Title I/School Renewal hosts institute to support schools in increasing student achievement

The Office of Title I/School Renewal hosted a three-day institute for teachers and administrators from nine St. Lucie schools on August 7, 8 and 9 at Samuel Gaines Academy. The institute provided the opportunity for additional guidance, support and motivation to those supporting these schools as they work together to increase student achievement. Each day there was a keynote speaker, as well as a full day’s agenda of breakout sessions for teachers and administrators. Pictured is Sam Foerster, who currently serves as the Deputy Chancellor of School Improvement and Student Achievement for the Florida Department of Education (FDOE). In this capacity, he oversees the Bureau of School Improvement, the Bureau of Federal Education Programs, the Bureau of Family and Community Outreach, the Office of Equal Education Opportunity, and Florida’s five regional offices supporting Differentiated Accountability. Prior to joining the Florida Department of Education in June, 2012, Mr. Foerster served as the Associate Superintendent of Support Services for the Putnam County School District. In that role, Mr. Foerster contributed to a number of projects related to data-driven decision making and continuous process improvement, including the development of an online teacher effectiveness dashboard and implementation of district-wide standards-based interim assessments. Mr. Foerster also served as chair of Florida’s Student Growth Implementation Committee (SGIC), the organization charged with recommending a value added model for use in teacher evaluations in Florida.