New Education Task Force established by chamber
BY LISA NEWELL Gulf Breeze News lisa@gulfbreezenews.com

Education, and its affect on the local economy, is the focus of new committee at the Gulf Breeze Area Chamber of Commerce.

The Education Task Force meets monthly with the Santa Rosa Superintendent of Schools plus principals and assistant principals from the schools in the local area.

At the October meeting held at Gulf Breeze Middle School, the task force hosted Superintendent John Rogers, who spoke about the smooth start to school and how Santa Rosa County gained approximately 200 students while the trend in neighboring counties is losing student population.

At the November meeting held at Oriole Beach Elementary School, Kristina Abernathy, a field director from the Florida Department of Education, spoke to the group about the goals of the department.

Abernathy told about a free informational DVD available to parents answering frequently asked questions about Florida's public education system and offering advice on how parents can become involved with their child's education. She also encourages parents to visit the department's website at www.fldoe.org for a wealth of information about assisting in education.

The department provides many programs including Voluntary Pre- Kindergarten, Just Read, Florida, FCAT, School Grades, School Recognition, Teacher Resources and much more.

The DOE is currently accepting public input about proposed revisions to the Sunshine State Standards for Science. To offer input, visit http://tools.fcit.usf.edu/ScienceRe view by Dec. 14.

The Education Task Force meetings rotate to different area schools, and the next meeting will be at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 13 at Gulf Breeze High School. Lunch will be served and RSVP is required to Debbie or Carolyn at 850-916-4109. For details, call the Gulf Breeze Chamber office at 850-932-7888.

Tom Naile chairs the Education Task Force, and part of the goals of the group are locating a suitable place for a "Little Red Schoolhouse" resource center for teacher supplies and providing a list of after school activities for middle school aged children.

The Task Force also plans to become a lobbying group, keeping Santa Rosa's educational needs in the forefront of lawmakers in Tallahassee.

For more information about the Education Task Force, call the Gulf Breeze Chamber of Commerce at 850-932-7888.
Want to go?
The next Education Task
Force meeting is at 11:30 a.m.,
Dec. 13 at Gulf Breeze High
School. Details: 850-932-7888.