Journal Entries

I am always refreshed when I have opportunity to meet with people I consider heroes, folks whose lives are clearly so worthy of respect. In this particular instance, I speak of Dave Lawrence, former editor of the Miami Herald and well-know children's advocate in Florida. Recently, while traveling through Palm Beach on my statewide walk, I had the opportunity to keynote a function for the Children's Project of Palm Beach County, a study funded by the W.K Kellogg Foundation and sponsored by Dave Lawrence and the Early Initiative Childhood Foundation.

The Children's Project will measure the extent to which grassroots organizational efforts and media messages can be used to educate and inform the public about a statewide movement for children. I look forward to what the study will reveal given Florida's great need to prioritize its children.

At a recent meeting in Manatee County, hosted by the Kiwanis Club of Bradenton, I had the opportunity to participate in a discussion with several groups and individuals gathered to talk about one thing, education.

Those assembled had the chance to express their education concerns and then share ideas for reform if desired. One teacher, for instance, suggested that on-line teacher certifications be prohibited, especially where no background in teaching or child development exists. Fund Education Now, another group present, advocated education change through collaboration. Still, others proposed that the state provide matching funds for all localities statewide that have passed a special tax specifically to support education and children’s issues locally.

At Girls Inc of Sarasota County, a local affiliate of the national non-profit organization, girls are inspired to be strong, smart and bold. Serving girls ages 6 years and up, Girls Inc. has designed a program that emulates a small community or micro-society where girls are assigned specific roles. In acting out these particular roles, the girls learn to live confidently and capably whether vigilantly patrolling the hallways as "police officers" (to ensure good citizenship) or responsibly passing out micro-bucks to community members as "bank tellers."

Today, almost one year from the start of the statewide Worst To First campaign, I marched down Adams Street in Tallahassee with one target in mind, the state Capitol. With so many wonderful childrens advocates accompanying me along the way, we raised our voices for education before meeting up with a much larger group; over 1,000 parents, teachers, school superintendents, community leaders, advocates and students gathered at the Capitol for the second annual Florida PTA co-sponsored Rally in Tally. Upon our arrival on Capitol grounds, the Worst To First group was greeted very enthusiastically by those fighting for education in Florida as well.

Miami has a rich tradition of powerful community leadership. Over the years, advocates have successfully tackled homelessness, education, health care and community safety. Additionally, the magic city has led the way in establishing a Children’s Trust, a special district supported by local taxes and entirely dedicated to children.

During our time in South Florida, the Worst To First team toured a world class facility, the United Way Center For Excellence in Early Education. This center is a phenomenal laboratory for cutting edge early learning and has partnerships with fourteen universities including Harvard. On top of running their own exemplary early learning school, the staff trains, certifies and provides resources to early learning schools throughout the region as well.

"Walking across the state can be tiring," said Bud Chiles, as he continued putting one foot in front of the other on his walk through Miami today. When asked about what keeps him marching on, he states, "Florida's kids." At the teams first stop, the Miami Children's Museum, he had ample opportunity to spend time with that motivation; about 50 young children. He bumped into someone special as well, The Cat in the Hat. As one of Dr. Seuss's most beloved storybook characters, The Cat in the Hat stopped by the museum to celebrate his creator's birthday and interact with the children present.

Our schedule of events in Fort Lauderdale started with a presentation to The Children's Services Council of Broward County, a group providing outstanding services to children throughout the county. The CSC is truly making long term investments in children through their care of foster and homeless kids and through the exemplary early education programs they provide. Later on, the United Way hosted a luncheon at the Flite Center with numerous community leaders in attendance.

Our second day in Tampa started with a tour of A Brighter Community, Inc. , a preschool and early education center. This organization, founded in 1925, has served four generations of Tampa's kids, is nationally accredited, serves 400 meals a day and has the fourth highest prekindergarten readiness scores of any in the state. What a program and what a partnership with United Way and the City of Tampa.

After touring A Brighter Community, fifty kids from the program walked with me to the Library where I had the chance to read to them. After finishing up, the kids returned to their preschool and I headed out to Ybor City, logging an additional six miles as I walked on through.

How great it was to have my mother and chairwoman of the Lawton Chiles Foundation, Rhea Chiles, join us in Tampa. At USF's Lawton and Rhea Chiles Center, the venue chosen for our awards luncheon, she came to present prizes to the Pasco High students from Dade City who won the Worst To First education video competition. In addition to those receiving awards, a number of community leaders and some elected officials, like Commissioner Kevin Bechner, attended as well. The Commissioner led an important discussion regarding the need for juvenile justice reform in Florida and in particular, Hillsborough County. With the highest teen incarceration rate in the state and the associated costs of incarceration in the hundred millions, the Commissioner reiterated that the need for reform is intense. The priority to stop spending tax dollars on failure and start investing them in success seems an easy decision to make.

After attending FPN’s (Florida Philantrophic Network)annual meeting, Worst To First got back on the road, picking up where we left off along the I-4 corridor. As I strapped on my walking boots and marched south from Orlando to Kissimmee, I was thankful for a cool and sunny day, ideal for my planned eight mile walk, and for the sidewalk that ran almost the entire length of my route.

In the late afternoon, I reached the Boys and Girls Club of Central Florida, the Osceola branch. The old club, located on a dirt road adjacent to a cow pasture, gives no hint externally of what goes on inside; character building and human empowerment. Our tour guide, a 16-year old teenager named Akin, was a perfect and powerful example of the moral fiber being built into the kids who attend.