FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
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STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
F. PHILIP H ANDY,
Chairman
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T. WILLARD FAIR,
Vice Chairman
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Members
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LINDA J. EADS, ED.D.
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CHARLES PATRICK G ARCÍA
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JULIA L. JOHNSON
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WILLIAM L. PROCTOR , PH.D.
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LINDA K. T AYLOR
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M E M O R A N D U M
TO:
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District Superintendents
District Reading and Language Arts Supervisors
District Professional Development Contacts
Middle School Principals
High School Principals
FROM:
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Mary Laura Openshaw
Director, Just Read, Florida!
DATE:
April 1, 2004
JIM HORNE
Commissioner of Education
RE:
Summer Reading Endorsement Professional Development Opportunity
I am delighted to inform you about an unprecedented opportunity for middle and high school
teachers in the state of Florida. Our Just Read, Florida! Office at the Department of Education
funded the Reading Endorsement Professional Development Program at Florida State
University’s (FSU) College of Education in order to provide additional no-cost professional
development opportunities in reading for grades 6-12 secondary educators. Through this
program, secondary teachers of reading can earn the required Reading Endorsement (with the
exception of the practicum), as well as continue their education and improve their students’
reading skills in the classroom.
This program will offer graduate level reading courses and will be offered in ten cities
throughout the state in the summer of 2004, further enhancing Florida’s pool of highly qualified
teachers in reading. The summer 2004 program currently consists of two graduate-level courses
specifically designed to address Reading Endorsement Competencies One and Two and will
offer courses meeting Competencies Three and Four/Five in the fall of 2004 and spring of 2005.
MARY LAURA OPENSHAW
DIRECTOR, JUST READ, FLORIDA!
325 W. GAINES STREET • SUITE 1548 • TALLAHASSEE, FL32399-0400• (850) 245-0503 • www.fldoe.org
Memorandum
Page 2
These courses have limited space available, and we will enroll applicants on a priority and
first-come-first serve basis. Please do not delay in communicating information about this
opportunity to your teachers. Applicants accepted into the reading program will have their
graduate tuition paid. All course books and manuals are also provided free of charge and
each student will receive a stipend of $150 per course to offset travel/daycare expenses or
other incidental expenses providing they receive a grade of "C" or higher.
Please print the attached informational brochure and disseminate it to the teachers and
reading related professionals in your district. Program information, course dates and
registration information can be accessed at http://cerps.coe.fsu.edu/reading.htm.
We look forward to serving your needs by continuing to offer a variety of resources as
Florida journeys toward the goal of all children reading on grade level and higher by 2012!
Please contact FSU’s Center for Educational Research and Policy Studies at (850)644-3419
if you have further questions about the summer 2004 Reading Endorsement Professional
Development Program.
MLO/be
CC:
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Ava Byrne
Betty Coxe
Patricia Cheavers
MARY LAURA OPENSHAW
DIRECTOR, JUST READ, FLORIDA!
325 W. GAINES STREET • SUITE 1402 • TALLAHASSEE, FL32399-0400• (850) 245-0503 • www.fldoe.org
