Charter schools: The Orange County school district ties for 10th nationally for "highest growth" in charter school enrollment the past two years. Orlando Sentinel.
Career academies: The Clearwater Aeronautical Space Academy will allow Pinellas high school students to earn 30 college credits from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and complete Private Pilot Ground School. The Tampa Tribune.
FLVS: Florida Virtual School offers students flexibility when they need it. Florida Watchdog.org.
Private schools: St. John’s Episcopal Day School in Tampa donates 3,200 pounds of food to a local shelter. The Tampa Tribune.
Standardized tests: Creating an environment where students are expected to stretch their performance is the best way to assure that our nation will not be at risk, writes Michael A. MacDowell for the Fort Myers News-Press.
Achievement gaps: Florida has strong gains among White students and even stronger gains among Black students, proving once again that the Florida reform cocktail is as a highly beneficial beverage, writes Matthew Ladner for EdFly.
Finances 101: A coalition of Florida lawmakers says money matters and schools need to do a better job teaching students about finances. The Florida Current. "The Money Course" will require a half-credit, full semester financial literacy course starting next fall. Sun Sentinel. More from the Tallahassee Democrat.
Grad rates: Broward County's high school graduation rate dropped slightly in 2013, from 76.4 to 75.3. Sun Sentinel. Palm Beach County's overall graduation rate was 76.3 percent, compared to 77 percent the year before. Statewide, 75.6 percent of students graduated. Sun Sentinel. The slight drop in graduation rates for Palm Beach County is at least partly on the shoulders of the charter schools. Palm Beach Post. Polk graduated 69.4 percent of its seniors in school year 2012-13, a 2.6 percent increase over 2011-12's rate. The Ledger. More from the Orlando Sentinel, Florida Today, Florida Times-Union, Tallahassee Democrat and the Tampa Bay Times.
Teacher pay: Negotiators from the Palm Beach County School District and the county teachers union meet for more than five hours to continue to hash out contract language and to haggle over salary raises. Palm Beach Post.
School safety: Ryan Seacrest, Gloria Estefan and the Miami Heat banana man rally for a Miami elementary school to win a $200,000 grant to spend on security cameras, card readers and other high-tech tools to make the school safer. Miami Herald.
Music lessons: Parents raise money to keep a popular strings program going at two Hillsborough County elementary schools. Tampa Bay Times.
Conduct: An Escambia High School teacher is arrested on federal criminal charges of child pornography and distribution. Pensacola News-Journal. A 16-year-old Hillsborough County student is arrested after allegedly sending text messages that threatened violence at a local high school. The Tampa Tribune.
