GOVERNOR CRIST APPLAUDS SUCCESS OF CHARTER SCHOOLS USA
~~ ~Tours Destin and Cape Coral areas impacted by severe weather~ ~~
August 17, 2009
Contact:
GOVERNOR’S PRESS OFFICE
(850) 488-5394
FORT MYERS – Governor Charlie Crist today applauded the educational achievements of Charter Schools USA at the organization’s fourth annual summit in Fort Myers. Prior to the summit, Governor Crist visited Destin City Hall where he received a briefing on the impacts of Tropical Storm Claudette. Following the Destin tour, Governor Crist met with survivors in the Cape Coral area where a tornado touched down Sunday afternoon.
“We are making tremendous academic progress in Florida, and charter schools play a significant role in making that possible,” said Governor Crist. “Every child should have access to a quality learning environment.”
During his remarks at the annual summit, Governor Crist highlighted the importance of ensuring all of Florida’s children have access to world-class schools. The Governor praised the Florida schools managed by Charter Schools USA for consistently achieving A’s and B’s on the FCAT for the past three years. In January 2009, Quality Counts, the annual Education Week report, ranked Florida’s K-12 public school system 10th in nation, up from 14th in 2008 and 31st in 2007. The report, issued annually by Education Week, tracks state policies and performance across key areas of education and assigns each state with an overall letter grade to signify their education standing in the nation.
Earlier this year, Governor Crist signed legislation, relating to Florida’s Differentiated Accountability program, that expanded a pilot project to provide a system of support for the state’s most struggling schools. The legislation allows an option for very low performing schools to become charter schools.
For more information about Florida’s Differentiated Accountability program visit, http://www.flbsi.org/DA/index.htm.
About Charter Schools USA
Charter Schools USA is one of the nation’s largest providers of charter school management services. The organization manages private and municipal charters for grades pre-K through 12. Charter Schools USA also assists corporations, government entities, developers or nonprofit agencies with all phases of charter school design, planning, development, financing, construction, operations and curricula.
About Governor’s Visits to Destin and Cape Coral
The Governor’s visit to Destin included a briefing at Destin City Hall with emergency managers. Governor Crist also met with Floridians impacted by power outages and flooding, and thanked the emergency teams who worked overnight to ensure damage was kept at a minimum. Following the visit, Governor Crist flew to Cape Coral to tour the area damaged by a tornado that touched down on Sunday afternoon. Governor Crist met with Florida families impacted by the tornado and applauded local recovery efforts.
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