Charter schools: A former chairman of the Florida Board of Regents and a founder of the Lake Wales Charter School System speaks out about the success of charters. The Ledger.
Magnet schools: Students attending a Miami architectural magnet high school design homes for the homeless. Miami Herald. Increased competition for students, declining enrollment in the middle grades, and a need to offer more attractive options to families is leading Pinellas County Schools to open new magnet programs. Tampa Bay Times.
School choice: Parents and students tell Pasco school officials that the district needs to take into account student interests when preparing new academic offerings. Tampa Bay Times.
Academic gap: After years of struggling to close the achievement gap between black and white students, the newest round of SAT scores show signs of improvement. The Tampa Tribune.
GED: Starting Jan. 2, the new GED test will be offered only on the computer and will be nearly twice as expensive as the current one — $130 compared to $70. The Tampa Tribune.
Bullying: The Hernando County School District holds its first town hall meeting on bullying. Tampa Bay Times.
Corporal punishment: Paddling persists in Florida schools. Florida Times-Union.
Teacher pay: Palm Beach County district officials and teachers continue to debate raises. Palm Beach Post. Hillsborough County doles out raises that equal about 4 percent of teachers’ salaries. The Tampa Tribune.
Principals: A former Polk County principal under fire for her handling of Hispanic students is reassigned to another school as assistant principal. The Ledger.
BOE: An email suggests politics surrounding Common Core, not family matters, are behind the sudden resignation of a state Board of Education member. Florida Times-Union.
Prepaid tuition: Ten years ago, parents could make a lump-sum payment of $9,500 for their newborn — and have all four years of college covered. Today, that amount is $53,729, writes Scott Maxwell for the Orlando Sentinel.
Safety: The deaths of two Broward County elementary school students prompts a safety belt campaign. Sun Sentinel.
Holocaust: Fort Lauderdale students create a wall of beads to honor Holocaust victims. Sun Sentinel.
Rhodes scholar: A Tampa man who graduated summa cum laude from Wake Forest University in May is selected as a Rhodes scholar to study next year at Oxford University. Associated Press.
Conduct: A Hillsborough County teacher is arrested on drug possession charges after a search of her home yields marijuana, paraphernalia and cash. The Tampa Tribune.
