March 16, 2011

“Education is in the midst of a transformation. Chalkboards have long since given way to SMART Boards. Textbooks have gone digital. Students are no longer bound by a physical classroom to learn. And, our high school and university graduates aren’t just competing with their neighbors for jobs, but with their peers from halfway across the globe.

As learning environments and methods used to educate our students evolve, so should the way in which we evaluate our teachers and school administrators. Given that we are living and working in a knowledge-based, global economy, it is critical that student outcomes are at least a portion of educators’ performance appraisals. 

Associated Industries of Florida (AIF) applauds the Florida Legislature for passing the Student Success Act, which will enable schools to review the efficacy of a teacher based on student learning gain data and also reward the best of the best – whether they have 20 years of experience or two – with financial incentives and opportunities for advancement.

As the future employers of today’s students, AIF’s members thank Senate President Mike Haridopolos, House Speaker Cannon, Sen. Stephen Wise and Rep. Erik Fresen for their leadership and commitment to passing this visionary legislation. With this new approach to measuring teachers’ success, Florida continues to be on the cutting-edge of education reform.”