Education

Meet a New FLVS Instructor

By on September 19th, 2016

We are celebrating the 2016-17 school year with a blog series featuring FLVS faculty and staff. Meet the creative and dedicated individuals who make every day a great day at FLVS!

5-questions-instructorHave you ever thought about how exciting it would be to be an FLVS instructor? Well, meet Kevin Kessler who just came on board this fall to join FLVS Full Time as a dynamic science teacher!

Kevin Kessler is someone who is very friendly and gregarious. I met Kevin last year as we are both enrolled in the doctoral program at Florida Southern College and attend the same cohort.

Kevin has a warm rapport with people and is very knowledgeable about education around the world. A born traveler, he brings a rich and unique perspective to his FLVS Full Time science classroom having had adventures all across the globe.

When he first approached me about joining FLVS, I was not only excited that he could possibly join our faculty, but thought of all of the world experiences he would bring into the lives of our students. Focused on helping each and every student achieve their very best in his classroom, Kevin believes that all students can be successful and reach their highest potential. Continue reading


Internships at FLVS

By on October 15th, 2015

InternshipsSeven years.

That’s how long I taught in a brick-and-mortar classroom before joining FLVS. While a lot has changed since I taught in the classroom, there are still some common challenges that were faced by teachers during my time and are still faced by teachers today – the biggest one being technology.

I remember computers being placed in my classroom and all the information I was supposed to take in at once. I was introduced to DOS, Windows, BASIC, Word Perfect Suite (with reveal codes), Windows, Office, HTML, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, etc, etc, etc…never ending! With each one, just when I started to feel comfortable using it myself, a new one would come.

Continue reading


Election Day: Go Vote!

By on November 4th, 2014

votedToday marks the end of the numerous political ads, signs, and chatter between colleagues about political candidates (until the next election, anyway). November 4, Election Day… let me tell you a little bit about what this day feels like to us in the policy world.

Today is a day where everyone involved waits. For candidates, there are no more efforts to be made – no more campaign stops or debates. For us policy devotees, there are no more “what if” scenarios running through our heads. It’s finally time to get an answer. It’s time to find out who our elected officials will be. But believe me, the wait feels like forever!   Continue reading


Cows, Hens, and Ducks…OH MY!

By on April 7th, 2014

children's booksThe Importance of Children’s Picture Books in KindergartenGrade 12

“Once upon a time…”

I always get chills when I read these first few words contained in many children’s books. The words bring me back to a simpler time when reading was filled with colorful illustrations, playful words, and the promise of happily ever after. Continue reading


Why Black History Month Still Matters

By on February 15th, 2014

black history month coverI can’t remember a time that my heart hurt as badly as it did the day my 6-year-old biracial son told me that he didn’t want to be Black.

He said that people are not kind to Black people, so he wants to be “tan like Mommy.” My heart ached for my son, for my daughter, and for anyone who has ever felt the sting of discrimination. I am a product of relative privilege; I grew up in middle class suburbia and never experienced marginalization or felt a sense of “other-ness” the way my children do and likely will as their lives unfold. Their story is not my own, but as any parent knows, there are few things that spring a mother into action as when her child is in pain. The day my beautiful, precocious, chocolate-skinned little boy told me that he doesn’t want to own the skin he’s in, my understanding of the importance of identity, cultural sensitivity, and diversity education forever changed.

Continue reading


Know Before You Go: The Power of Formative Assessments

By on January 14th, 2014

signA few years ago, not long after I first learned to drive, a family friend allowed me the opportunity to borrow his car.

The rule of the road was “if it has two digits, it goes around the city in a circle and you can’t get lost, it’ll always bring you back.”

When I began driving with my friend, I noticed I was a bit lost, but was fortunate enough to see the I-95 sign. It had two digits, the 9 and 5, so that must have meant it would loop around and I’d be back in no time. An hour later, I pulled off at an exit to ask for directions, to find I was now an hour and a half away from home.

Continue reading


Project TAM: Year Zero

By on August 15th, 2013

I’ve always been fascinated by the concept of nothing (an idea that is immediately contradicted by having a word assigned to it, which implies something).  And, as Project TAM enters what I’ve been lovingly calling “Year Zero,” I find that the centrality of bringing forth something from seemingly nothing preoccupies my thoughts and the thoughts of those around me.

FLVS was recently awarded the Next Generation Learning Challenge Grant to be used for planning and development of Project TAM, a breakthrough school model that will allow FLVS to provide new student-centered, self-paced, mastery-based, and blended learning opportunities. Continue reading


The Promise of Prescription in Education

By on July 8th, 2013

Prescriptive LearningI see many requests from school districts looking to find the magic pill to make learning tailored to the student. Prescription of learning tends to be a common first step that schools are willing to make into the world of personalized learning environments. In prescriptive learning, a path through the learning content is prescribed for each learner based on a criterion-reference pre-test, and sometimes performance on a post-test. This is a common answer to remediating students who need to make up credits, exempting items they know and remediating on items where mastery has not been gained. Continue reading


The Call Center Classroom

By on July 2nd, 2013

Call Center Classroom CelebrationHave you ever been inside a call center where sales are involved? It is one of the most energetic, exciting, goal-driven environments I have ever experienced. One of my first jobs was selling telephone products over the phone and it was an experience that has shaped who I am and how I view the world.

In a call center, you often have what are called “clappers.” Every time you make a sale, people run up and down the aisle clapping devices to celebrate your success. If you continued to sell, you not only got the noisemakers, but also streamers, balloons, cupcakes, and enough attention to make a billboard blush. Continue reading


Road Trip to the Next Exit!

By on June 24th, 2013

Photo Credit: Next Exit History App

Photo Credit: Next Exit History App

About four years ago, Apple launched the iTunes App Store and a little word that never existed in the Dictionary is something you now hear people of many generations saying…“there’s an app for that.”

If your family is like mine, your children are using the iPad (or a similar tablet) more and more each day. My now 5-year-old son was about 3 years old when he first picked up the iPad; it amazed me how he could not read, but could figure out how to play. I am always looking for fun apps that help my children learn without them realizing that they are learning. If you are like me, you are going to love this new app! Continue reading