Top superintendent: The Orange County School District’s Barbara Jenkins is named the state’s superintendent of the year at the Florida Association of District School Superintendents and Florida School Board Association conference. Jenkins became superintendent of the Orange school district in 2012. The district won the 2014 Broad Prize for Urban Education and the Governor’s Sterling Award in 2014 and 2015 for performance and efficiency. Orlando Sentinel.
School choice tool: A new state website is now available that allows parents to compare schools to find the best matches for their children. Floridastudentsachieve.org is a project from the Department of Education to make performance data about schools easily available online. The launch comes as districts are preparing to deal with a new state law that allows students to enroll in any school with a space for them. redefinED. Orlando Sentinel. WFSU. WTXL.
School recess bill: The chairman of the House education committee says he is open to considering a bill that would require daily recess in elementary schools, even though he opposed a similar bill last year. Rep. Michael Bileca, R-Miami, did not like a provision in last year’s bill that said recess could not be withheld for punitive reasons. The new bill filed by Sen. Anitere Flores, R-Miami, does not include that requirement. Miami Herald.
Immigrants and tuition: State Sen. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, files a bill that would cut off in-state college tuition rates for undocumented students. The measure giving in-state resident rates to those students who attended a Florida high school for at least three years before graduating passed the Legislature in 2014. Miami Herald. Tampa Bay Times. Politico Florida.
Records opened: The Flagler County School District is ordered by a judge to turn over prekindergarten school records in a lawsuit against the district. The parents of a then 4-year-old boy are suing the district, alleging their son was sexually assaulted and bullied at Old Kings Elementary School in 2015. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Teachers honored: Six finalists for the Brevard County teacher of the year award are chosen. They are: Jane Araguez, Saturn Elementary; Jessica Davis-King, Enterprise Elementary; James DesJardin, Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr. High; Melissa Kane, West Melbourne School for Science; Michelle Powers, Southwest Middle; and Vanessa Tress, Cocoa High. The winner will be announced Jan. 25. Florida Today.
District honored: The Palm Beach County School District is rated by Forbes magazine as the 70th-best employer in the United States. The only school district with a higher rating is Maryland’s Montgomery County, at 31st. Palm Beach Post.
Checking absenteeism: The Monroe County School District has resource officers and others closely checking students who miss school frequently, contributing to the district having one of the lowest chronic absenteeism rates in the state. Keynoter.
Joyner’s new job: The retiring St. Johns County school superintendent, Joseph Joyner, will become president of Flagler College after current president William Abare retires in June. St. Augustine Record.
Attorney wants to return: Wes Bridges, longtime attorney for the Polk County School Board who resigned to take a job in Portland, Ore., now wants his old job back. Bridges withdrew from the Portland job after his 2009 conviction for a public records violation was made public. His resignation has not been officially voted on by the Polk board, and the issue will be discussed at the Dec. 13 meeting. Lakeland Ledger.
Contract negotiations: Pasco County School Superintendent Kurt Browning is proposing the school board gives raises to nonunion employees of the district before an agreement is reached with union workers. Negotiations between the district and the union broke down Nov. 9. Gradebook.
School buses: Marion County school officials are considering an awareness campaign to urge students to use seat belts when they’re on school buses. About 80 percent of the district buses have seat belts, but officials say use is sporadic and enforcement is difficult, especially with older students. Ocala Star Banner. Santa Rosa School District officials say they need more school bus drivers, primarily as backups. Northwest Florida Daily News.
3 hurt in crash: Three students from Howard Middle School are injured when their school bus collides with a car in Orlando. None of the injuries is serious. The cause of the accident has not been determined. Orlando Sentinel.
Substitute arrested: A Manatee County schools substitute teacher is arrested and accused of molesting three girls, 10, 12 and 13. Brad Bellingar, 29, knew the girls outside of school. School officials said they had no complaints about Bellingar on file. Bradenton Herald. WFLA.
Students arrested: A 13-year-old girl is arrested for bringing a loaded gun to Carol City Middle School in Miami Gardens. A school staffer saw her threatening two classmates with the gun and confiscated it. Miami Herald. An 18-year-old student is arrested after a fight in the Westwood High School cafeteria. TCPalm.
Opinions on schools: The 19-member committee that chose five finalists for the Lake County school superintendent job was not permitted by a consulting firm to talk with any of the 98 applicants or do any research on its own. Isn’t that just standard operation for the Lake County School District? Lauren Ritchie, Orlando Sentinel. Schools and districts in Florida should be offering their students high quality physics courses and then doing everything they can to coax their students to take them. Paul Cottle, Bridge to Tomorrow.
Student enrichment: Bats are getting into Newberry Elementary School in Gainesville, so students are taking advantage of their presence by studying them for projects. Gainesville Sun. Some students at Stephen Foster Elementary School in Gainesville are getting weekly lessons in the martial arts as part of a free after-school program. Gainesville Sun. Westside Elementary School launches Tiger Clubs, a program that offers students exposure to music, drama, photography, computer design and more things they don’t get in classes or at home. Tampa Bay Times. Apollo Beach Elementary School becomes the first in Florida to adopt the Run Hard program, which gets kids moving and teaches them about healthy living. Tampa Bay Times.
