Ray Icaza

HEAR EVERDAY?? Where, in your imagination. Almost all newspaper media in FL are owned by McClatchy, Chicago-Tribune, Poynter Media and Gannett which feed us as you refer to it " Left-Winged BS". Local TV networks are more of the same. So please, spare us the hysteria.

This question probably has many factors to consider including years of eligibility, level of performance, importance of that extracurricular activity, proximity to a viable school, etc.. that parents need to weigh in the development of their child. If he only has 1 year of eligibility left and is truly talented enough to secure a scholarship like the RB example I had previously discussed with Coach Beek in this thread, absolutely. Go be a star at that other school, especially if it is in the same community. In this case this young man has worked extremely hard and just happens to be on a squad that has another great player that has been with the program thru youth right into his freshmen season. He wasn't an out-of-town transfer in this case, but the effect is still the same and I completely understand why this RB left our school for another. Excellent kid and we wish him the best. Team sports in my youth were incredibly important coming from another country it help me build friendships, build confidence, acceptance into the community, discipline, hard work, meritocracy and so many other things that were important building blocks. Definitely there is great value in team sports.

Government spending or overspending is always a concern and this years budget for education tops $27.9 billion which includes the additional spending to support the voucher initiative. And therein lies the rub. The FL legislature estimated that additional cost in the $200-$500 million range, while progressives are claiming it to be over $4 billion. At least by next year we can see who is right. As of now, our state is sitting on a very comfortable budget surplus with lots of Covid relief money from 3 separate federal pieces of legislation that doled out almost $200 billion to the states. I like the idea of vouchers as opposed to new ventilation systems.

Democracy only survives with an "Informed Electorate". One can quibble with the studies you presented, even doubt any study supporting this view but the results of failing public schools is irrefutable based on National Assessment Governing Board findings. To ignore that and just be okay doing the same thing is irresponsible, while attacks on those looking for better outcomes for our kids is sad.

Some are of the opposite view which is the decline in education as a major factor in the gap between rich and poor. It is considered an important factor in both weak economic growth and income inequality. Guess it's the old adage of which came first, the chicken or the egg.

There is clearly a political divide that has evolved over the past few years regarding public schools and that is unfortunate. It used to be either party when polled if they were satisfied or somewhat satisfied with the quality of education were both around 50%, not a reassuring number. Today, one party is closer to 30%, while the other has remained in the low 50's. I will leave it at that but have attached the "Nations's Report Card" that was recently released to show the decline in education is REAL. So, it is quite understandable that parents are looking for options regardless of politics. Had trouble attaching the link so have just copied and pasted the verbage. Embargoed for Release June 21, 2023, 12:01 a.m. ET Contact: Stephaan Harris, (202) 357-7504, Stephaan.Harris@ed.gov New Data on Pandemic-Era Learning from the Nation’s Report Card Shows Steep Declines in Math, Falling Scores in Reading Lower-performing students saw even greater declines in math, highlighting need for urgent action Washington, D.C. — The Long-Term Trend results out today showing trends for 13-year-olds provide further evidence that U.S. students are struggling academically amid achievement declines that worsened during the pandemic, particularly in math. Average scores for 13-year-olds on this administration of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Long-Term Trend Assessments (LTT), declined 4 points in reading and 9 points in math compared to the LTT assessments administered in 2020. When compared to a decade ago, scores slid even further — 7 points in reading and 14 points in math. Lower-performing students saw greater declines than higher-performing peers in math on the recent LTT assessment, a trend found on other recent NAEP assessments. Students at the 10th and 25th percentiles fell by 14 and 12 points, respectively. A nationally representative sample of thirteen-year-old students in seventh and eighth grades took the LTT assessments in the fall of 2022. These findings emerge about a month after the release of the U.S. history and civics results, which also showed steep declines. “U.S. students are struggling across the board. Educators, policymakers, and families need to work together urgently and decisively to address this generation’s learning needs," said Beverly Perdue, National Assessment Governing Board chair and former North Carolina governor. The National Assessment Governing Board sets policy for the Nation’s Report Card, the only nationally representative assessment of achievement for U.S. students. The LTT assessments manifest trends in education data over five decades and are distinct from the main Nation’s Report Card assessments, last released in October, which also showed steep declines in reading and math among fourth- and eighth-graders. Today's release of LTT findings for 13-year-olds follows last September’s report on LTT for 9-year-olds, another data point that showed substantial slides in achievement. The LTT assessments in reading and math measure fundamental skills among nationally representative, agebased cohorts and have been administered since 1971 and 1973, respectively. Students were generally making progress until 2012, when scores started declining. Scores took a sharp downturn during the pandemic. Today, the average score for 13-year-olds on the LTT reading assessment is about where it was in 1971. Despite the large decline in math, the average score in 2023 remains higher than in 1973. Student survey data released along with LTT points to additional areas of concern. The percentage of 13-year-olds who said they read for fun is lower than ever previously reported. Just 14 percent of students reported that they read for fun almost daily, down 3 percentage points from 2020 and 13 percentage points from 2012. Among lower-performing students, 42 percent indicated they never or hardly ever read for fun. As for absenteeism, an area of widespread concern, the percentage of students who reported they missed five or more days of school in a month has doubled since 2020. ### The National Assessment Governing Board is an independent, nonpartisan board whose members include governors, state legislators, local and state school officials, educators, business representatives, and members of the general public. Congress created the 26-member Governing Board in 1988 to set policy for the National

I know last year you got a handful of kids from Osceola that played big roles and know of only two others that had gone your way that might be in the mix of returning since both are receivers, the Bowser kid and Amir Alli. Think we have also lost one or two Toho's way. It is what it is and all you can do is play on. I would be surprised if the RB returned as we obviously still have Taevion plus they are pretty deep in that backfield with 3 other youngsters.

I have not heard of any movement of Poinciana players to OHS, although a good one in RB Akeem Knox transferred into your school during the second semester. I have heard from parents that his younger brother Jaquille DL wasn't happy with the transfer and was undecided on his next step because he wanted to remain at OHS. We would love to keep him in the fold as he is solid but no decision made from what little I hear.

But it does matter as a coach dedicated to try and build the program back to respectability before setting higher goals, you gotta keep the kids you invested time in when they were novice to see the results when they mature. It still is a detriment not to get good players that are zoned to you, but if they choose to attend a different school their freshman year and never set foot on your campus it doesn't disrupt your planning quite as much. It is definitely a lot more prevalent than we realize as some players are opting to "Trade-up" for exposure, winning, etc... while others are opting to "Trade-down" for playing time to get that same coveted exposure. Got to be a real headache for all coaches, even power 5 schools in the NCAA.

This news outlet like many around the state have made claims that have proven to be erroneous so forgive me if I am skeptical of their take. Only time will really tell us how this all shakes out.

Always appreciate feedback from someone like yourself that obviously knows the process better than I, which seems to add another degree of difficulty to the move.

All very good questions and in my humble opinion is they would need "HELP". Encouragement as the reason for the move doesn't address any of the issues you brought up.

Lot to unpack, but as you rightfully point out it isn't just a few transfers but the talent level of those players that raises eyebrows/questions.

Love the positive spin.

Currently in our country about 10% attend privates (5 million vs 50 million in publics). Most studies without getting in the weeds indicate standardized test scores (SAT, ACT, etc..) as well as long term success are typically higher for students in private schools. Yes, I understand some want to do away with those scores??? Most agree it isn't just the teachers, but class size, environment, higher educated parents, etc... but regardless, the outcome is clear. If my dream came true and we would divide athletics between privates and publics, I would envision only 2 divisions for privates and 4 total for publics for 6 championships. With the one year waiting rule before eligibility at another public which would definitely slow the transfer chaos down, we could return competition again between metro and suburban since it would be a more level playing field. Last caveat would be BIG FINES for cheaters. My namesake grandson, Tre was zoned to a poorly performing elementary school so my son and daughter-in-law eventually moved him to St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School in St. Cloud to make sure those early years drilled the fundamentals he would need later. His zoned middle school was Neptune (public) that ranked high in our area academically, so he went there before continuing at OHS. He has postponed college and enlisted in the Coast Guard while taking online courses to hopefully get his AA degree prior to completing his military commitment. Point being, his parents knew what would be best for HIM and they decided it was worth the sacrifice paying double for a few years when that shouldn't be. They were able to do it, others may not be so fortunate thus my take on choice.

Just to be clear, I see this as two separate matters of athletics on the one hand and education on the other. In addition, I am not advocating that privates, charters, Christian schools, etc... are "BETTER" than any public. Quite the opposite, as at my advanced age if I were to do it all over again, I would prefer a "SOLID" public like OHS vs any private in my area. They offer significant AP classes, work diligently to promote and enforce discipline/respect, offer tons of extracurricular activities and most importantly the diversity there is more REAL world. But not all publics are the same, even within our own county thus my premise that it be left up to the parent to decide what is the best fit for their child. Most parents hold the belief that you are or become who you hang around with. Certain schools, public or private are a disaster and I shouldn't be mandated to send my child into an environment knowing the poor conditions for learning. Hope this helps clarify where I stand.

If this particular post was really about concern for the "State of Athletics", none of your analysis regarding costs, scholarships, school size, etc... matter when the unfair competitive advantage is staring you in the face. Restricting access to a better education will do nothing to fix the mess we are already in. For "Education Reason", parents should be able to decide how to use their tax dollars for the school of their choice. If we had separate leagues and simply re-instituted the 1 year waiting period for athletic participation at out of zone public, it would eliminate the vast majority of questionable transfers.

No intent to demean any football program, but Bolles was an example of this with that horse leaving the barn 3 decades ago. Thus, my steadfast opinion of a public league and a private league as anyone can pull the stats to see how the dominance of the privates has only grown during subsequent years in our state to the detriment of publics. Especially with those privates in high density population zones.

True with regards to what drives advocacy, but one side has a cannon while the other is fighting with a knife.

Examine the example of the state of NC. Governor Cooper's own government has laid out the case of failing public schools, yet he resists the model of School Choice. The legislature has passed laws with bipartisan support, yet he has vetoed it. WHY? Most say follow the money and who are his big supporters? I'll leave it at that but the nail in the coffin is where does he send his kids to school.

I did say there will be additional cost, but I also pointed out the thinking is the money goes with the student not the school. Thus OHS receives $8K a year per student, but if the family opts to go somewhere else the money follows. So the public school would lose that allocation and it would be given to the new school. Mind you, it could be another public if as you rightly pointed out with Plant HS, they are not overcapacity. Just like the example I gave of two of my grandkids moving to attend Harmony HS years ago. Don't want to drift out of the education arena when you ask, "Where does the money come from?" to fund any and all government programs good or bad. We spend more per child than other countries and the stats are clear on how that has worked out over the last decade or two as we have steadily lost ground. I guess it boils down to the old adage of INSANITY and as well versed as you are I don't think I need to explain the rest.

I am not an expert at all the requirements, provisions, policies regarding school choice. I am just a big believer in it for the sake of those kids destined to attend failing public schools in urban areas with no future in front of them; for others as well. I make this judgement only after 30+ years in my career in the private sector then retiring where I decided to work a couple of days a week at OHS as Sub as I had grandkids attending there. Mainly to evaluate the situation since I went there. "School Choice" wasn't the impetus back in 2011, also 2016 in my view with legislation enacted it seems for nefarious reasons. This concept has really taken hold for parents that really want better education for their children since the pandemic (nothing political) forcing online learning. Many have since discovered the realities of public education and are not happy with what they have found. This latest legislation allows "ANY" child for any reason to receive a voucher (I assume it's from the state) in the sum of $7-9 K to use for charter, private, etc... the amount is determined by what the state allocates per student to public schools. I read yesterday in a report from WFTV (local TV station) that parents are applying in record numbers to the point they are overwhelming the system with the demand as they estimate we will have upwards of 350,000 on the program. Obviously, this will not eliminate public schools as many are doing a good job and as I previously stated it will hopefully lift up those that aren't. Competition is good, RIGHT? Our municipal, state and federal government hire many private companies to help deliver some of the services you asked about. Even one of the most respected federal agencies, our military does the same; whether building weapons, supplying meals and yes even fighting wars. Again, I credit Dr. D for pointing out this is probably the main reason the state has gotten involved with the FHSAA as it is entangled with state run schools. Yup, some of the things others have pointed out may be questionable and merit debate but I think it all is a response to parents demanding better for their own kids future. I used to be a teacher/coach and cared terribly for my students but left the profession to focus more on my own kids. Any coach on this forum knows the time spent with other people's kids, the sacrifice his family has to make and potential long term effects it could have. I respect that sacrifice, but make no mistake that is exactly what it is. I chose a different path because my kids, now grandkids are my most cherished possession and no educator has greater love for them than their immediate family though many kids aren't fortunate enough to have that thus the important role of that teacher. In summary, the SCHOOL CHOICE battle is a win for many parents (especially single) that fall into the second category and want the best environment for their child regardless of the sports angle which is and should always be secondary.

Since losing our #2 RB to Poinciana in the offseason, I have thought about your "Diamonds in the Rough" comment. We had a freshman last year (Jeffrey Sinophant) that gained about 300 yards in limited varsity time relieving Taevion, but he did average over 8 yards per carry. So he is solid but looking at our schedule, we definitely would be needing more quality depth at the position. Fortunately, there is another 9th grader (Zion Matthews) that fits your description that will push for playing time seeing what he did during the spring season as he seems very motivated in preparation for his sophomore year. Also, we had another RB that transferred in from OCP that previously played on our youth league teams by the name of Elijah Hickson (rising junior) who has looked extremely good as he did participate during spring drills/game. Obviously, I don't anticipate any of them surpassing Taevion but the competition will be stiff for that #2 spot with them all pushing each other to work harder. Knowing we lean on the run much as APK does, you need to not only have quality but numbers.

This fact appeared in an article in the Wall Street Journal on Nov. 20, 2018 where exit polling determined that about 100,000 African-American women voted for him exclusively for that reason. Polling from CNN came to the same conclusion, so maybe I was incorrect in determining that was the majority of African-American women. Point being, it was a significant enough issue that although Gillum was predicted to win by 3-4% points, he lost by the slimmest of margins slightly more the 30,000 votes. It's obvious that this probably won't convince you the importance of education "School Choice" for some that have nothing to do with sports as the tenor and tone of your questions show you have made your mind up due to hatred of a particular person. I will leave it at that.

Hate is a strong sentiment and definitely not my feelings towards anyone on this forum. I am just of the mindset that difference of opinion is healthy and mocking, name calling, ridiculing and yes even hate doesn't help move your point of view forward. When it descends to that level, it becomes a waste of time to continue to engage that person. Regarding some of your post, I find it difficult to see some of your attempts at humor to be humorous that's all.