like what I read in the story from today's Lakeland Ledger from Polly Burkhart, a science teacher at Winter Haven's Jewett Middle Academy:

"I'm tired of being jerked around as the political winds blow...Politicians continually try to overhaul our education system by mandating yet another ridiculous idea that lacks reliable resources, has no proven track record, is underfunded and undermines morale."

What more can I say except, "Amen, Sister!"