DECEMBER 1, 2006
Congratulations Linda Geller! On Nov. 15, Principal Linda Geller, West Tampa Elementary in Hillsborough, received the Council’s 2006 Leonard Miller Principal Leadership Award. She received a standing ovation and a check for $10,000 as a reward for her achievements. The other finalists, Nongongoma Majova-Seane from Duval and Alejandro Perez from Miami-Dade, each received $5,000. The program/event are sponsored by the Cobb Family Foundation, Ed Easton, Richard and Susan Finkelstein, Publix Super Markets Charities, Baptist Health South Florida and the PL Dodge Foundation. More information follows.
Florida State Board of Education Chair Phil Handy and Commissioner of Education John Winn were special guests at the Council’s Nov. 15th Board Meeting held in Miami. Both attended the meeting to discuss future collaborations between the Council and the Florida Department of Education. The Council is a significant partner in the Department’s professional development initiative--the William Cecil Golden Professional Development Program for School Leaders. Among the collaborative Council/FLDOE activities are two annual statewide Leadership Academies, three annual statewide Assistant Principal Leadership Forums, and extensive online tools, resources and learning modules especially developed for the program’s website: www.deltaschoolleaders.org.
Betty Coxe was also a special guest at the Council’s November meeting, representing Florida TaxWatch and Dominic Calabro, President and CEO. Ms. Coxe is the Director of the organization’s Center for Educational Performance and Accountability. The Council and TaxWatch are exploring a partnership focused on educational Think Tank activities, including a possible Leonard Miller scholar. Partnered work would provide research and information to improve school and student achievement. Some recent Think Tank activities undertaken by the Council include a Guide to Florida Leadership Academies, underwritten by Progress Energy, and commissioned by Bill Habermeyer, Council Board member and former CEO of Progress Energy, and the National Center for Educational Accountability/Ed Trust/Just for the Kids and Council study of high performing high schools in Florida.
On Nov. 20, the first Hillsborough Executive PASS meeting was held with more than 20 local business leaders, district staff, Principals and Council leadership to develop and implement the program in area schools. Executive PASS teams business leader mentors with Principals to work on “doable” school improvement goals, borrowing business best practices where applicable. The meeting was hosted by JP Morgan Chase which provides significant support for the Executive PASS program. Kim Ray, Senior Vice President-Head Global Billing; Linda McLaughlin-Moore, President of JP Morgan Treasury Technologies Corp.; and Mary Ann Fullerton, Vice President of JPMorgan Treasury Services-Tampa, represented their organization at the meeting. President & Executive Director, Dr. Elaine Liftin, Executive PASS coordinator Ralph Hewitt and PASS coordinator Sherry Clarke represented the Council. Dr. Michael Grego, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, represented the Hillsborough district.
Council representatives will join other Wachovia Foundation Teachers and Teaching Initiative program leaders from across the nation at a special meeting in Nashville on Dec. 2. The Council for Educational Change’s Wachovia Foundation program is designed to retain and train new and beginning teachers at 19 PASS schools in Florida. The program, under the direction of Director Pete Bucholtz, currently serves 101 new teachers and reported a 97% retention rate outpacing the state and national rates. Since its inception, the program has served 277 novice teachers with one-on-one mentoring from expert teachers and special workshops and online resources. The meeting will share promising practices that can be applied to ongoing programs. The Council received $785,000 for its four year program. Dee Lee, Senior Vice President for Community Affairs, heads the Foundation’s Initiative.
Save the date: PASS Annual Meeting, May 16, 2007, St. Petersburg. All PASS Principals, CEO’s and sponsors are invited. Special thanks to Scott Curtis and our Raymond James Financial friends who will host the meeting, and sponsor PASS statewide.
The Council extends our profound gratitude to all the sponsors, partners, districts and schools who made 2006 a banner year for programs that impacted student achievement, and collaborations that enlisted record numbers of partners in meaningful school improvement. The Council is issuing a report, Great Things Happen, available Jan. 1, 2007 at www.changeeducation.org that shares the impact of this work. As we wish everyone a Happy Holiday season, we also want to share our hope that during this 2007 New Year, working together, we can make even more Great Things Happen for the students of Florida!
Hillsborough Principal Linda Geller Wins Council for Educational Change $10,000 Leonard Miller Principal Leadership Award
Council Bestows Prestigious 4th Annual Award at Special Event
On Nov. 15, 2006 Hillsborough County Principal, Linda V. Geller of West Tampa Elementary received the statewide $10,000 Leonard Miller Principal Leadership Award presented annually by the Council for Educational Change, Florida’s Educational Think Tank. More than 120 special guests attended.
The award is presented in honor of the late Leonard Miller and his extensive contribution to educational improvement in Florida. He was the founder of the Council for Educational Change and the Chair of the South Florida Annenberg Challenge, the Council’s predecessor organization. Leonard Miller was a proponent of recognizing and rewarding outstanding Principal Leadership.
The event was sponsored by the Cobb Family Foundation, Edward W. Easton, Richard & Susan Finkelstein, Baptist Health South Florida, the P L Dodge Foundation, and Publix Super Markets Charities. The Award is based on these criteria: increased student achievement; empowerment of staff; and engagement of meaningful community and business partnerships.
Mrs. Geller was chosen to receive the award in recognition for her remarkable work in raising student achievement, from a “D” to a “B” school in three years, despite severe challenges. Some 92% of West Tampa’s students qualify for a free or reduced price lunch and more than 65% of the students do not speak English. The surrounding community is acutely socio-economically depressed.
Mrs. Geller was one of three finalists. The other Principals, Alejandro Perez of Comstock Elementary in Miami-Dade and Nongongoma Majova-Seanne of Eugene Butler Middle School in Duval County, each received $5,000. Both finalists raised their school grades significantly in the face of difficult challenges and involved their school faculty and community in meaningful improvement.
To be eligible for the Award, Principals must have participated in a Council program. Mrs. Geller’s school is in the Council’s PASS program, sponsored by Council Board member and PASS CEO Bob Graham, who was on hand to offer his congratulations. West Tampa Elementary also participates in the Council’s Wachovia Foundation Teachers and Teaching Initiative program.
The event was presided over by Council Chair Steve Saiontz and held at the Bank United Center, University of Miami. Among those attending were Council donors, partners, Board members, education and government leaders, and Miller family and friends.
Jackie Byrd, 2005 Award Winner from Reynolds Lane Elementary in Duval, passed the torch, reflecting on her experience and the impact of the Award. “The Award not only brought recognition to me but to Reynolds Lane staff, students and Duval County,” Mrs. Byrd shared. “I am and always will be grateful to my faculty, staff and students for the dedication and trust they have shown me over the years,” she continued.
Mrs. Geller was surprised when Steve Saiontz, who was to make the Award winner announcement, deferred to the television screen where a video with the entire student body, staff, Superintendent of Schools Mary Ellen Elia, district leaders, Tampa City mentors and Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, offering their congratulations, was shown. The entire school was listening in, telephonically, when the announcement was made.
The check and trophy were presented by Steve Saiontz, Dr. Elaine Liftin, Bob Graham and sponsors Chuck Cobb, Edward Easton, Richard and Susan Finkelstein and Brian Keeley, Baptist Health South Florida. “I am humbled that my faculty and staff nominated me for such a prestigious award and to be selected from such an outstanding group of professionals,” said Mrs. Geller.
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