Test-subbing questioned: Florida’s plan to let school districts decide whether to substitute state standardized assessment tests with the SAT or ACT probably won’t work, according to a report prepared by the Assessments Solutions Group and presented to the Florida Department of Education and the Legislature. The study’s authors say neither of the college admissions exams meet all of Florida’s academic standards for algebra 1 or for 10th-grade language arts. And because the two national exams would produce different results than the Florida Standards Assessments, it wouldn’t produce fair results for the school grading system, they argue. The $420,338 study was mandated by H.B. 7069, the education bill that passed the Legislature last year. Orlando Sentinel.
Teacher bonuses: State Rep. Loranne Ausley, D-Tallahassee, files a bill that would end the state’s Best and Brightest bonus program for teachers and principals. She also has objections to using SAT and ACT tests to help determine if teachers are eligible, and to giving principals bonuses based on the number of teachers in their school qualifying for the bonuses. “I have a problem with this Legislature’s focus on one-time bonuses vs. annual salary increases,” she says. “It’s not a responsible way for people to be able to plan their lives.” Gradebook.
Contract negotiations: The Brevard County teachers union is encouraging its members to work only the hours and duties required by the contract as a way of protesting the latest pay raise offered by the district. The district is offering a 1.3 percent pay raise, or $600, for teachers rated “effective,” and a 1.8 percent raise, or $875, to “highly effective” teachers The union wants $200 more than the offer for each set of teachers. Florida Today.
Collaborative hopes: State Rep. Shevrin Jones, D-West Park, says he hopes to see a more collaborative approach to education legislation for this legislative session, which begins Tuesday. “It’s my hope that we can, as a body, as adults, come together and sit at the table and say, ‘Hey, this is what needs to be done,” said the ranking Democrat on the House Education Committee. “What we can’t keep doing is saying, ‘Hey, I’m in charge. I can do what I want, and you all just sit back there and vote no if you want to.’ That’s not how the process should work.” Gradebook.
School closing proposed: The Marion County School District is making plans to close Evergreen Elementary School in June and turn the campus into a middle school magnet program for the performing arts for the 2018-19 school year. Evergreen has received three D and two F grades from the state in the past five years, and district officials say they would rather close the school than turn it into a charter school, hire an outside company to run it, or close it altogether as required by state law. Evergreen students would be sent to Reddick-Collier, Anthony, Sparr and South Ocala elementary schools. The school board will vote on the proposal Jan. 23. Ocala Star-Banner.
Training sessions: Okaloosa County School District administrators will get training on conducting investigations from the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Professional Practices, school board attorney Jeff McInnis said at Thursday’s meeting. The request from school board members comes after three district employees were charged with child abuse or failing to report child abuse. Northwest Florida Daily News. Manatee County School Board members receive training on communications and unity from a leadership consultant with the Florida School Board Association. Divisions among board members have surfaced recently over a special election to raise property sales for schools and the election of a board chairman. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Educators honored: Two retired Brevard County principals are among 12 people being inducted into the Space Coast Public Service Hall of Fame. Rosette Brown was a principal at McNair Magnet Middle School until she retired in 2017, and Gary Shiffrin spent 42 years at various schools in the district. Florida Today.
School board elections: Allen Altman, first elected to the Pasco County School Board in 2006, says he is running for the District 1 seat. Brian Staver is challenging him. Gradebook.
Personnel moves: Justin Troller, the former athletic director at Lakeland High School who was temporarily suspended for having “inappropriate communications” with a student, has resigned from the Polk County School District. Troller, who was eventually reinstated to a job in a district office but barred from having contact with students, is also a Lakeland city commissioner. Lakeland Ledger.
Notable deaths: Teachers and students at the Davenport School of the Arts are mourning the death of Yazmin White, an 11-year-old 6th-grader who was killed Wednesday when she was hit by a train in Haines City. Lakeland Ledger.
School choice applications: Applications for school choice assignments in the Pinellas County School District must be submitted online between Jan. 10-19. More than 10,000 students are expected to file more than 20,000 applications to get into one of the 70 schools that offer special programs, school officials say. Tampa Bay Times.
Opinions on schools: The Palm Beach County School Board should stop pitting district students against charter students and focus on giving all our children the best education possible. Marleny Olivo, Florida Politics. School choice isn’t just theoretical. Right now, more parents in Florida and across America are actively choosing the education environments for their children than at any other time in history. Andrew R. Campanella, Crestview Bulletin. Florida Democrats who supported the school choice legislation talked about how scholarship programs complement – rather than harm – existing public schools. For people looking to mend fences, those Democrats’ views deserve a closer look. Travis Pillow, redefinED.
Student enrichment: Students at William T. Dwyer High School in Palm Beach Gardens will return to school Monday to a beautified school entrance, made possible by the We Are Dwyer Foundation, Kast Construction and six other companies that donated $50,000 in supplies and labor. Palm Beach Post.
