Virtual schools. Florida Virtual School is battling proposed budget cuts, reports Associated Press. A state investigation finds online provider K12 Inc. employed three teachers who lacked proper certification to teach some subjects, reports StateImpact Florida.
Magnet schools. A Hillsborough high school best known for its football program starts an academic program heavy on dual enrollment. Tampa Bay Times.
Charter schools. Neighbors are upset about plans for a 2,000-student Academica charter school in East Kendall. Miami Herald.
District charter schools. The Polk district’s Step Up Academies for struggling students (no connection to Step Up For Students, which co-hosts this blog) are being asked by district officials to be even more like schools within schools. Lakeland Ledger.
Common Core. Protesters at the Capitol, reports StateImpact Florida. Tony Bennett’s thoughts on PARCC, also from StateImpact Florida.
Teacher pay. Lawmakers are doing it all wrong. Palm Beach Post.
Paddling. Back as an option in Marion, reports the Ocala Star Banner. Followup here.
P.E. Pinellas is pushing to eliminate daily P.E. in part to make it easier to calculate data for teacher evals. Tampa Bay Times.
School turnaround. Tampa Bay Times follow-up on plans to shake up staff at struggling Lacoochee Elementary in Pasco.
School grades. Palm Beach County School District officials warn parents that grades may slide this year due to tougher accountability, reports the Palm Beach Post. Students at two F-graded schools in Polk say they expect to earn a better grade this year, reports the Lakeland Ledger.
Students with disabilities. A lawsuit against the Miami-Dade School District claims a 9-year-old was sexually assaulted by an older classmate in his North Miami school, reports Miami Herald. The Orlando Sentinel’s Scott Maxwell gets a lot of reaction to his column on testing and special-needs students.
Zeros. The Broward school district is considering doing away with a score of zero and replacing it with 50. South Florida Sun Sentinel.
