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Blog: FCAR
Speakout
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Happy Birthday FCAR
(posted to
FCAR Forum by Gloria
Pipkin on July 18, 2004)
As I was approving a new subscription
this morning, I noticed that FCAR Forum was created four years ago today, on
July 18, 2000. I don't recall the exact number, but we began with fewer than 10
subscribers. Today we have 146, but that number doesn't reflect scores of people
who subscribe for a time, until a family FCAT crisis is resolved, until the email volume overwhelms them, or until our wide-ranging discussions hit a nerve
once too often, and then leave the list.
By the end of that year, we had enough momentum to give us the confidence to
incorporate FCAR as a Florida nonprofit, with six people signing with me as the
original incorporators. I'll always be grateful to
Marion Brady, Quan Cao,
Jan Zeiger, Deb Gilman, and Jamie Smith for taking that leap of faith with us.
For the first year we were mostly a bunch of talkers, until
Joan Kaywell of USF
led us into the streets of Tampa for a rally in July of 2001. Joan and three of
her former students joined me in Tallahassee where we had our first news
conference at the Florida Press Center, announcing the formation of FCAR and our
"Spay the FCAT" rally. With the energy of those amazing FCAR West folks, we
continued to grow, learn, and move into action. In 2002, we started to organize
local forums. Sharon Irons comes to mind as one of the prime movers, with the
example she set for us in Brevard County.
In 2003 we adopted by-laws and elected officers and directors. Marion Brady of
Cocoa continues to serve as vice president, and Jamie Smith of Tallahassee was
our original secretary. Gabie Gedlaman of Jacksonville (by way of Arizona) has
since assumed that office. Other current directors include John Perry and Brent Yaciw of Tampa, Laurin MacLeish ("the best kindergarten teacher in Florida" --
M. Winerip of NY Times) of Orlando, Jan Zeiger of Sanford, homeschooling mom
Nance Confer of Hobe Sound (who also serves as our bookkeeper), Dave Miner of
Bradenton, Sharon Irons of Satellite Beach, Judy Castillo of Brooksville, and
Quan Cao of Boca Raton.
We had our first face-to-face board meeting last July, at Silver River State
Park in Ocala, with officers and directors absorbing the expenses themselves.
Out of that meeting, thanks to former director Bobbie Nord's brainstorm, our
"Free the FCAT" campaign was born. In August Judy Castillo and I ran another
news conference in Tallahassee, pushing the governor and commissioner of
education to open the FCAT to parental review. With the help of Pinellas
attorney Mark Herdman, we also offered a do-it-yourself legal kit to parents who
were denied access to their children's graded FCAT answer sheets and test
booklets. Judy Castillo, the bravest woman in Florida, supported by her husband
Joe, filed suit against the DOE after her third request to see her autistic
son's FCAT materials was denied.
After a state appeals court overruled a lower court decision in favor of another
plaintiff, in a decision rendered by a former Bush staffer and appointee to the
state court, the Castillos were forced to withdraw their suit or face stiff
legal fees and penalties.
Not to be deterred, Dave Miner inspired us to move into the Legislature when he
drafted our "Truth in Testing:
Parents' Right to Know" bill. To launch our legislative campaign, Judy
Castillo joined me once again in Tallahassee for a news conference, followed by
our first regional drive-in conference and rally in Orlando on Valentine's Day,
February 14, 2004, co-sponsored by RATPACK (of Manatee County) and FCAT Changes.
Senator Gary Siplin of Orlando was our first sponsor of the Truth in Testing
Legislation, and he and Sen. Frederica Wilson of Miami-Dade attended the
conference. Judy Castillo was our keynote speaker. Bob Schaeffer of
FairTest (and Sanibel), Sherman Dorn of
USF, Bob Lange of UCF, Sarah Robinson of Pinellas, Brenda Katz of RATPACK, Gabie
Gedlaman, Kelli Lopardo, Bernardo Garcia of the
National Coalition of Advocates
for Students, Karen Heriot, and Marion Brady made great break-out presentations
at the conference, while Nance Confer ran on online conference for those not
able to make it to Orlando. A unique feature of the conference was the public
debut of RATPACK's (Really Angry Teachers, Parents and Advocates Coalition for
Kids) Wall of Truth, which features the comments, stories, poems, and artwork
about FCAT by citizens of all ages. A crew of videographers also attended the
conference and rally, and footage from it was featured prominently in a
PBS documentary on the
50th anniversary of Brown vs. the Board of Education, which aired in May of this
year.
Rep. Curtis Richardson of Tallahassee sponsored our bill in the House. In a
Legislature dominated by Republicans loyal to the governor's test, we faced a
tough battle in both houses. Near the end of the session, Sen. Siplin managed to
get our bill on the calendar of the Senate education committee. Dave Miner,
Karen Heriot, and I joined Sen. Siplin in testifying at the committee hearing.
We were stunned when the Republican chairman of the committee, Sen. Lee
Constantine, broke the 4-4 tie IN FAVOR of our bill.
Yet this was just one of the Senate committees to which our Truth in Testing
bill was assigned, and time was running out. Sen. Siplin once again waved his
magic wand and got the bill on the consent agenda. On the last day of the
session, the Florida Senate voted 24-0 to allow parents to view their children's
FCAT materials.
No such luck in the House, where we never even got a hearing, but we'll be back
for the 2005 session, stronger than ever. As Brenda Katz has taught me to say
and think, Together we will continue....
Other notable FCAR accomplishments include our web site, designed and managed by
Hillsborough teacher John Perry, and our
two weekly email newsletters,
F-TREND (Florida Test Reform Email News Digest) and TREND, which has a national
focus. The newsletters are also the brainchildren of John Perry, who serves as
their co-editor.
Happy birthday, FCAR Forum. TWWC.
Gloria Pipkin, President
Florida Coalition for Assessment Reform, Inc.
310 Michigan Avenue
Lynn Haven, FL 32444-1428
850-265-6438; 850-271-3136 FAX
gpipkin@knology.net
www.fcarweb.org
The human race has always tried to silence the disturbing voice--not
just Socrates, but Jesus, Confucius, Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Jose Marti,
W.E.B. DuBois, Lucretia Mott. It's easier now. We don't need hemlock; we
have high-stakes testing. -- Katherine Paterson
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