Hernando Classroom Teachers' Association

Taking Action in the 2022 Election

Our teachers, students and community need school board members who aren’t driven by politics, but who are driven by their proven commitment to thriving public schools! HCTA has endorsed Kay Hatch, Jimmy Lodato, and Susan Duval. Our members are taking action to support public education friendly candidates in the days leading up to the election--click to join our Get Out the Vote campaign efforts.

Fund Our Future, Hernando

As a statewide teacher shortage grows, our professional association is advocating for meaningful changes in state and local policies that directly impact our classrooms. Fund Our Future is an ongoing campaign to recruit and retain teachers, promote student success, and invest in our neighborhood public schools. Every student deserves to have a highly-qualified teacher, but even here in Hernando County, the 2021-2022 school year began with 31 posted instructional vacancies. Our students need opportunities to learn and grow to their greatest potential, yet flawed systems of accountability lead to teaching to the test. Together, we are speaking up and speaking out for our neighborhood public schools -- and the students educated in them!

Red For Ed Wednesdays

Every Wednesday, HCTA joins teachers across the state of Florida in a visible show of support for our neighborhood public schools. We wear RED for Public Ed because we know all too well the compromises that have to be made --and the impact of those compromises on our students-- when funding for our schools is inadequate or bogged down in mandates. We wear red to call attention to the solvable problems in education. Recruiting and Retaining teachers can't be solved with flawed accountability systems. With 4,961 teacher vacancies in K12 classrooms across Florida at the start of the 2021-2022 school year, Florida schools aren't failing--FUNDING is FAILING Florida's schools!

FundOurFuture Bus Tour is Coming to Hernando!

See you at a bus stop!

Starting Oct. 21, FEA officers and staff will roll out on a statewide, five-week bus tour for public education. We will be on a campaign for our students, public schools and YOU. Please plan to come out and meet us at a stop.

The idea is to focus attention on public schools and build community support well before January, when the Legislature will be making decisions that affect all of us. If we are going to win in the next session, we need to be seen and heard now.

The stakes are very high. We are fighting for improved funding for public schools and for better pay for all school employees. We want an end to the over-testing of students and a halt to the expansion of voucher programs that divert public money to private schools. We demand that this state support the schools that educate 90 percent of our students, and that lawmakers show proper respect to the people who devote their lives to Florida’s children.

In coordination with local unions, the Fund Our Future bus tour will make about 50 stops at events and schools from Pensacola to the Florida Keys. The first stop will be on Oct. 21 in the Panhandle, and the tour comes to a close on Nov. 23 in Orlando.

The Hernando stop is slated for the afternoon of November 1st! More details are coming. Be sure to save the date!

The VAM Scam

September 18, 2019 - FEA's second article in their series exposing how Florida policies are undermining student success focuses on the scam that is VAM. Since its introduction into teacher evaluation processes, educators across the nation have protested the use of this flawed measure to identify ineffective teachers and brand schools as 'failing'.

August 26, 2019

Over the next few months this multi-part series will take a deep dive into the ways that Florida’s education policies have led to a full-scale crisis in the teaching profession.

Red for Ed Wednesdays Return

(August 21, 2019) BROOKSVILLE, FL -- Hernando Classroom Teachers' Association is calling for all public education advocates to recommit to the Wear Red for Ed campaign through the 2019-2020 school year. Red for Ed is both a statewide and national effort to draw much needed attention to the funding crisis which is impacting classrooms across the country. Wearing red on Wednesdays throughout the year is a show of solidarity and a visible reminder of the ongoing struggle to appropriately fund public education.

(August 23, 2019)

FEA calls for $22 billion, multi-year investment in schools

TALLAHASSEE — After 20 years of neglect and bad policy, the Florida Education Association (FEA) is calling for a "Decade of Progress" for Florida’s public schools. This means a multi-year commitment of $22 billion for our public school students.

(July 30, 2019) HCTA Executive Board members joined Hernando County Schools in welcoming nearly 100 new educators to the county during the district's annual New Teacher Orientation. Day one of the three day induction allowed our professional association to greet incoming teachers, provide lunch, and share the benefits of membership in our local, state and national organizations. A majority of attending new hires chose to invest in their profession through membership! Together, we make a difference! HCTA is excited to be growing with these professionals.

Taking Action in the 2022 Election

Fund Our Future, Hernando

Red For Ed Wednesdays

FundOurFuture Bus Tour is Coming to Hernando!

The VAM Scam

Bad Policy and Low Pay...

Red for Ed Wednesdays Return!

FEA Calls for 'A Decade of Progress'

HCTA Welcomes New Educators