Districts & Charter Schools

Florida schools roundup: Charters, magnet schools, FCAT & more

12/17/13 | Sherri Ackerman

Charter schools: University Preparatory Academy in Pinellas County names a new principal, a public school transformation coach from North Carolina. Tampa Bay Times. The Lake Wales Charter Schools board of trustees approves a pay bump for more than 400 instructional and non-instructional personnel. The Ledger.

florida-roundup-logoMagnet schools: Pinellas County School Board members explore reopening two shuttered schools, turning them into technology centers. The Tampa Tribune.

FCAT: Five standardized test makers formally apply to help create a replacement for the FCAT by 2015, and a sixth also wants to be considered for the job. Orlando Sentinel.

GED: StateImpact Florida looks at the growing alternatives to the GED.

Lobbyists: Contract extensions of two longtime lobbyists that the Palm Beach County School Board approved and then rescinded are back before the board. Palm Beach Post.

Outsourcing: The Broward County School Board will vote today on the first big piece of its construction outsourcing plan that already is generating controversy. Miami Herald.

Job switch: Hernando County’s superintendent moves her assistant superintendent to the district’s manager of warehouse and purchasing. Tampa Bay Times.

Wish lists: The Polk County School Board offers up its legislative priorities, with a “critical needs” tax at the top of the list. The Ledger.

Mentoring: Elevate Orlando puts students and teacher-mentors together in the classroom, after school and on weekends. Orlando Sentinel.

New name: Duval County School Board members vote unanimously to change the name of Nathan B. Forrest High School, casting aside the name that many associate with slavery, Civil War crimes and racism. Florida Times-Union. More from StateImpact Florida.

New attitude: Positive Behavior Support System is an unconventional approach to discipline that Escambia County and a growing number of school districts across the country are trying to help improve student learning. Pensacola News-Journal.

Real life: The unhealthy Indian River Lagoon becomes an environmental lesson for Treasure Coast students. TC Palm.

Reading Oasis: A new program is helping Hillsborough County students by getting books in the hands of children who might not have them at home. Tampa Bay Times.
Bus accident: Fifteen students are taken to area hospitals Monday afternoon after one school bus rear-ended another in Bradenton. Associated Press.
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BY Sherri Ackerman

Sherri Ackerman is the former associate editor of redefinED. She is a former correspondent for the Tampa Bay Times and reporter for The Tampa Tribune, writing about everything from cops and courts to social services and education. She grew up in Indiana and moved to Tampa as a teenager, graduating from Brandon High School and, later, from the University of South Florida with a bachelor’s degree in mass communications/news editing. Sherri passed away in March 2016.