District Programs

Florida Center for Teachers

The Florida Center for Teachers (FCT), a program of the Florida Humanities Council, develops and coordinates one-day in-service programs for K-12 teachers in districts around the state.
 
FCT programs address the critical need for humanities-based Florida studies. They provide teachers with a foundation in Florida's history, literature, and art through a humanities perspective. Led by distinguished scholars, teachers may take part in discussions, participate in hands-on activities, critique films and documents, examine artifacts, and explore ways to incorporate topics into their classroom curriculum. In short, FCT in-service programs offer information and activities that have direct classroom applications.

Program Partnerships
Through a partnership between the FCT and school districts, one-day, three-day, and five-day workshops are designed to meet the needs and interests of teachers. Each district program can serve up to 50 teachers.

The Florida Center for Teachers

• collaborates with school district representatives to establish the program topic
• develops the program in conjunction with scholars and local community resources
• creates a program announcement flier, pre-seminar readings and program materials
• arranges for seminar meeting space in partnership with local cultural institutions
• facilitates the program

The School District

• distributes the program announcement to teachers
• registers participants and disseminates pre-seminar reading packets when appropriate
• provides in-service credit to teachers based on district requirements

Scheduling a One-day FCT District Program

Funding
FCT works in partnership with school districts to provide content rich workshops. The district's cost for workshops represents approximately half of FCT’s total expenses and is subject to change.  Variables affecting the district fee include number of presenters, number of participants and travel expenses, particularly mileage, conveyance and lodging.

The fee covers:

• Scholar and Presenter honoraria
• Travel and lodging for staff and presenters
• Lunch and refreshments for workshop participants and presenters
• Workshop materials and shipping
• Lodging for participants in off-site multi-day workshops

Districts may fund a workshop in a variety of ways:

• Title II professional development funds from the NCLB Act
• Teaching American History grants from the US DOE
• Education grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities
• Sponsorship of local businesses or foundations
• Sponsorhip of education foundations

Please note: Programs designed as part of a Teaching American History grant will be charged the full program cost based on actual expenses at the time of the workshop and is subject to change.

Topics

The following programs are available for the 2008-2009 school year. Other topics are available upon request and may be developed depending on district interests, staff time, and scholar availability.

• The Harlem Renaissance: Critical Issues in Black Literature and Culture
• Between Columbus and Jamestown: Spanish St. Augustine
• Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams: Florida in the 20th Century

Contact

Ann Schoenacher, Director
Florida Center for Teachers
Florida Humanities Council
599 2nd St S
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
727.873.2010
aschoenacher@flahum.org

Upcoming District Programs

Topic	County	Date	To Register Contact
News Matters: Ethics and Issues in the Press	Alachua	TBA	Debbie Gallagher gallagdd@sbac.edu
The Gilded Age and the Progressive Era: View from St. Augustine	Brevard	07/29/08	Wanda Gray, Project Manage Teaching American History Grant Brevard Public Schools 321-633-1000 x339 GrayW2@brevard.k12.fl.us