Category Archives: John Florez

HB 250 Local School Board Amendments — Draxler, J. (Support)

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“As an individual board member, you have no authority,  we are a body corporate, you are only a board member when the board is in session” The Utah School Board Association (USBA) has indoctrinated new school board members into believing that they do not have authority outside of a convened school board meeting. See blog link to new board member orientation process: What Really Happen at the December 1, 2012 -USBA Orientation In the picture … Continue reading →

John Florez: Utah School Boards Get an F Grade (DNews)

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  By John Florez , Deseret News Published: Saturday, Sept. 14 2013 12:00 a.m. MDT If Utah’s local school boards were graded, they would get an F, or at best an incomplete. Some seem to suffer from chronic public absenteeism and don’t do their homework. When the law went in to effect requiring schools be given a grade for their performance, there was an immediate outcry by school administrators, teachers and some parents for its … Continue reading →

Are School Boards Too Insulated? (Deseret News)

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By John Florez , Deseret News Published: Saturday, March 2 2013 12:00 a.m. MST Sometimes the cover up is worse than the problem. School boards often appear to avoid dealing with serious policy matters. At Salt Lake school district meeting last week, board members were listening to a presentation by their staff regarding the district’s Student Achievement Plan. One of the presenters noted a correlation between student achievement and teacher effectiveness, which prompted newly-elected board … Continue reading →

Upgrading Schools for a Digital World

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Upgrading schools for a digital world by John Florez If 65 percent of children entering school this fall may end up in careers that haven’t been invented, why do lawmakers think evaluating teachers annually will improve education? According to a MacArthur Foundation study, 65 percent of students in today’s classrooms will be doing jobs that have not yet been created. So why do lawmakers want to evaluate teachers based on a system that is teaching … Continue reading →

Treat Teachers As Professionals

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Treat Teachers As Professionals By John Florez  If private employers treated their employees like Utah lawmakers treat their teachers, they would be out of business and cited for violating labor laws. Yet, we see legislators continue to blame teachers for our failing schools. They keep trying to pass laws on how to fire poor performing teachers, demand more accountability, add more needless regulations and even try to dismantle education with a thousand cuts. Such actions … Continue reading →

School Board Should Retool Education For The New Economy

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School Board Should Retool Education For The New Economy by John Florez, Deseret News Andy Grove, former chairman of Intel, once said, “If you are not paranoid, you are out of business.” So it may be with the state school board. American businesses have taken Grove’s advice and retooled themselves for today’s economy. Utah’s state school board members would do our state well to do the same. In 2001, the Utah State Office of Education … Continue reading →