FREE/NEFEC Newsletter - January 2021

Foundation for Rural Education Excellence

Supporting Academic Achievement in

Rural Northeast Florida Communities

January 2021 Newsletter

The Foundation for Rural Education Excellence, a registered 501 (C)(3) organization, was founded in 1998 to facilitate philanthropic support for rural school districts of the North East Florida Educational Consortium (NEFEC): Baker, Bradford, Columbia, Dixie, Flagler, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Levy, Nassau, Putnam, Suwannee and Union Counties as well as Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind and PK Yonge Developmental Research School. Working collaboratively, our mission is to enhance academic success and career opportunities for rural students in northeast Florida.

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Instructional Materials Fair Draws Over 300

Over 300 educators from all NEFEC districts participated in the English Language Arts Instructional Materials Fair. The four-day event was held January 11-14, 2021, in Gainesville and provided K-5 and 6-12 educators the opportunity to meet with ELA publishers and review instructional materials for the 2021 ELA adoption. Presentations were given in both a face-to-face and virtual format throughout the event. Space was provided for districts to collaborate and evaluate materials based on the NEFEC ELA rubric. This event was a culmination of a semester-long series of professional learning that helped prepare districts in the instructional materials evaluation process.

Florida Migrant Interstate Program

NEFEC will now be the home base for the Florida Migrant Interstate Program and its new Director, Lucia Valdivia-Sanchez.

Under the direction of the Florida Department of Education’s Migrant Education Program (FMEP), The Florida Migrant Interstate Program (FMIP) provides services and activities to school districts throughout Florida, the US, and beyond on behalf of migrant students.

FMIP provides timely technical assistance regarding migrant student records transfers, transcript discrepancies, unresolved records transfer cases, and teacher exchange programs. FMIP is the primary contact for credit accrual issues to ensure timely transfer of academic and health records for individual migrant students.

Lucía Valdivia-Sánchez has twenty-four years of experience designing, developing, and implementing academic programs with emphasis on serving migrant students, English Language Learners, and migrant and seasonal farmworkers. She assists these youth with accessing basic and higher education. Ms. Valdivia-Sánchez has received national and international awards for her leadership promoting academic excellence, empowering parents, and delivering culturally sensitive educational resources and services in northeast Florida. Welcome aboard Ms. Sanchez.

Upcoming Events

23rd Annual Golf Tournament

FREE's annual golf tournament is scheduled for March 26, 2021, at The Palatka Golf Club. For more information or to register to play, click on the link below:

Registration Flyer

Summer Leadership Conference

NEFEC's Annual Summer Leadership Conference is scheduled for

July 27-28, 2021, at the Sawgrass Marriott in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL.

Conference Registration & More

Foundation for Rural Education Excellence

(352) 317-0621

foundationruraled@gmail.com

freeneedsyou.org