FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
?
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
John L. Winn
Commissioner of Education
F. PHILIP HANDY,
Chairman
T. WILLARD FAIR,
Vice Chairman
Members
DONNA G. CALLAWAY
ROBERTO MARTÍNEZ
PHOEBE RAULERSON
KATHLEEN SHANAHAN
LINDA K. TAYLOR
January 18, 2006
MEMORANDUM
TO:
School District Superintendents
FROM:
John L. Winn
RE:
Shoot for the Stars: A Record Breaking Year for Middle Schools
I am pleased to inform you of a year-long middle school reading initiative that I launched at
yesterday’s State Board of Education meeting at Valencia Community College. Aimed at
reading achievement in grades six, seven, and eight, each of the three contests is built to motivate
middle school students to take their reading one step further.
Middle school students struggle with reading for a variety of reasons: they have little time to
to read -- and because of that, they are not
developing vocabulary and background and content knowledge that they can apply in other
areas. Research tells us that students who do not read during the summer may lose, on average,
two to three months of skill. Through Governor Bush’s leadership, and with the support of the
Florida Legislature, we have worked hard to provide solid professional development for middle
school teachers and reading coaches; we have also offered instructional enhancements such as
free oral reading fluency probes. The “Shoot for the Stars “initiative allows us to address, on a
much larger scale, the factors that we know influence reading proficiency in middle school.
The “Shoot for the Stars: A Record-Breaking Year for Middle Schools” initiative consists of
three contests:
•
Commissioner Winn’s FCAT Reading Scores Challenge
•
Chancellor Yecke’s Summer Book Reading Challenge
•
Governor and First Lady’s Reading in the Arts Contest
325 W. GAINES STREET • TALLAHASSEE, FL 32399-0400 • (850) 245-0505 • www.fldoe.org
Memo to District School Superintendents
Page 2
The first part of this initiative is my FCAT Reading Scores Challenge. This contest challenges
each middle school to compete against their FCAT scores from last year – so all schools have an
equal chance to win, as they are competing against themselves. Each middle school that is able
to beat both their percentage of students meeting high standards in reading and their percentage
making learning gains in reading will receive a certificate from Governor Bush and me, a Just
Read, Florida! poster, and a flag signifying that the record was broken; these schools will also
qualify for the grand prize. The qualifying school making the most improvement overall in both
categories will win a grand prize of $10,000, courtesy of Beall’s Department Stores, Inc., for the
school media center. Winners will be announced in May. Students, teachers, and parents can
access their school-wide goal at http://data.fldoe.org/middleschoolread/.
Chancellor Yecke’s Summer Reading Book Challenge will be based on guidelines used by the
United States Department of Education for their summer reading challenge. Statewide, the
entering 6
th
, 7
th
, and 8
th
grader that reads the most books (a minimum of 15 is required) and fills
out a short online summary notecard will receive prizes, as will their school. The Just Read,
Florida! Office, in conjunction with the Department of State’s Division of Libraries, the Florida
Association of Media in Education (FAME), and middle school students themselves will be
involved in compiling a recommended reading list.
For fall 2006, the Governor and First Lady’s Reading in the Arts contest will be patterned after
“Florida’s Journey into Narnia” contest, in which over 3000 essays, over 2400 illustrations, and
over 50 short videos were submitted for competition. Middle School students will be able to
compete again through short essays, short films, and illustrations, with prizes for individual
student, teacher and school winners.
Detailed information on the other two contests will be released in the near future. I ask you to
encourage your middle schools to rally around these activities aimed at rising student
achievement. My hopes are that a year of motivation will reap years of future success!
Please contact the Just Read, Florida! Office at 850/245-0503 or at justread@fldoe.org with any
questions or for further information.
JLW/mlo
