Two Florida teachers are under fire; both have allegedly helped students too much on the FCAT. One teacher has been dismissed, but parents are rallying around the other.
A Gator Run Elementary teacher is losing his job because officials believe he gave students answers when they took the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test last spring. But a popular teacher at Virginia Shuman Young Elementary in Fort Lauderdale -- also accused of giving students too much help on the FCAT -- was the object of a support march by outraged parents who want her back in the classroom...
Nineteen students from the Weston school said Prosser gave them answers on last year's math section of the FCAT. First, before they took the test, he warned them of specific questions to come. Then, after they finished, he returned their booklets and asked them to correct specific mistakes...
Prosser originally told a testing official that he had allowed students to change wrong answers, and even ''guided'' them to the right answers. But he later denied the charges, saying some kids were just angry about the amount of homework he gave them and some parents were ''out to get'' him.
Changing your story - never a good plan. And parents certainly don't seem "out to get" the other teacher who's been accused:
Parents from Virginia Shuman Young Elementary marched several blocks from their campus to the board's administrative offices to protest teacher Terina Bruening's reassignment to the book depository.
Bruening, the school's Teacher of the Year, has been accused of influencing students' answers on this year's FCAT and her students' tests have been invalidated. Specifically, some students said Bruening told them they had wrong answers, district officials have said.
But parents said they know Bruening, and she's incapable of cheating.
''Mrs. Bruening is the epitome of teaching students honesty and respect,'' said parent Rosa Santana, who also told board members that Bruening transformed her daughter into an Ivy League-hopeful.
So what does that mean? They don't believe their own kids? Bruening may play dodge ball during recess and communicate with the kids a great deal, but that doesn't mean that misguided compassion didn't drive her to give kids extra chances on the FCAT.
Posted by kswygert at March 17, 2004 10:44 AM