Latest / Flagler Forward - The Podcast / S1E2 - School Choice in Flagler County

Transcript

S1E2 - School Choice in Flagler County · Flagler Forward - The Podcast

• 0:07
  SPEAKER_03: Lights are on a brand new day.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_03: We'll fire the believe in the window.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_03: Hello, and welcome to our latest episode, Flagler Forward the Podcast.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_03: I'm LaShaka Moore, Superintendent of Flagler Schools.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_03: On this episode, we're going to give you a different perspective on the world of school choice in Flagler County.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_03: You'll hear from a student, from a mom, and from our very own school choice specialist, Ms.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_03: Susan Kennedy.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_03: On Flagler Forward, we introduce you to the people, to the programs and possibilities that make Flagler Schools a great place to move Flagler forward.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_03: Each month, we bring you all the opportunities that will help us meet your student where they are and take them where they need to be.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_03: So if you are already within Flagler Schools or thinking about becoming part of our family, we invite you to listen, to learn, and see what's possible as we look into school choice.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_03: Joining us today is one family who returned to Flagler Schools after going into homeschool.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_03: And of course, we are proud to share our very own school choice specialist, Susan Kennedy, as she helps families new and old to Flagler Schools.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_03: We thank you, and we're looking forward to having a great conversation today.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_03: So welcome to Flagler Forward the podcast.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you for being here with us.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you for being here.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_03: How are you guys doing today?
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_02: Great.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_03: Great.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_03: So today we're going to start off, and I have some questions that uh we've prepared, but we haven't discussed any of these questions.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_03: And so I really want you to speak freely as we provide information to our families.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_03: And so I have some questions that we're going to start off with, but we will take the conversation wherever we would like the conversation to be.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_03: We hear a lot about school choice in Flagler County and across the state of Florida.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_03: But I think that many families don't understand completely all of the options that are available for them.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_03: Sometimes when they hear school choice, they think about maybe I'll go from one school to the next school.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_03: But there are so many different variations of choice that families are exercising here in Flagler County.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_03: Can you talk to us a little bit about some of the options that you support families with every day?
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_02: And thank you for having me.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_02: The most common ones are the ones that you talked about where parents or families will want to move a student from one school to another.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_02: They may not be familiar with the terms, but the two terms that we have for that are controlled open enrollment, and then we have a hardship program.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_02: The controlled open enrollment is mandated by Florida statutes, and that allows parents to apply or request that their student attend a different school other than their zone school for basically no reason whatsoever.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_02: We just we just want to change.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_02: The hardship application is open all year where the controlled open enrollment is a very small window throughout the year.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_02: And that's for families who have had some sort of event that maybe has caused stress or anxiety or adversity in within the family, and they need their student to be at a different school.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_02: So those are the two most common ones.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_02: But we do have other options within the school with uh school choice vouchers and scholarships for parents to utilize as well.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, so you've used terms like uh controlled open enrollment and hardship.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_03: Um so are you saying that families have the opportunity to switch their children or their child to a school throughout the year, or is it just only in certain times of the year that that can happen?
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_02: That's a good question.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_02: So controlled open enrollment is a very specific time period to switch the students.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_02: Last year, Flagler Schools offered two control open enrollment windows.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_02: There was one in the fall in October, and then there was one in March in the spring.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_02: So students who were approved in our fall controlled open enrollment were approved to go to their choice schools starting in January of that year.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_02: So they finished out the semester at their enrolled school and then they were able to enroll at their choice school.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um and then those that did our spring controlled open enrollment started at their choice school at the fall of the upcoming school year.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_02: Um the hardship application is kind of just what it sounds like.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_02: Um, that's for a family who has had a hardship, and if they need to switch schools in the middle of the year, um, that option is available to them.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_03: So if I had a hardship that occurred um this week and I needed to make a choice sooner than January, um, that is a process that I could utilize in order to get my child into a school that would kind of relieve that hardship for the family.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, correct.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_03: Now, um tell me a little bit about like just a couple of the reasons why the controlled open enrollment is in certain times of the year, and it's not just I'm at one school today and I want to go to another school tomorrow.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_03: Tell me some reasons why that would be.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um, a lot of it is based on the capacity and available seats at our schools.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_02: So we have that one in October because we're um almost through like the first nine weeks of school, and that gives us an opportunity to look and see where the numbers are at the school and if there's spots for a parent who would like to switch.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_02: Also, um it's disruptive to switch schools in the middle of a quarter or a semester, especially at the high school level where you're earning credits, or you might be in a specific program at one school that's not offered at another.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_02: So allowing students to switch schools at the end of a semester when they've earned that either half a credit or they've got a grade, and then moving to a different school is uh the best opportunity or the best timing, I guess, if you're doing it in the middle of a school year.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_03: For the cohesiveness of going from uh, you know, I finished up this course, I've completed this portion of the grade, I have the half credit or any of those things, especially for high school, really is where we we see that uh a lot.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_03: And so um I know that there are other options that we provide as well, you know, like is there are there virtual options?
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_03: What about for a student that is I can't or I'm not in a position, or maybe I don't have a desire from a family to have my child in school for the entire day, what options are available for those families that need some flexibility in the schedule?
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_02: So for um our public school students, we do have our own virtual school that's called iFlaggler.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_02: It's actually a franchise of FLVS.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_02: So um, if students are familiar with the FLVS platform, they'll be very comfortable with iFlagler.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um students are able to enroll full-time in iFlagler, take all of their courses virtually.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_02: Um the nice benefit with that is they're still um a full-time public enrolled student, so they're still eligible to receive that standard diploma.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but we do have students who um for whatever reason, sometimes it's anxiety, sometimes they've got some health issues that are going on.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_02: That um a full day in a brick and mortar school just isn't um the best situation for them.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_02: So in those cases, they can do a hybrid version, they can take a couple of courses at their brick and mortar courses.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_02: Lots of students like to take those core courses like Algebra One, things where that face-to-face instruction is um a little more helpful, and then we'll leave and they can take the rest of their classes online at iFlagler.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_03: What about um can I take a couple of the courses uh face-to-face in class and then some of them through home education?
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_03: Is that an option?
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_02: That is.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_02: That's kind of venturing into a different world, but yes, we do have um parents who will withdraw their students from the public school, enroll them in home education with the district.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and then they will do the same thing.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_02: They can elect to they have to fill out a form, it's a different process, not quite as easy as you're transferring from one public school to another.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_02: But they can submit a Google form, it's pretty short.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_02: Um, they request the school and the classes that they're interested in their student taking.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_02: And then an administration from the school will contact that parent.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_02: And our administration has been fabulous with working with parents to build a schedule that meets their needs and their schedule.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_02: And um the parents will bring their students to the brick and mortar for the classes that they take and then pick them up after and and bring them home.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_02: And if you're a homemade student with no scholarship, all that's free.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_03: Um, you know, the thing about it is your position is new.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_03: And I know that there was some confusion or concerns when we were um asking the board to bring this type of role on.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_03: And what I really want to be clear with our families about is we're not here to make the choice for you.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_03: We're not here to lead you in a specific direction, but we want to be here to answer questions for families, to be support for families as they are navigating the world of choice.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_03: And so there are lots of questions, a lot of uh different uh statues that apply.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_03: And so we want to make sure that when a family um is making a choice around school choice, that they have all of the information.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_03: And if we can provide that for them, we want to do that.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_03: And bringing on this specific role has allowed us to do that.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_03: It's allowed us to have great dialogue with families to help meet their needs.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_03: It's allowed us to have conversations with families who are coming to us for the first time, coming back to us, or for those families that are leaving as well and going to do something else.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_03: Because at the end of the day, we're educators and we want our students to get a great education wherever it is that their families elect for them to receive that education.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_03: Of course, we want them to choose us because I believe we're the best choice.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_03: However, it's really what is right and best for that student and for that family, and we do respect that.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_03: And so, to our families, we're here to really be able to answer questions for you and to provide support uh to you as you navigate school choice.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_03: And so I'm excited to talk to you and your family about some of the experiences that you've had because you've been out in home education and now you're coming back into the um public school system.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_03: And so we want to welcome you back to the public school system, but we also want to just um have some conversations around what has been your experience transitioning from being in home education to back in brick and mortar.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_03: You're in high school, yeah.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_03: So that's a big transition.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_03: Um, so tell us a little bit about how your transition has been coming back into the um public school system.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: It was good.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, like, I the first reason why I went to um homeschool was that I had a lot of anxiety and a lot of asthma at the time.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: And middle school, like when I was in middle school, it just wasn't like it wasn't fit for me because like I would have a lot of anxiety and a lot of asthma attacks there, and I was missing a lot of days of school.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: And then I went homeschooled, and then that kind of fixed it, and then the transition back into high school was actually kind of smooth.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: It was actually kind of nice.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: The teachers helped me a lot, the um faculty and stuff just helped me a lot, and they just it's actually it's really good.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_03: So excellent.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_03: And you're um involved in a sport, yeah, right?
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_03: And hopefully you're gonna get involved in some clubs and things.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_03: So um tell me a little bit about what did the support from the the your teachers as you were transitioning in back in, what types of things did they do that you found to be very helpful?
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: They um helped me calm down a lot, like they were like, it's okay.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: Like they helped me on like help me breathe on test, and then like if I needed to walk somewhere and take like take a break or something, they would let me.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: And it was just they were very nice and very helpful.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_03: Good.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_03: Because that's really what it's about.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_03: We want you to be successful here, but ultimately we want you to have strategies that are gonna help you be successful in your life.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_03: And so I'm happy to hear that, and I'm glad to hear that you are transitioning well, and you are transitioning into a big school with a lot of students, right?
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_03: And so, what else do you feel that has been um beneficial or that you've enjoyed about coming back into the public school system?
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I've enjoyed like the social interactions and stuff and like all like seeing my friends again and like the teachers and just communicating again.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: And it was very, very easy and very smooth.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_03: Well, good.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_03: And um, before we ask mom a couple questions, tell me what are you thinking about what what suggestions would you make for how we could um potentially improve that process for someone who is coming back into the school system, as well as are there some suggestions that you would make that could be beneficial for students who may be in middle school right now, experiencing some of what you were experiencing in middle school?
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: I would say like have people like being around just saying, like um helping them out, like if they need to walk around or something, or go get like water or go to the nurse to take a breather and just have like people there to like go into the classrooms and calm them down and be like it's okay.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, from the support.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_03: Because sometimes, I mean, there are there are individuals that we have that may be supporting individu um students who are struggling um with behaviors that um most would call maybe they're not making the right choice at school, right?
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_03: But to shift that focus to maybe there are students that need some of that support.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_03: And it's not that I'm making a poor choice right now, but I just need a little bit of support to help move through through this day.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you for sharing that and being vulnerable to um to share your experience.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_03: So tell us from your perspective.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_03: Was it um yeah, I'm sure it was a difficult decision at first to go in a different direction.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_03: And then just what would you share to uh with us and share with families that are at home around just your journey?
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for having me here first.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, thank you for having me too.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I have three children.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, my first child is now in college and he was brick and mortar.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_01: He loved the social interaction.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_01: He craved on that.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Keenan, he had asthma, which caused him to have anxiety.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_01: He was missing a lot of school because of medical reasons.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_01: And because of that, we decided to homeschool him.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it was wonderful, but he did miss that social interaction.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_01: He missed his friends, he missed the interaction with sports.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_01: So he wanted to come back.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_01: The transition was amazing.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um, FPC has the best guidance counselors just to support them.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Mrs.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_01: Kennedy was absolutely wonderful, helping us make it very smooth just to get back in.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_01: So supportive.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um, what will help him?
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_01: He had an in-and-out pass.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_01: So if he was feeling that anxiety at first, he could just hold it up and be dismissed.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it was wonderful.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_01: My youngest daughter, she um ended up doing hybrid last year in middle school because of the anxiety.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_01: And she did phenomenal.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_01: She took courses online, but she also took courses at the school.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_01: So she took her three main courses at school, and then she took her electives online, like her Spanish, and she also took history online.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um, she absolutely loved it because she was able to see her friends, but then she was able to come home and relax.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, this year she was going into high school and she wanted to go back.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_01: She wanted to do the sport, she wanted to see her friends, and she absolutely loves it and told me she's not gonna go back to the homeschooling.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_03: Um, what do parents need to know about transportation when they choose a school outside of their attendance zone?
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_03: This is a big one.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, it is.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_02: So they need to know that they have to provide transportation to and from that school if it is not their zoned school.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_02: Um, that's a huge factor.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that's a that's a big um factor.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_03: One of the things that I also want to add, which is unique to Flagler schools, um, is that we have open choice within our school district, whereas um our our our school board, thankfully to our school board, um, they were committed to saying we want families to be at the school that they desire to be at um be at.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_03: And so we have um made an adjustment to our capacity to allow students to have that.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_03: And so if your child is in elementary, you can go to whatever elementary school you want to go to in Flagler School.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_03: The same applies for middle school and the same applies for high school.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_03: We appreciate you guys coming today and sharing with us a little bit about your experience through school choice.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_03: And thank you so much for all the support that you provide to our families as they're navigating this world.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_03: I'm gonna give you an opportunity, if you had to share with one of your peers that are maybe they're at home, they are um family is right now talking about the options that are available.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_03: What advice would you say to them as they consider either coming back to a brick and mortar school or coming to a brick and mortar school for the first time?
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_03: What advice would you give to them?
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_00: I would say like, don't like stress about it.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: Like the teachers are really helpful, the um fiends are and like all the technical staff are, like they'll help you around and all the sports programs and all the programs that they offer are really good.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: Like I'm in entrepreneurship and I love it.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's helping me build a business right now.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: I'm also in baseball, and that's I love the baseball program.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: It helps me build friendships and stuff, and it just helps me a bunch.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_03: So thank you for that.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_03: What about you, mom?
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_03: What would you share with a family that is considering that right now?
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, absolutely.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um, coming back to the school gives that the children an opportunity to communicate with other children and really learn those, you know, how to become their own person to take that into the future on what they want to be.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_01: So I think it's wonderful.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, well, thank you so much for your time today.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_03: And I just want to say to families, uh, we're here to answer questions that you may have.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_03: Please reach out to us if you have questions around the all of the options that are available here in Flagler Schools.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_03: We appreciate you.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_03: And again, we're not trying to make the choice for you, but be here to support you as you make the best choice for your family.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_03: Next month, we take a look at how Diploma Plus and our CTA programs are making a difference in Flagler Schools.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_03: Hear from our students that are in these programs and all that we're doing to help build our next workforce successfully.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_03: Flagler Schools, the podcast, comes to you every month on our Flagler Schools social media pages, our Flagler School's website, and everywhere you listen to your favorite podcast.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_03: Thanks for sharing your time with us at Flagler Schools.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_03: The best choice.
• 20:09
  unknown: One community, one family building in free opportunity.