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STUDENT TESTING IN PROGRESS – VOTERS URGED TO SPEAK WITH THEIR BALLOTS,
NOT THEIR VOICES, MIAMI — Two important activities will take place at many of the same sites next Tuesday, March 8, and community leaders are asking everyone to cooperate to make sure FCAT testing and Election Day are both successful. Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) and Miami-Dade County leaders are joining in welcoming voters to school-site polling places for Tuesday’s special election, but urging them to be especially quiet when casting their ballots. Public school students in grades 2-11 will be taking the FCAT and other tests. Test results will be used to assess student achievement and school performance and to determine third-graders’ promotion to 4th grade and high school students’ graduation. M-DCPS and the Miami-Dade County Elections Department are taking steps to maintain the integrity of the testing environment by launching a public awareness campaign. School staff has been instructed to help maintain a quiet atmosphere on voting day, and each voter will be given a flier that alerts them that testing is in progress and asks them to be quiet while on school grounds. The elections department will place signs in English, Spanish and Haitian-Creole at school polling sites to remind voters that student testing is in progress. “We are pleased to once again offer our schools as polling places,” Superintendent Rudolph F. “Rudy” Crew said. “Our first responsibility is to our students, and during FCAT testing, we want to make sure they are able to perform their academic duties while voters perform their civic duties.” The elections department uses 139 public schools – along with county facilities, city halls, libraries, community centers and other facilities – as polling places for its 749 precincts. “We appreciate the relationship we have with Miami-Dade County Public Schools, and we are especially grateful for the school district’s efforts to accommodate our voters while students take their important FCAT tests,” County Manager George Burgess said. “Supervisor of Elections Constance Kaplan has asked our pollworkers to be mindful of the students, and we are asking voters to speak quietly while they are on school grounds, as well.” All Miami-Dade County registered voters are eligible to vote in the special election. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. ### 05-JG/134/JAM |
