My Chat with the Senator

     Last summer I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with our local senator, Senator Don Gaetz. He was a former school Superintendent, so I felt I could share my frustrations with him about our current state accountability system. Don't get me wrong. I am an accountability girl. I have seen the advent of accountability cause an elevation in our ability to improve student achievement like never before. But I did share with the Senator how our state’s “safety net” embedded in the accountability system reduced the urgency necessary to turn around schools demonstrating a downward trajectory in regards to student achievement. I shared the story of how I took over a “B” school that was really, by points, a C school with only 9 points keeping it from a D. But the community, the district, and even the school staff were not acting with a sense of urgency due to the “B” which camouflaged our downward trajectory.

     During our chat, he was very insightful, and I took away some awesome quotes from our visit. He said, I needed some “hard chargers” to help with the reform…referring to the teaching staff.

     When he responded to my visit by sending me a personal letter, he said, “I was intrigued by your analysis that the current school grading system – “buffered” grades – turned out to be a disadvantage to you in developing a sense of urgency among your faculty and parents and district staff.” When I read his letter, I knew that he had genuinely listened to what I had to say.

     And now….FLASH FORWARD….a year later. This spring, the Senator has worked with others in the government to remove the safety net and to create a transparent grading system. I was thrilled when I received his email newsletter that described the changes.

     I firmly believe that the Senator listened to my heartfelt concerns. He probably heard similar concerns from across the state, and he listened. This summer I will reply to his letter with thanks. All in all, this was a worthwhile experience, but the Senator’s responsiveness and time taken to send me a letter seemed to make it even more gratifying.