The Write Stuff

curriculum, honed through careful trial and error, includes 80 to 100 daily lessons covering expository, informative, opinion and narrative writing. The comprehensive program also includes activities, passages to go with the lessons, homework, quizzes, and tests. Initially targeted at grade five—a pivotal year for students to hone their writing kills—the curriculum has since been expanded to cover students in grades two through 12.

Top Score Writing began in 20 Florida schools but has become a nationwide program utilized in 27 states. “We work with hundreds of schools and reach thousands of students. In addition to public schools, we also work with private schools and home school families,” Collum says.

“The most memorable impact for me was seeing those first test results when I was teaching in one of the lowest performing schools in Palm Beach County at the time,” she adds. “Prior to my arrival, my school’s proficiency score on the state writing test was 38 percent. After I developed “MY MISSION my program, and with lots of repetition, practice and structure, we achieved 95-

IS TO REACH EVERY percent proficiency, and in the following two years, 100-percent proficiency. Seeing those SCHOOL IN EVERY STATE, students in a low performing, ‘F’ school all pass the state writing test proved what I had

SO THAT EVERY believed all along. I knew they could do it with the right instruction.”

TEACHER HAS ACCESS Collum no longer teaches in the traditional sense, but she is owner and principal of Coastal

TO OUR MATERIALS Middle and High School, a nonprofit private school

AND EVERY STUDENT in Palm Beach County serving 6th to 12th grade students “who need a different, more personal CAN SUCCEED approach to their education,” she says. “My first love is teaching, and it remains at the heart of AT WRITING.” everything we do at both Coastal Middle and High School and Top Score Writing, Inc.”

Q&A: Mike Burke

An exclusive conversation with the superintendent of the Palm Beach County School District

s the superintendent of the A-rated School District of Palm Beach County, Mike Burke is passionate about ensuring academic excellence and paving the way to post-graduate success for the district’s more than 170,000 students who attend 180 schools. He is deeply committed to the school board’s mission to educate, affirm and inspire each student in an equity-embedded school system.

As superintendent of the 10th-largest district in the nation, Burke also oversees Palm Beach County’s largest workforce. The district employs more than 22,000 people.

Burke’s tenure as superintendent began in July 2021. He was unanimously elected by the school board because of his extensive experience with all aspects of district operations and administration spanning more than 24 years.

In this interview with the Education Guide to the Palm Beaches, Burke discusses the unique nature of this large and varied school district, lessons learned from the national integration of remote learning, and the school safety measures the district has implemented.

APALM BEACH COUNTY IS BIGGER THAN SOME STATES. WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES OF RUNNING SUCH A SIZABLE SCHOOL DISTRICT? The size of our district in terms of both enrollment and geography necessitates strong communication and four regional offices within our organizational structure. While we are the 10th-largest district in the United States, our team works hard to give students and parents a small-town feel. By providing individual school sites the resources they need, our school principals and their faculties are able to directly address the majority of their families’ needs. Often from the family’s perspective, their experiences and interaction is solely with the school teams serving their children.

ARE SCHOOLS’ CONCERNS DIFFERENT IN VARIOUS AREAS OF THE COUNTY? DO SCHOOLS IN, SAY, JUPITER, HAVE DIFFERENT NEEDS THAN BELLE GLADE OR BOCA RATON?

By and large, I find parents and students share common goals across the county. The majority of our choice programs are available in each geographic region. In terms of needs, our district allocates resources to meet individual student needs, wherever they reside.

DID REMOTE LEARNING, INSTITUTED DURING THE PANDEMIC, WORK, IN GENERAL? OR DID IT REVEAL THE NECESSITY OF CONTINUED IN-PERSON EDUCATION?

Due to the pandemic, remote learning was the only option to instruct students from March 2020 through May 2020. I’m proud of this district’s quick action in rolling out Google Classroom and delivering lessons promptly. The pandemic also revealed inequities. We soon learned that many students did not have a computer, Wi-Fi access, or both. We have addressed both issues. We maintain a 1:1 ratio of students to devices, and we are working with the county, local municipalities, the Education Foundation and business partners to provide free, high-quality WiFi to 25,000 students throughout Palm Beach County [through a] Wi-Fi mesh network.

By September of 2020, we offered parents a choice—in-person or remote instruction— for the 2020-2021 school year. Graduations in 2021 were in-person, but involved social distancing. Graduations this year were back to normal. This past school year, 2021-2022, we essentially returned to normal.

Some students thrived during remote instruction, others did not. Socialization is very important to the educational experience.

Lannis Waters-The Palm Beach Post

ISSUES OF SCHOOL SAFETY ARE AT THE FOREFRONT OF PARENTS’ AND STUDENTS’ MINDS AS MUCH AS, IF NOT MORE THAN, EVER BEFORE. HOW HAS THE SCHOOL DISTRICT RESPONDED TO THE TRAGEDY IN UVALDE IN WAYS THAT COULD ASSUAGE THESE CONCERNS?

Our district has always prioritized school safety. Due to confidentiality and statutory restrictions, we cannot provide specific details related to some of our security measures; however, we are in full compliance with state mandates per the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Act, which includes but is not limited to: n Armed police officers on every campus n Single points of entry on every campus n District Wide Compliance Training for Active Assailant, All Hazards and Lockdown Drills (Code Red / Code Yellow / Code Green) n Mobile panic alert systems on every campus n Specific security measures to ensure rooms and buildings are properly secured/locked with limited access

The school board, the chief of school police, and I are continuously working together to ensure all resources are in place, and there is flexibility to make security improvements as needed. The safety of our students and staff is the number one priority of the district.

WHAT ARE LESSONS LEARNED FROM THESE PREVIOUS TRAGEDIES AS TO HOW SCHOOL POLICE OFFICERS RESPOND TO AN ACTIVE SHOOTER SITUATION?

Our officers are highly trained in how to react in numerous crisis scenarios. Our police force is in a constant state of continuous improvement. We take a multi-faceted approach to school safety, which begins with prevention, intervention and diversion. We do everything in our power to stop a threat from ever becoming a reality. We have threat assessment teams on every campus that are continually evaluating potential risks in our schools. And, thanks to the 2018 Referendum passed by voters in Palm Beach County, and up for renewal in November, we have been able to greatly enhance our school police and mental health resources and services.

Superintendent Mike Burke

IN TERMS OF PREVENTION, IF A STUDENT HAS REASON TO BELIEVE THAT ANOTHER STUDENT MAY BE A THREAT TO THE SAFETY OF STUDENTS OR TEACHERS, WHAT SHOULD BE THEIR PROTOCOL; TO WHOM SHOULD THEY TURN?

We continually instruct students to share their concerns with a trusted adult, and to avoid spreading rumors. We also have apps available in which students report threats through SaferWatch and Fortify Florida. Making a threat against a school, even as a joke, is a second-degree felony in Florida.