• FL Standards Advocates

    Florida Standards Advocates mission is to provide Florida educators with the knowledge and understanding needed to change instructional practice to meet the demands the Florida Standards. By providing high-quality tools and professional development support, educators can collaborate to best prepare their students for success. Connect with the Florida network through the Core Advocate survey. 

  • Our Work

    Florida Standards Advocates know that some Floridian students have difficulty accessing, analyzing, and respond to complex text and that in math many students lack an understanding of the interdependence of math concepts from year to year which limits their success at grade level math.

    • K-12 ELA Teachers will use carefully sequenced TDQs in order to help students read and respond to complex text.
    • Teachers will understand and use math progressions for whole number operations so that students recognize and use connections across grade levels to know and do math.

  • Who We Are

    Florida Standards Advocate Captain - Amy Spies

    @auspies

    Amy Spies began teaching intermediate elementary after receiving her BA and MA in elementary education in Florida. Upon completing AFT's Thinking Mathematics professional development, she taught middle grades mathematics for eight years. During that time her involvement with Thinking Mathematics continued and she became a national trainer and served on AFT's Common Core Cadre. As part of the cadre, she reviewed drafts of the Common Core Mathematics Standards, reviewed MARS assessment tasks, as well as helped re-align Thinking Mathematics to CCSSM. She has since returned to teaching elementary students and has been actively involved in organizing and facilitating Parent Nights for better CCSSM understanding. Her math videos and lessons are featured on LearnZillion.com, TeachingChannel.org, ShareMyLesson.com, and CPALMS.org. In addition to teaching full-time, she facilitates numerous professional development opportunities for teachers. She also works as Florida State Captain for Student Achievement Partners Core Advocates.  The past two summers she served as a Classroom Innovator Teacher for The New Teacher Project's Good to Great Summer Institutes.

    ELA/literacy Content Lead - Amy Dempsey

    @mrsamydempsey

    Amy started her teaching career in western New York, teaching Pre-K at a migrant Head Start, where she had a bilingual classroom.  In 2003, Amy moved to Florida, where she began teaching middle school English Language Arts.  Amy earned her BA in English and MA in English Language Arts Education with ESOL and gifted certification.  During her first year teaching in Florida, Amy quickly learned that years of English knowledge, from being an English major, did not easily translate into teaching English. This is when she got involved with National Writing Project, eventually becoming a National Writing Project Writing Consultant. Additionally, Amy holds leadership positions as ELA Instructional Leader, Volusia Lead Advocate, and ELA Lead Advocate for Student Achievement Partners. These leadership positions allow Amy to share and spread the knowledge and importance of the Florida Standards and SHIFTs, through facilitating professional development, increase her own knowledge and thirst for life-long learning, and hone her teaching craft for the betterment of her students.     

    Math Content Lead - Brian Dean

    @FLMathNinja

    Brian is currently a Mathematics Content Lead for Instruction Partners and a Mathematics Consultant for Dixon, Nolan, Adams (DNA) Mathematics where he works relentlessly to ensure each student learns mathematics at a high level. He is the former Instructional Specialist for Pasco County Schools where he lead the teaching and learning of mathematics for over 30 secondary schools. Brian regularly designs and engages educators in learning with a focus on the implementation of the Common Core State Standards. He has taught at the middle and high school level and served as an instructional coach where he helped facilitate the turnaround of a school from an “F” to an “A” rating.

  • Stay Informed

    Request information or reach at:  flstandardsadvocates@studentsachieve.net

    Follow us on Twitter: @4flstandards