﻿From:	Jeb Bush </O=JEB BUSH/OU=FIRST ADMINISTRATIVE GROUP/CN=RECIPIENTS/CN=JEB>
Sent:	Tuesday, November 15, 2005 4:19:58 PM
To:	Levesque, Patricia <Patricia.Levesque@MyFlorida.com>
Subject:	RE: eagerly awaiting  your  reply -  fup complete (FCAT for hospital homebound students)

Thank you.

jeb

-----Original Message-----
From: Levesque, Patricia [mailto:Patricia.Levesque@MyFlorida.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, November 15, 2005 11:06 AM
To: Jeb Bush
Subject: FW: eagerly awaiting your reply - fup complete (FCAT for hospital homebound students)


Hanna's response to constituent re: FCAT for hospital homebound students

_________________________________________

October 28, 2005

Sue Weber 
sweber@dadeschools.net

Dear Ms. Weber:

Thank you for contacting Governor Jeb Bush regarding the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) as it applies to Hospital/Homebound Instructional Program (HHIP) students.  Governor Bush received your message, and I have been asked to respond on his behalf.

I am sorry Merrick Educational Center received a school grade of “F” for the 2004-2005 school year, but HHIP students had to be included in school achievement data for school accountability this year in accordance with State Board Rule.  Rule 6A-1.09981 (3)(a), Florida Administrative Code states, 

Student achievement data shall be reported for all students in a school as specified by Section 1008.22, Florida Statutes. Each year reports of achievement data for all students shall be prepared for each school, the district, and the state. For the purpose of assigning school performance grades, each school's aggregate achievement data shall be based on: 
(a) The scores of all students enrolled in standard curriculum courses including the scores of students who are speech impaired, gifted, hospital homebound, and Limited English Proficient (LEP) students who have been in an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program for more than two (2) years.  

Rule 6A-1.09981 (3)(b) states, “In addition, only the scores of those students who are enrolled in the second period and the third period full-time equivalent student membership survey, as specified in Rule 6A-1.0451, FAC., shall be included.”  This means that although your institution only has an 18% return rate for students, students included in the grading system must be at your institution during survey 2 in the second week of October and survey 3 in the second week of February.

In your message, you say that the grading of HHIP students has not been equitably applied.  The grading of schools is equitably applied.  However, there were no other schools where there were exclusively hospital/homebound students reported under a single school number which rose to the threshold number of 30 full year students.

We will continue to work with you and Merrick Educational Center to assist with meaningful strategies to help improve student performance by implementing a School Improvement Plan.  We do understand the difficulty of Merrick Educational Center’s situation, but the Center must be included in the school grading system according to state law.   

Thank you for taking the time to share your opinions with us.  Being involved in education – contacting state officials and voicing your opinions about decisions – is the responsibility of every citizen.  

Sincerely,



Hanna Skandera
Deputy Commissioner
Accountability, Research, and Measurement

-----Original Message-----
From: Jeb Bush [mailto:jeb@jeb.org] 
Sent: Sunday, September 25, 2005 8:34 PM
To: Weber, Sue
Cc: Levesque, Patricia; Winn, John
Subject: RE: eagerly awaiting your reply fup


Thank you Sue. I am sorry you didn't get a response. I wanted to the Dept of Education to write you about your well deserved concerns. They will do so shortly.

Jeb

-----Original Message-----
From: Weber, Sue [mailto:sweber@dadeschools.net] 
Sent: Sunday, September 25, 2005 8:31 PM
To: Jeb Bush
Subject: eagerly awaiting your reply



Dear Governor Bush,
  I understand that you have been very busy with hurricane and other important issues. I hope that you received the attached email I sent in early September. I look forward to your response as I know you have the students' best interest at heart.


Dear Governor Bush,
 Thank you for speaking with me at the Just Read Florida Coaching Academy in Orlando last month. During our brief conversation, you suggested that I send you an e-mail to remind you of our conversation and more fully explain the concerns we discussed.

 I am the Reading Coach for Merrick Educational Center, an exceptional student education center school that provides the Hospitalized/Homebound Instructional Program (HHIP) for all eligible students in Miami-Dade County. Our population is comprised of students who are too medically fragile to attend school. As entry and withdrawal from this program is based on the recommendations of the treating physician, the population is extremely fluid. It is impossible to predict which children in our community will become ill, how long HHIP services will be required and what impact their illness and required medical treatments will have on their ability to acquire or maintain academic skills. It is ridiculous to hold staff accountable for student achievement under the specter of these illnesses and the reality that most students are with us for only a few months at a time receiving limited direct instruction.

 The administration of the FCAT to these students last spring required over four weeks (including evenings and weekends) of staff time during which the instructional program itself was seriously compromised. Testing took place in hospital rooms, in student homes and at the center (for the students who could leave their homes briefly). Attached please find the breakdown of students tested and the medical conditions from which they suffer.

 For the first time this year, the HHIP program at Merrick was graded in the A+ Plan. We received an "F". Apparently, it was decided that HHIP student FCAT scores should be considered in a school's grade in the same manner as those generated by gifted students and those whose only exceptionality is speech/language impaired. As the overwhelming majority of students at Merrick who take the FCAT are hospitalized or confined to the home, the absurdity of this decision can only be outweighed by the chaos this has caused.

 Only 18% of the students who took the FCAT in the HHIP program last spring were enrolled with us again on the first day of school for the 2005-2006 school year. Due to our "F" status, we were forced to write a School Improvement Plan based on data that has no real meaning as it was generated primarily by students who no longer "attend" our program. The required progress monitoring is impossible to implement because of the constant enrollment and withdrawal of the students in the program. The continuous assessment requirement will further deplete the limited direct instruction HHIP students receive; thereby, rendering our program almost meaningless.

 When the Florida Department of Education sent an assistance team to our school, they acknowledged the difficulty of our situation, but were unable to provide any useful assistance for the development and implementation of our School Improvement Plan.

 It is interesting to note that the grading of schools serving HHIP students has not been equitably applied across the state even for neighboring districts such as Pinellas and Hillsborough.

 I am asking for your intervention in this misguided implementation of your A+ Plan. Please remove this unwarranted grade and release staff from the negative constraints to the delivery of the HHIP program. Too much time and expertise has been wasted trying to comply with regulations that cannot be applied to this unique student population. As a teacher of Hospital/Homebound students for over 28 years, I know first hand the devastation this has caused to our instructional program and our staff.

 Can you imagine how a seriously ill student and his/her parents are going to react when a doctor tells them that the child is too sick to go to school and must now be enrolled in what they will find out is an "F" school?

You may contact me at sweber@dadeschools.net or (305) 460-2924.

Sincerely,
Sue Weber
Reading Coach
Department Chairman
Merrick Educational Center
Homebound/Hospitalized Instructional Program
