HELP SCHOOLS SUCCEED, PASS AMENDMENT 8
Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL) - Friday, October 8, 2010
Author: J. David Armstrong Jr.
Passage of Amendment 8 would ensure that school districts have the flexibility to meet the class-size needs of all students in each school. As drivers of the economy, colleges recognize the importance of having an educated talent pool, and we depend upon the school districts for that.
At Broward College, our new teacher education program offers baccalaureate degrees to our future teachers. We believe it is the quality of the teacher and not solely the number of students in the classroom that contributes to student learning.
For 50 years, Broward College has benefited from its close partnership with the School Board as well as the business community. Our role in educating and training the workforce for Broward County is dependent upon the caliber of the students who come to us from the public schools.
According to Florida TaxWatch, passage of Amendment 8 would save Florida taxpayers $40 billion over the next 10 years, and that benefits everyone. Amendment 8 is certainly not a "cure all" for what ails our schools and our economy, but it is a form of treatment and it can help. Alternatively, if taxpayers and legislators agree, this money could be put into supporting salary increases or other improvements in classrooms. While smaller classes sound good to us all, improvements have been made and research shows that highly qualified teachers are far more important to assure a high-quality education for our children. Using limited tax dollars to attract and retain quality teachers is more important than reducing class sizes by one or two students on top of the improvements already made.
During these difficult economic times, with very limited resources, providing schools with the flexibility to budget according to their specific needs is of utmost importance. At Broward College, we are fortunate to have a diverse student body that hails from 157 different countries of origin. In this respect, we are a microcosm of the multi-ethnic population of Broward County and the children enrolled in the public schools. The needs and challenges of the schools are as diverse as the make-up of their students and require the flexibility that passage of Amendment 8 would provide. The solutions to global economic and educational challenges can only be achieved on the local level by empowering our schools and providing greater options. This can be a great benefit for our students, who are our future workforce.
J. David Armstrong Jr. is president of Broward College.
At Broward College, our new teacher education program offers baccalaureate degrees to our future teachers. We believe it is the quality of the teacher and not solely the number of students in the classroom that contributes to student learning.
For 50 years, Broward College has benefited from its close partnership with the School Board as well as the business community. Our role in educating and training the workforce for Broward County is dependent upon the caliber of the students who come to us from the public schools.
According to Florida TaxWatch, passage of Amendment 8 would save Florida taxpayers $40 billion over the next 10 years, and that benefits everyone. Amendment 8 is certainly not a "cure all" for what ails our schools and our economy, but it is a form of treatment and it can help. Alternatively, if taxpayers and legislators agree, this money could be put into supporting salary increases or other improvements in classrooms. While smaller classes sound good to us all, improvements have been made and research shows that highly qualified teachers are far more important to assure a high-quality education for our children. Using limited tax dollars to attract and retain quality teachers is more important than reducing class sizes by one or two students on top of the improvements already made.
During these difficult economic times, with very limited resources, providing schools with the flexibility to budget according to their specific needs is of utmost importance. At Broward College, we are fortunate to have a diverse student body that hails from 157 different countries of origin. In this respect, we are a microcosm of the multi-ethnic population of Broward County and the children enrolled in the public schools. The needs and challenges of the schools are as diverse as the make-up of their students and require the flexibility that passage of Amendment 8 would provide. The solutions to global economic and educational challenges can only be achieved on the local level by empowering our schools and providing greater options. This can be a great benefit for our students, who are our future workforce.
J. David Armstrong Jr. is president of Broward College.
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