Florida’s commissioner of education, Gerald Robinson, led the recent push to raise minimum passing scores on the state-administered FCAT saying it was necessary so that we have “students who are ready to take the reins of government and industry in the State.” And while he predicted that the newer standards would result in an increase in the number of F’s for school grades, the FCAT writing scores released last weekend have put state educators and parents in a clear state of panic.

Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson defended the decision against critics who said it was a quick fix for bad results on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, or FCAT. He said changing the test’s passing score to a 3 from a 4 (out of 6) “corrected the process.”

“The results still stand,” he said.

Just 27 percent of fourth-graders statewide earned a 4 or better on the writing FCAT, a steep decline from last year’s 81 percent. Eighth- and 10th-graders showed similar drops.

The news sparked widespread concern and a dramatic response, with more than 800 parents, teachers and school officials dialing into an emergency conference call held Tuesday by the state board.

Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said after Tuesday’s decision, “The State Board of Education should be thanked for taking on this matter in such a direct, forthright manner.”

Read more here.

From the Miami Herald:

TALLAHASSEE — With the Florida Legislature poised to approve a nearly $70 billion budget, the amount of money flowing to much of South Florida won’t be cause for celebration.

But most South Florida officials say it could have been worse.

Under the spending plan hammered out this week, local school districts were given funding increases. Colleges and universities got cuts, but projects like the Florida International University medical school received its full $27 million funding request. And Jackson Memorial Hospital, which once anticipated devastating cuts, was nearly spared.

“In the context of this weak economy, Miami-Dade did as well as it could have done,” said House Majority Leader Carlos Lopez-Cantera, a Miami Republican. …

Read more here

A bill that would give parents the power to alter the structure of failing schools is sparking controversy, and heading for a vote in Florida.

From the Orlando Sentinel:

A proposal that could let parents decide the fate of failing public schools is sparking fierce debate as it heads to a final vote in the Florida Senate this week.

The “parent trigger” bill has prompted an outcry from critics, who view it as a way to snatch power from local school boards and convince parents to turn public campuses over to private companies.

Its supporters, including former Gov. Jeb Bush, call the criticism misleading. They argue the bill would simply help parents push for change at chronically struggling campuses.

Though it passed the House easily, the trigger bill’s fate in the Senate isn’t clear, and it has been the subject of intense lobbying as a vote nears.

“Thousands of parents are speaking. They don’t want this bill,” said Sen. Evelyn Lynn, R-Ormond Beach, one of two Republican senators to announce they would not support it.

Read the rest here.

February 7th is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day — a time to redouble our efforts to get informed, get tested, and to fight back against the spread of a disease that is disproportionately impacting black communities.

According to the Centers for Disease Control:

African Americans face the most severe burden of HIV of all racial/ethnic groups in the United States (US). Despite representing only 14% of the US population in 2009, African Americans accounted for 44% of all new HIV infections in that year. Compared with members of other races and ethnicities, African Americans account for a higher proportion of HIV infections at all stages of disease—from new infections to deaths.

The Numbers

New HIV Infections

• In 2009, black men accounted for 70% of the estimated new HIV infections among all blacks. The estimated rate of new HIV infection for black men was more than six and a half times as high as that of white men, and two and a half times as high as that of Latino men or black women.
• In 2009, black men who have sex with men (MSM)¹ represented an estimated 73% of new infections among all black men, and 37% among all MSM. More new HIV infections occurred among young black MSM (aged 13–29) than any other age and racial group of MSM. In addition, new HIV infections among young black MSM increased by 48% from 2006–2009.
• In 2009, black women accounted for 30% of the estimated new HIV infections among all blacks. Most (85%) black women with HIV acquired HIV through heterosexual sex. The estimated rate of new HIV infections for black women was more than 15 times as high as the rate for white women, and more than three times as high as that of Latina women.

And in Miami-Dade:

…the Black community is very diverse in comparison to the rest of the nation. The Black population is a diverse mixture of African-Americans and people who have emigrated from countries in the Caribbean, South and Central America (many are also born in the United States from immigrant parents) More than half of Miami residents are foreign born, the largest percentage for any urban city in the United States. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is a major health threat for Black communities in Miami-Dade County. One out of 45 blacks in Miami-Dade County is living with HIV or AIDS, in comparison to 1 in 179 for the Hispanic/Latino and 1 in 130 for White. Blacks account for 20% of Miami-Dade County’s population compared to 52% of reported AIDS cases and 44.7% of HIV reported cases through December 2008. Blacks represent the largest racial/ethnic group of those individuals living with HIV or AIDS and those who have died from AIDS since the beginning of this epidemic.

What will you do to fight the scourge of HIV/AIDS?

Log on to www.blackaidsday.org to see what you can do to stand up for yourself, and your community, against HIV/AIDS.

From CNN contributor Roland S. Martin:

(CNN) — In November 2010, I watched “HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” and saw a piece on the hazing antics at several historically black colleges and fraternities. I took to Twitter to share my thoughts on the issue.

Much of the report focused on Southern University, and man, did the floodgates open as a number of students from the university angrily tweeted me back, cussing, yelling and screaming, with some defending hazing, while others were angry at the national attention focused on their university.

For hours we went round and round, and were joined in the discussion by members of several black fraternities, including my own Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. A number of these individuals actually supported hazing, or “pledging hard” and not becoming a “paper” member who “skated” into the fraternity.

Despite the anger and vitriol, I refused to back down, making it clear that getting beaten for being in a band or fraternity was absolutely dumb. …

Read the rest here.

On Thursday, December 15, the Urban League of Greater Miami will team up with Miami-Dade Public Schools to tell young men to “man up” against HIV/AIDS.

Liberty City has the highest HIV/AIDS infection rate in Miami-Dade, and the county currently is in the midst of a virtual AIDS epidemic, a generation after the disease was discovered. Right now, according to the Miami-Dade Health Department:

In Miami-Dade County the Black community is very diverse in comparison to the rest of the nation. The Black population is a diverse mixture of African-Americans and people who have emigrated from countries in the Caribbean, South and Central America (many are also born in the United States from immigrant parents) More than half of Miami residents are foreign born, the largest percentage for any urban city in the United States. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is a major health threat for Black communities in Miami-Dade County. One out of 45 blacks in Miami-Dade County is living with HIV or AIDS, in comparison to 1 in 179 for the Hispanic/Latino and 1 in 130 for White. Blacks account for 20% of Miami-Dade County’s population compared to 52% of reported AIDS cases and 44.7% of HIV reported cases through December 2008. Blacks represent the largest racial/ethnic group of those individuals living with HIV or AIDS and those who have died from AIDS since the beginning of this epidemic.

In our county, Hispanic/Latino are shaped by ethnic and cultural differences, migration, immigration policy, socioeconomic status and regional differences reflected in 22 sub-populations of Hispanic/Latino from the Caribbean, South and Central America, and U.S born. Hispanic/Latino comprises 62% of the total population in our county and they represent 36% of all reported AIDS cases and 41% of HIV reported cases through December 2008.

Women are most severely affected by HIV/AIDS where heterosexual contact is a dominant mode of transmission like in Miami-Dade County. In 2008 women accounted for 30% of reported AIDS cases and 24% of HIV case. Black females represent 75% of reported AIDS cases in that year and 71% among HIV cases. Regardless of race/ethnicity increased risk for HIV and AIDS can also be related to poverty, unemployment, financial dependence of their partners, lack of health insurance, homelessness and other social and economic factors.

The epidemic among Men who have Sex with Men [MSM] is intense in virtually every county and racial/ethnic group in Florida. In Miami-Dade County, the most populous county, at least 1 in 8 White MSM, 1 in 8 Black MSM, and 1 in 12 Hispanic/Latino MSM are living with HIV or AIDS. Issues related to stigma, homophobia, discrimination and denial continue to contribute to HIV/AIDS racial and ethnic disparities fueling the epidemic in our county.

And according to the Centers for Disease Control:

- African Americans are the racial/ethnic group most affected by HIV.

- In 2009, African Americans comprised 14% of the US population but accounted for 44% of all new HIV infections.

- Young African American gay and bisexual men are especially at risk of HIV infection.

“This is a crisis that cannot be ignored,” said T. Willard Fair, president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Miami. “And it starts with educating the boys who will become the men of this community.”

The annual “Man Up!” summit features speakers, dramatic presentations, and culminates in the attending students taking a pledge to protect themselves against the spread of HIV through responsible behavior, and by getting tested for HIV. The summit is open to male students only, who attend area Miami-Dade public schools. It will be held on Thursday, December 11 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Joseph Caleb Center in Miami.

Last year, more than 800 male students attended the summit.
 

From the Miami Herald:

The Miami Police Department reassigned eight police officers and a sergeant to patrol the troubled Liberty Square public housing project, marking the first time a team of cops is assigned specifically to one housing development, interim chief Manuel Orosa announced Wednesday.

There were 13 shootings in Liberty Square in the past two months, making Liberty Square the single most dangerous pocket of the city. In one incident, a 42-year-old man in a wheelchair was killed before dawn Sunday. Another incident left five people injured.

“We need to get the thugs out of there,” Orosa said. “Liberty Square does not belong to them. It belongs to the decent citizens who live there.”