Commissioner Corcoran Applauds Florida Teachers
May 4, 2020
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Commissioner Corcoran Applauds Florida Teachers
~ Teacher Appreciation Week is a time to recognize Florida educators’ outstanding commitment to education ~
Tallahassee, Fla., May 4, 2020 – In recognition of Teacher Appreciation Week, today Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran celebrates and honors Florida educators throughout the state for the fantastic job they are doing today and every day, and especially during the COVID-19 health emergency. Florida teachers are responsible for the impressive academic growth seen over the past two decades, including higher student achievement and increased graduation rates.
The Florida Department of Education is also calling on Florida students and families to write a letter or draw a picture recognizing their teacher for their hard work and dedication. Tag @EducationFL on Twitter and Facebook with the hashtag #FLlovesTeachers. Teacher Appreciation Day is officially on Wednesday, May 6, but we want to celebrate our teachers all week long.
“I want to thank our dedicated educators for the tremendous job they do every day,” said Commissioner Corcoran. “Florida teachers are the backbone of our state’s education system, ensuring that every student receives a world class education. I am humbled by their passion for teaching and want them to know how much I appreciate them.”
More than 180,000 Florida K-12 public school teachers, over 20,000 Florida College System instructors, and more than 20,000 State University System faculty can take credit for Florida’s standing as a national model for its education system. Without their steadfast dedication and commitment to high quality instruction for every student, Florida would not be able to proudly brag of its many accomplishments.
“I am especially thankful for the success we are seeing with distance learning while school campuses are closed due to the COVID-19 health emergency,” continued Commissioner Corcoran. “This success is largely due to the commitment of our amazing teachers, who have created innovative, engaging lessons so their students continue learning and stay involved in school. I am grateful for their dedication to their students during these challenging and unprecedented times.”
Highlights of Florida’s education system include:
- Florida ranks number one in the nation for K-12 education, according to Education Week’s Quality Counts 2020 report.
- Florida leads the nation with the highest percentage of the class of 2019 graduates who took an Advanced Placement (AP) exam while in high school, with 52 percent of the graduating class participating in an AP exam during their high school career.
- Florida’s high school graduation rate continues to rise, increasing to nearly 87 percent for 2018-19. This is an increase of .8 percentage points over last year and a jump of 27.7 percentage points since 2003-04.
- In 2019, nearly 80,000 high school students dual enrolled in one or more Florida College System courses.
- For the third year in a row, Florida ranked number one in the nation for its higher education system, according to a 2019 US News and World Report
- Multiple Florida colleges were awarded the prestigious 2019 Aspen Prize for College Excellence for the fifth year in a row.
- State University System of Florida graduation rates are up 9.5 percent in the past five years.