http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/403455/abel-harding/2011-03-21/eric-smith-resigns-florida-education-commissioner (http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/403455/abel-harding/2011-03-21/eric-smith-resigns-florida-education-commissioner)
QuoteEric Smith announced his resignation as Florida's Commissioner of Education Monday morning.
"The time has come...to allow our newly elected Governor to have input through the State Board of Education on the type of leader to pursue his goals for education," Smith wrote in an e-mail announcing his resignation.
The long-time educator was appointed to the post in 2007 by then-Gov. Charlie Crist. His tenure has been marked by recent clashes with the Duval County School Board. W.C. Gentry, the chairman of the Duval County School Board, labeled him.
More news to follow tomorrow, it says...
So, thoughts? :-\
I see the reference to Smith being a "long term educator". Maybe he realized that by working for Scott he was NOT working for education. Got out while before the going gets worse. This should be a red flag to all of us about how much public education is being threatened in this state by the Scott regime. Its possible even his "insiders" aren't as extreme as he is.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/florida-education-commissioner-eric-smith-resigns/1158711
QuoteFlorida Education Commissioner Eric Smith resigns
By Ron Matus and Jeff Solochek, Times Staff Writers
Posted: Mar 21, 2011 11:16 AM
Florida Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith, who continued pushing far-reaching school accountability changes as the state was earning national kudos for academic progress, announced Monday he intends to resign June 10.
Hired by the state Board of Education in October 2007 to lead Florida's schools under Gov. Charlie Crist's administration, Smith, 60, said in a statement that it's time for "our newly elected Governor to have input through the State Board of Education on the type of leader to pursue his goals for education."
He declined to comment further.
The response from Gov. Rick Scott was terse: "On behalf of the state of Florida, I thank him for his years of dedicated service," he said in a written statement.
State Board of Education member Kathleen Shanahan of Tampa called Smith's announcement "a loss for Florida's kids," noting the No. 5 ranking Florida schools earned this year in Education Week's annual report.
She said Scott had not forced Smith out, but had not embraced him, either. She said Smith indicated his plans when she talked with him late Friday.
"He was very matter of fact," Shanahan said. "It was, 'I was thinking about this. I can't figure out a way to establish a good relationship with the new executive branch. So I'm making this decision on my own so they can make it on their own.' "
Speculation began stirring immediately about Smith's successor.
Scott sparked rumors late last year that former Washington D.C. school chief Michelle Rhee might be Florida's next commissioner when he named her co-chair of his education transition team. But Rhee, who had just started a national education advocacy group, said then she was not interested â€" and stuck to that line Tuesday.
"Michelle is committed to continuing her work with StudentsFirst to ensure that Florida's public schools and public schools across the country provide the best education and best teachers to their students," StudentsFirst press secretary Mafara Hobson said in an e-mail.
On paper, the seven-member Board of Education picks the commissioner. And Shanahan said it would do a national search, as it did when it selected Smith. But in reality, the governor has a big say in the decision.
Four years ago, former commissioner John Winn, a close ally of former Gov. Jeb Bush, suddenly announced his retirement less than two weeks after Crist was sworn into office.
Smith was supported by Bush's education foundations and appeared to have strong support from lawmakers. But Scott will have even more leverage once he fills three open board seats.
The commissioner's departure "probably has a lot to do with the fact that the governor is interested in building a team around him that he feels meets his needs," said House Speaker-designate Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel.
Smith began his education career more than 30 years ago as a math and science teacher in Orange County. He rose through the ranks, eventually becoming a district superintendent in Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland before landing a job at the College Board in 2006.
Immediately after taking the Florida job, Smith was faced with the prickly task of shepherding new science standards that for the first time embraced the teaching of evolution. After three months of contentious debate, the board approved them on a 4-3 vote.
Since then, Smith has helped engineer a slew of changes to Florida's accountability system, including a new high school grading formula, tougher graduation requirements and a highly technical law that married the state's school grading system with the federal ratings mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act.
Both last year and this year, Smith supported divisive bills that would radically change how teachers are hired, fired and evaluated. He was also a driving force behind Florida's successful application last year for $700 million in federal Race to the Top money.
"He put kids before politics," said House speaker pro tem John Legg, R-Port Richey. "He was involved in the nuance of policy and provided real leadership. That leadership will be missed."
***
Here is the text of a news release Smith sent Monday morning:
"This past weekend, I informed the members of the State Board of Education of my intention to resign as Florida's Commissioner of Education effective June 10, 2011, the last day of this school year. It has been my privilege to serve as Commissioner during a period in which Florida demonstrated bold national leadership in the field of education. The time has come, however, to allow our newly elected Governor to have input through the State Board of Education on the type of leader to pursue his goals for education.
"I am very proud of the significant accomplishments achieved by the hard work and aspirations of Florida's students and educators during the past three years. The following are highlights:
"Florida was ranked 5th in the nation in the 2010 Quality Counts report by Education Week up from 31st in 2007, which tracks state policies and performance across key areas of education.
"Florida was one of only four states in the nation to improve significantly in both fourth- and eighth-grade reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), with significant gains for Florida's African-American and Hispanic students outpacing their counterparts in the nation.
"Florida's graduation rate climbed to 79 percent in 2010, a new high for our state, with significant increases for minority students.
"More than 120,000 students entered kindergarten better prepared in 2010 as a result of their participation in our state's Voluntary PreKindergarten (VPK) program.
"In 2010, the number of AP exams administered to Florida's public school students increased 19.5 percent and the number of students receiving a passing score on an AP exam jumped 14.5 percent. Because of this achievement, Florida has the third-highest number of students taking the AP exam compared to the nation and ranks fourth in the nation for the number of students scoring 3 or higher.
"At the same time, participation in Dual Enrollment coursework increased 18.4 percent, with a 12.2 percent increase in the number of students earning college credit in these courses.
"For the eighth year in a row, Community College Week's 2010 annual top 100 report honored Florida's state colleges with the top spots in terms of degrees earned.
"While these are impressive achievements, over the past three years, we have also developed and have begun to implement the following strategies to drive future progress:
"In August 2010, Florida was named a winner in the Race to the Top competition, securing $700 million in federal funds to revolutionize the state's education system.
"Last week, the Florida Legislature passed landmark legislation called the Student Success Act that will reform the teaching profession and allow our state to better attract and retain high-quality teachers and remove the low-performing teachers from the classroom.
"The Florida Department of Education took a leadership role nationally, developing Common Core Standards and now serves as the fiscal agent for the national consortium of states to develop assessments that will measure student performance on these standards.
"In 2010, legislation was enacted to require more rigorous graduation requirements to ensure that students leave high school better prepared for college and a career.
"A new high school grading formula was implemented that gives parents a more comprehensive look at their student's school in terms of college and career readiness.
"Florida integrated federal and state requirements resulting in a reduction in reporting and a solid process was implemented to identify and support the state's persistently low achieving schools.
"The foundations are in place and the expectations are clear that Florida will be number one in education! The future is promising and very exciting for our students.
"It has been an honor to serve both the State Board of Education as well as the members of the Florida Legislature. These individuals have made incredible efforts to build upon the bold education reforms established by Governor Jeb Bush allowing us to progress both quickly and successfully. It also has been a pleasure to work with the talented individuals in the Department of Education who continue to demonstrate commitment to serving students, parents and teachers of our wonderful state.
"I thank the state of Florida for the privilege and honor to have served as its Education Commissioner. There always will be a special place in my family's heart for this blessed state and its students."
I know that stuff like this is going on other states, but how many other states have a governor like Rick Scott?
I know the systems we have initiated under Bush and Crist have born some fruit for Florida but we have Tea Partiers too appease.
The Fcat has made many of our students have to strive to reach some standards. So if we are seeing some success why three strait years of cuts. perhaps the best education possible is not the goal.
I notice the Tea Party did not hold rallies protesting outside the failing schools of Raines and Rebault but did outside the A rated schools in clay county. hmmm
Judging by the article... this resignation is not all that uncommon...
QuoteOn paper, the seven-member Board of Education picks the commissioner. And Shanahan said it would do a national search, as it did when it selected Smith. But in reality, the governor has a big say in the decision.
Four years ago, former commissioner John Winn, a close ally of former Gov. Jeb Bush, suddenly announced his retirement less than two weeks after Crist was sworn into office.
Smith was supported by Bush's education foundations and appeared to have strong support from lawmakers. But Scott will have even more leverage once he fills three open board seats.
Quote from: Dashing Dan on March 21, 2011, 03:41:43 PM
I know that stuff like this is going on other states, but how many other states have a governor like Rick Scott?
Off the top of my head, I think Wisconsin and Texas. :P