We have always been committed to hiring the best candidates and ensuring that they are placed where they can be most effective. Race to the Top provides us with an opportunity to refine screening techniques to better identify and prequalify highly effective and effective teacher candidates. These teacher candidates will be placed in an applicant pool from which principals of schools may select and hire these prequalified instructors. We will also provide incentives to recruit and retain highly effective teachers and administrators at critical needs schools, i.e. those schools with the highest poverty rate and/or schools that have made the least progress in narrowing the achievement gap.  Teachers and principals in these targeted schools and in the other district schools will participate in professional development that pertains to closing the achievement gap and better understanding the needs of minority students. These strategies will be coupled with a focus on the recruitment and retention of minority teachers and principals. 
 

Districts are responsible for ensuring that professional learning is implemented at the district, school, and educator level and that it is effective in assisting the school community in improving student achievement. To accomplish this, districts must identify and analyze the correlation between professional development and student achievement.

Race to the Top will support the development and analysis of student assessments, training implementation, and the correlation and impact between professional development and student learning gains. We will evaluate and align existing professional development opportunities, and develop new training opportunities for teachers as indicated in learning plans, which will be informed by our evaluation system. Implementation of training will be tracked and analyzed to determine the impact on student achievement.
 

Florida envisions a student-centered school environment where every district in Florida is equipped with a Local Instructional Improvement System (LIIS) that meets stakeholder needs for access to and use of data to inform instruction in the classroom, operations at the school and district, and research.

We are committed to this vision. Our LIIS will have separate profiles, giving all stakeholders access to information relevant to them. LIIS will include comprehensive student information that is used to inform instructional decisions in the classroom, for analysis, and for communicating to students and parents about classroom activities and progress. LIIS will seamlessly share information about students, district staff, benchmarks, courses, assessments, and instructional resources to enable teachers, students, parents, and district administrators to use data to inform instruction and operational practices.
 

The State of Florida is committed to supporting its charter schools through the Race to the Top grant. As part of the Race to the Top project planning, charter schools located within our district were offered the opportunity to participate in the grant on the same terms as any other district school.  We will ensure that the ten participating charter schools receive a commensurate share of any grant funds or services funded by the grant.