Testing standards: The Florida Board of Education votes 6-1 to follow the recommendation of Education Commissioner Pam Stewart on how to use the Florida Standards Assessments tests to rate student progress and grade schools. Board vice chairman John Padget and many business and education officials were calling for harder scoring and grading plans. School grades will be issued Feb. 9. Tampa Bay Times. Miami Herald. Orlando Sentinel. Tampa Tribune. Palm Beach Post. Florida Times-Union. Pensacola News Journal. Lakeland Ledger. TCPalm. Bradenton Herald. Tallahassee Democrat. St. Augustine Record. WFSU. Sunshine State News. Gov. Rick Scott and his allies in public education claim victory over former Gov. Jeb Bush and his allies in the fight over setting performance benchmarks for Florida’s students and schools. Politico Florida.
Grading schools, states: The nation’s schools receive a C grade in the annual Education Week’s Quality Counts report. Florida was 29th among the 50 states with a C-minus grade. Massachusetts is first with a B-plus, and Nevada is last with a D. Education Week.
Students’ bill: Florida House Rep. Chris Latvala, R-Dunedin, files a bill that was created by two Countryside High School students that would offer high school students an elective course for life skills, leadership development, college planning and a study hall. Florida Politics.
School calendar: Okaloosa County schools will start Aug. 10 and end May 26, 2017 Here’s the full calendar. The move was made to end the first semester in December and start the second after the holidays. Northwest Florida Daily News.
New virtual tools: Florida Virtual School is partnering with Knewton to build personalized courses for students, starting this spring. Virtual-Strategy magazine. THE Journal.
School rules: Some parents are complaining the rules at Oviedo’s Evans Elementary School are too strict, but principal Carol Ann Darnell says universal rules about behavior go hand-in-hand with classroom performance. Orlando Sentinel.
Superintendent investigated: Polk County School Superintendent Kathryn LeRoy is the subject of a school district internal investigation after a complaint is filed by an associate superintendent. The nature of the complaint is unknown, although the school board chairman says she believes sexual harassment was one of the allegations. Lakeland Ledger.
Principal accused: Police say the former principal at Hagen Road Elementary School near Boynton Beach passed off district instruction manuals as his own and sold them online. Richard Hughes was removed from his post in June and retired in November as the district was wrapping up the investigations of the book sales and sexual harassment allegations against him. Palm Beach Post.
Teacher arrested: A Crestview High School geography teacher is arrested and charged with driving under the influence and battery on an officer. Northwest Florida Daily News.
Teacher attacked: A 30-year-old woman is arrested and accused of attacking her son’s 57-year-old second grade teacher in the classroom at Roosevelt Elementary School. Palm Beach Post. Sun-Sentinel.
Theft from PTSA: The former president of the Parent Teacher Student Association at Beachside Montessori Village School is accused of stealing more than $53,000 from the organization, according to police. Sun-Sentinel.
Students’ hazing hearing: A hearing for two former West Florida High sophomores accused of hazing a football teammate on a school bus after a game Oct. 1 adjourns after four hours of testimony, and will resume Jan. 22. Pensacola News Journal.
Shooting notification: Some parents are angry that it took 45 minutes for the Orange County Sheriff’s Office to notify Palmetto Elementary School in Pinecrest that there was a triple shooting at a nearby apartment complex. WESH.
Notable deaths: Without a push from Lincoln Park Academy art teacher Zanobia Jefferson, who has died at age 89, it’s doubtful there would have been the group of African-American landscape painters that came to be known as the Highwaymen. TCPalm.
Money for tennis courts: The Manatee County School Board will vote Tuesday whether to spend $375,000 to refurbish the tennis courts at King Middle School. Bradenton Herald.
Opinions on schools: A child’s close friendship with another child is a positive influence on how that child does in school. Laurie Futterman, Miami Herald. It shouldn’t be a surprise that Florida students are doing well in math and reading. Michael A. MacDowell, Naples Daily News. The impasse between teachers and the St. Johns School District is not necessarily a bad thing. St. Augustine Record.
Student enrichment: The owner of Phalanx Defense Systems donates a $160,000 mechanic armored navigational terrain interface stealth system and a $60,000 bomb disposal robot to students at the Professional Academies Magnet at Loften High. Gainesville Sun. JetBlue Airways donates 500 books to Turie T. Small Elementary School in Volusia County. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
