Elementary Schools

Please visit TESLA in Seagrove, contact Amy Hollinger, jdsamyh@gmail.com

Is anyone else concerned about the fact that we don't have the best teachers in our elementary schools? I guess not as long as the budget is balanced at the expense of what's best for our children.

Tesla parent here. Couldn't be happier. Local elementary was boring my son to tears

I'm a little concerned that the only school in Santa Rosa Beach accepting VPK for 4 year olds is currently telling people they are not sure if they will have room this next school year!

TESLA is closing.

TESLA is closing.

And my little boy is devastated!

We face a real problem with the school system in SoWal...Do we have any public figures working in the best interest of our children?? I mean, all of that BP money and TDC money and we can't even get enough classrooms for our kids?? As a new homeowner in Pt Washington, I'm regretting not learning more about the school system until now...I thought because my daughter is only 2 we would have time We are on a wait list for Pre-school in September 2014....here's to hoping things start to turn around!

TDC money cannot be spent for education- it is tourism-related spending only as the money comes from bed taxes paid by visitors. We are even having to fight for it to be spent on improvements to infrastructure shared by residents and tourists, like bike paths and spring break crowd control. Since the tourists don't attend school here, TDC money can't (and shouldn't) be spent on schools. The BP money has strings attached to it, and since education was not "affected" by the oil spill, education is not an appropriate use for it.

Regarding enough classrooms- are you talking about preschool or elementary school? We don't have public preschools, so I am a little confused, especially since public education monies aren't spent on private preschools. We are a pretty small community, and there are a lot more options now- when we moved here 6 years ago, there was just one preschool!

TDC money cannot be spent for education- it is tourism-related spending only as the money comes from bed taxes paid by visitors. We are even having to fight for it to be spent on improvements to infrastructure shared by residents and tourists, like bike paths and spring break crowd control. Since the tourists don't attend school here, TDC money can't (and shouldn't) be spent on schools. The BP money has strings attached to it, and since education was not "affected" by the oil spill, education is not an appropriate use for it.

Regarding enough classrooms- are you talking about preschool or elementary school? We don't have public preschools, so I am a little confused, especially since public education monies aren't spent on private preschools. We are a pretty small community, and there are a lot more options now- when we moved here 6 years ago, there was just one preschool!

VPK is Free to All 4-Year Olds!
Voluntary Prekindergarten or VPK gives children a jump start by preparing them for school and enhancing their pre-reading, pre-math, language and social skills. By developing the skills children need to become strong readers and students at an early age, children are more likely to be successful in school. VPK classrooms offer high-quality programs that include high literacy standards, developmentally appropriate curricula, manageable class sizes, and qualified teachers.
If you live in Florida and have a child who turns 4 years of age by September 1, your child is eligible for Florida’s FREE VPK program. Your child can attend one of the two programs offered annually. The school-year program includes 540 hours of instructional time and begins in August. The summer program consists of 300 instructional hours and can begin as early as May 1.
There are a number of private child care and public school providers offering the VPK program
Enroll your 4-year-old in VPK today!

What is VPK
VPK stands for the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program. If you live in Florida, and your child turns 4 four years of age by September 1, your child is eligible to participate in Florida's FREE Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) education program.
Benefits of early education and the VPK program
The most important growth and development in the brain happens by the age of five.
The early years are the learning years. A child’s ability to be attentive and to follow directions emerges in the early years. Structured early learning fosters these abilities for later success in school and in life.
Pre-K prepares children to be ready for school. Children who participate in high-quality early childhood education programs develop better language skills, score higher in school-readiness tests and have better social skills and fewer behavioral problems once they enter school. They are also better prepared for Kindergarten, especially in the areas of pre-reading, pre-math and social skills.
Pre-K promotes a love of learning in children. Pre-K enhances what a child learns at home and instills a love of life-long learning.

Thanks- I forgot about VPK- so great. I consider it more of an extension of our public elementary schools. But lots of families like to start preschool before age 4--

And my little boy is devastated!

Mine too. Thoughts for next year?

Perhaps the elementary schools would benefit if some of the more experienced teachers who were "non renewed" were rehired. After all they were dismissed and replaced with inexperienced, less qualified teachers to meet budget restraints, yet the school district has enough money to create administrative positions, hire an "energy guru" to tell everybody when to turn the lights off and hire a defeated superintendent from Okaloosa county. Perhaps we could also cut the salaries of the board since they serve no real purpose other than to rubber stamp Mrs. Anderson's unilateral decisions.

Butler is not offering VPK this Fall because they said they don't have a classroom for it and Bay doesn't offer it either...and it's only free when you attend a school that accepts the voucher. St. Rita's offers it, but you have to pay full price as they don't accept the voucher. Any other school that accepts it in SRB is either full or not offering it for Fall 2013

Mine too. Thoughts for next year?

well, we do have options, thankfully! we'll be exploring them all...

Butler is not offering VPK this Fall because they said they don't have a classroom for it and Bay doesn't offer it either...and it's only free when you attend a school that accepts the voucher. St. Rita's offers it, but you have to pay full price as they don't accept the voucher. Any other school that accepts it in SRB is either full or not offering it for Fall 2013

Although they are not offering it in the fall, they may be offering it during the summer. My oldest daughter went to the summer VPK program at Butler. Although it was intensive, she gained a lot from it.

My younger daughter did VPK during the school year at her daycare provider, The Roane School. The state paid them a fee for offering VPK. I think my older daughter got more out of the summer program that my younger daughter did from the year-round program.

I imagine one of the problems in Butler offering VPK during the fall is the wrap-around care that is needed.

Perhaps the elementary schools would benefit if some of the more experienced teachers who were "non renewed" were rehired. After all they were dismissed and replaced with inexperienced, less qualified teachers to meet budget restraints, yet the school district has enough money to create administrative positions, hire an "energy guru" to tell everybody when to turn the lights off and hire a defeated superintendent from Okaloosa county. Perhaps we could also cut the salaries of the board since they serve no real purpose other than to rubber stamp Mrs. Anderson's unilateral decisions.

I understand your frustrations with your wife not being hired back with the school district...however, I wish you would refrain from saying that the teachers are less qualified. I believe that now more than ever it is much easier for administration to weed out the teachers who may not be up to par to ensure that highly qualified, and motivated teachers are teaching our children. As for the add on positions at the district level, I would agree that many of those positions are useless. I just cannot agree that ALL teachers hired are less qualified or inexperienced. I believe the lack of support from the community makes it much harder for teachers and schools in our community. Just my thoughts.

I understand your frustrations with your wife not being hired back with the school district...however, I wish you would refrain from saying that the teachers are less qualified. I believe that now more than ever it is much easier for administration to weed out the teachers who may not be up to par to ensure that highly qualified, and motivated teachers are teaching our children. As for the add on positions at the district level, I would agree that many of those positions are useless. I just cannot agree that ALL teachers hired are less qualified or inexperienced. I believe the lack of support from the community makes it much harder for teachers and schools in our community. Just my thoughts.

I use the term 'inexperienced' from public records and information from other personnel. I'd also like an answer to the question of why the district doesn't comply with Article 11.5 of the collective bargaining agreement which seems to require that non renewed teachers be given first consideration when instructional positions become available. This is one of the many questions that Mrs. Anderson has chosen to ignore. And I'd also appreciate it, in the future, that Mrs. Anderson not file a false complaint against me with Fat Mike for violating the law because she doesn't like my polemic objections to her tactics.

I love it when government officials compare their operations to "business models". Show me a company who hires a new college grad with a BS degree over an experienced manager with years of successful performance and an MBA and I'll show you a company destined for failure.

I use the term 'inexperienced' from public records and information from other personnel. I'd also like an answer to the question of why the district doesn't comply with Article 11.5 of the collective bargaining agreement which seems to require that non renewed teachers be given first consideration when instructional positions become available. This is one of the many questions that Mrs. Anderson has chosen to ignore. And I'd also appreciate it, in the future, that Mrs. Anderson not file a false complaint against me with Fat Mike for violating the law because she doesn't like my polemic objections to her tactics.

Carlene Anderson filed a false complaint against someone? Seems to me that might be grounds for a lawsuit.

Carlene Anderson filed a false complaint against someone? Seems to me that might be grounds for a lawsuit.

Yes. I believe that it would be for violating the wiretap law. This is just another example of a Walton county elected official attempting to silence a critic.