1,555 KEYS STUDENTS ARE LEARNING ENGLISH

School Board Hears About Teacher Recruitment

Two of the three Rs of education — reading, writing and “‘rithmetic,” — pose a bigger challenge to educators when the students don’t yet speak English.

The Monroe County school board on Feb. 14 heard an update about the school district’s current and ever-increasing population of foreignspeaking students, who are labeled “English Learners” in today’s educational parlance.

ers, but that number always increases at the end of the school year when many teachers decide to retire or move.

Anticipating the increase in departing teachers at the end of the school year, Russell is exploring several avenues for recruitment.

One option is to start accepting student teachers to work alongside certified teachers in classrooms as they complete their training, he said.

“They would be here for four months doing their student teaching requirements,” Russell said. “We’re hoping to develop relationships with them while they fall in love with Monroe County” so they’ll come back when they graduate.

TOM WALKER wwwkeysweekly.com

In 1987, a tall, gangly 19-yearold kid raised his right hand and took an oath to serve and protect the island on which he was raised. That oath came after Allen had worked as a kid bagging groceries at Fausto’s Food Palace

Thirty years later, Sgt. Robert Allen retired from the Key West Police Department, having worn nearly every hat in that agency, and left a three-decade law enforcement legacy that only six other individuals in the department can boast.

However, instead of taking advantage of well-earned days of retirement and enjoying his passion for boating, from the Florida Keys backcountry to the Bahamas, Allen was not ready to hang his worn-out leather gun belt on a hook in the back of his closet.

Allen joined the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office on Dec. 26, 2017, working as an inspector charged with ensuring the agency’s divisions were following rigorous standards and practices as dictated by the national Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) as well as the Florida Police Accreditation Coalition (FL-PAC).

Then on Feb. 13, Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay promoted Allen to the position of director of Internal Affairs and Professional Standards.

“I was happy to promote Director Allen to this position,” said Ramsay. “His background and experience in law enforcement make him a great fit and I know he will do well.”

During his tenure with KWPD, Allen worked initially as a patrol officer until a stint as a narcotics detective, during which he and his partner teetered on having their lives ended at the hands of a habitual felony offender, previously released on bond and accused of trafficking in narcotics.

On a chilly Key West November evening in 1989, Allen and Detective Sgt. Steve Hammers were on foot patrol at Thomas and Virginia streets in Bahama Village, at the time an area notorious for drug activity, when they encountered a suspicious individual sitting on the front porch of a vacant home where crack deals were a regular occurrence.

After initial contact, a struggle ensued wherein the suspect drew a weapon and shot Hammers twice in his lower abdomen. He then shot Allen in the groin and trained the gun on his face. Hammers, critically injured, was still able to return fire, saving the young narc’s life. But Allen was not out of the fight. Bleeding profusely from his femoral artery and immobile on the ground, Allen fired four more rounds at the attacker, who eventually succumbed to his wounds.

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The countywide school district has more than 1,555 students — about one in five — who speak other languages at home, administrator Natalie Liz reported. Two-thirds of those students were born outside the United States, she said.

Monroe County students hail from 36 countries and speak dozens of languages, she said, adding that the district continues to implement various programs to ensure those students succeed.

The top “countries of origin” for Keys students who are learning English include: United States, Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico and Uzbekistan, Liz reported.

In keeping with the influx of migrants coming into the Florida Keys, the number of Cuban students has increased by 66 in recent months, while the number of Haitian students has increased by 20 this year.

Currently, Stanley Switlik Elementary School in Marathon and Horace O”Bryant School in Key West have the most Spanish-speaking students, with 121 and 119, respectively, Liz noted.

“We’ve implemented new strategies to guide the initial placement of students in classes, based on their current English proficiency,” Liz said.

Staff Recruitment

The state of Florida is expected to need 6,000 teachers next year, reported Harry Russell, executive director of personnel support and instructional leadership for Monroe County Schools.

Monroe County currently has 62 job openings, including six for teach-

Russell also sees some potential in Gov. Ron DeSantis’ initiative to turn military veterans into teachers by providing a streamlined certification process.

Russell said Monroe County may be in a unique position to capitalize on that initiative, given the number of military personnel, military spouses and others in the Florida Keys.

He’s also working with Florida colleges and universities to get Monroe County School District on their lists of potential employers and is traveling the state to meet with near-future teachers on college campuses.

The most recent school board meeting in Key West also drew the now-typical appearances by conservative speakers from the public — with and without kids in the local school district. Three speakers urged a national search for the next superintendent.

Speaker Christine Miller of Big Pine Key again called for the Ten Commandments to be posted in all classrooms, urged a national search for the next superintendent and encouraged the school board to hire a superintendent who will “ban the LGBTQ and woke agendas in schools.”

Bethany Bartlett of Duck Key warned against children’s “loss of innocence” amid today’s “sexual revolution,” while speaking against critical race theory, which is not taught in any Monroe County schools.

For the record, Superintendent Theresa Axford has not announced her retirement. Although her contract ends July 31, 2024, Axford could seek a contract extension or could apply for the superintendent opening. She has made no decision about retirement, Axford told the Keys Weekly last month.