FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
S
TATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
F. PHILIP HANDY,
Chairman
T. WILLARD FAIR,
Vice Chairman
Members
DONNA G. CALLAWAY
JULIA L. JOHNSON
ROBERTO MARTÍNEZ
PHOEBE RAULERSON
LINDA K. TAYLOR
John L. Winn
Commissioner of Education
February 11, 2005
M E M O R A N D U M
TO:
District School Superintendents
FROM:
Mary Laura Openshaw
Director, Just Read, Florida!
SUBJECT:
K-12 Comprehensive District Reading Plan Regional Technical Assistance
Workshops
We are pleased to announce a series of regional technical assistance workshops to provide
information on the K-12 Comprehensive District Reading Plans. As you know, Florida has made
unprecedented gains in reading student achievement, and we want to ensure that funds continue
to be available to sustain the momentum of this exciting trend.
In order to make funding permanent for reading, the Governor and the State Board of Education
propose, pending legislative action, that reading funds be distributed through the Florida
Education Finance Program (FEFP) to each district, instead of through the traditional allocation
of grants.
In order to receive this allocation, each district must write a K-12 Comprehensive District
Reading Plan that will be reviewed and approved by the Just Read, Florida! office. Funds will
not be released until the plan has all the requisite components. Plans are due on July 1, 2005
with a preliminary draft to be submitted by April 15, 2005.
We are asking that districts send teams of eight educators to the technical assistance meetings.
(Please see the attachment for a description of the suggested team members.) We recognize that
large districts with area offices may need to send eight educators from each area office.
MARY LAURA OPENSHAW
DIRECTOR, JUST READ, FLORIDA!
325 W. GAINES STREET • SUITE 1548 • TALLAHASSEE, FL 32399-0400 • (850) 245-0503 • www.fldoe.org
Memo to District School Superintendents
Page 2
Conversely, smaller districts may not send a full team of eight since their responsibilities may
overlap.
The day will include presentations from Just Read, Florida! team members in the morning and
team discussion/writing in the afternoon. The meetings will be held from 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. in
each location. Please refer to the attachments for dates, district assignments, location of the
workshops and directions.
We look forward to seeing you soon!
MLO/be/sv
Attachment
