School district closings: Public school districts around the state are closing as Hurricane Milton approaches the west coast of Florida, with landfall of the major storm expected early Thursday morning near the Tampa Bay area. Districts affected include Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando, Citrus, Polk, Manatee, Sarasota, Lee, Collier, Charlotte, DeSoto, Glades, Hendry, Hardee, Highlands, Alachua, Bradford, Marion, Lake, Sumter, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Duval, St. Johns, Clay, Flagler, Dixie, Gilchrist, Nassau, Levy, Hamilton, Putnam, Volusia, Brevard, St. Lucie, Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach. Florida Department of Education.
Colleges closing: Colleges around the state are also suspending classes this week because of the storm. Schools affected include the University of Florida, University of South Florida, University of Central Florida, New College of Florida, Florida Gulf Coast University, Stetson University, University of Tampa, Eckerd College, Florida Polytechnic University, Saint Leo University, Florida Southern College, Flagler College, Florida Atlantic University, Florida International University, University of Miami, Nova Southeastern University, Palm Beach Atlantic, Rollins College, University of North Florida, Edward Waters University, Jacksonville University, St. Petersburg College, Pasco-Hernando State College, Indian River State College, Ringling College of Art and Design, Santa Fe College, Daytona State College, Lake-Sumter State College, Florida SouthWestern State College, Palm Beach State College, Valencia College, College of Central Florida, Eastern Florida State College, Hillsborough Community College, Seminole State College, State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota, South Florida State College, Polk State College, Broward College, Miami-Dade College, Florida State College at Jacksonville and St. Johns River State College. Florida Department of Education.
Around the state: Duval school officials twice rejected an investigator’s recommendation to remove a teacher who was accused of publicly exposing himself, one of the constitutional amendments on the Nov. 5 ballot would require school board candidates to declare their party affiliation, Brevard’s school board chair is in a runoff Nov. 5 with a challenger for the District 4 seat, Florida Atlantic University trustees recently agreed to extend interim president Stacy Volnick’s contract to the end of 2025 or whenever a new president is appointed, and the University of Florida has received a 3-D printer that can make houses, seawalls and more. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Orange: A circuit court judge has put off making a decision whether to dismiss a lawsuit over the school district’s plans to sell the site of the former Hungerford School in Eatonville. The Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community and a descendant of Robert Hungerford brought the suit, calling the land “pivotal to the cultural landscape of this historic town and to the town’s very survival.” Attorneys for the school district say it is immune to the suit. Central Florida Public Media.
Duval: A school district investigator asked district officials twice to remove a Douglas Anderson School of the Arts teacher accused of publicly exposing himself, but was denied, according to internal district records. The investigator recommended that math teacher Christopher Allen-Black, 54, be removed from the classroom after his arrest in February at a Walt Disney resort, and again March 11 after the full police report was filed. Jacksonville Today.
Brevard: School board chair Matt Susin is being challenged for his District 4 seat on Nov. 5 by Avanese Taylor, a mom and a member of the U.S. Navy. They met in the August primary, with Susin getting 48.34 percent of the vote and Taylor 33.16 percent. The rest of the vote was split between two other candidates, and because no one got 50 percent the top two finishers advanced to the runoff. Susin’s platform centers on school safety, parental rights and increasing workforce opportunities for students. Taylor says she’ll take a nonpartisan approach, and believes it’s important to let professionals handle issues such as book selection. Florida Today.
Escambia: The United Way of West Florida appears to be the front-runner to be the lead agency for the Escambia Children’s Trust Healthy Schools Initiative. United Way and its partners submitted a bid of $804,000 to oversee the Children’s Trust’s Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child program at O.J. Semmes Elementary and Global Learning Academy this academic year. The program will include on-site medical, dental and eye services, social and mental health services, nutrition and health education, after-school physical and academic support programs and student mentoring. The Children’s Trust board votes on the proposal tonight. If it’s approved, the program would begin Nov. 1. Pensacola News Journal.
Alachua: Eastside High School in Gainesville has been named to the platinum Advanced Placement honor roll by the College Board. Schools are chosen on three criteria: the percentage of all full-time graduating seniors who took an AP course, the percentage who earned a score of 3 or above on an AP exam, and the percentage who took at least five AP courses, including at least one as a freshman or sophomore. Four other Alachua schools have also been honored: Buchholz and Gainesville high schools earned silver awards, and Professional Academies Magnet@Loften High and Santa Fe High were named bronze winners. Gainesville Sun.
Colleges and universities: Florida Atlantic University trustees recently agreed to extend interim president Stacy Volnick’s contract to the end of 2025 or whenever a new president is appointed, whichever comes first. Volnick also received a pay raise of 5 percent, from $525,000 to $551,250, and a $100,000 bonus. She was appointed as the school’s interim leader in January 2023. Palm Beach Post. A 3-D construction printer that can create houses, seawalls and more has arrived at the University of Florida. It will be used by students in the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering. Gainesville Sun.
Constitutional amendments: Six constitutional amendments are on the ballot Nov. 5, including one that would require local school board candidates to disclose their political party on ballots, starting in 2026. Amendment 1 supporters say party declarations will help voters judge candidates, while opponents say it will accentuate partisanship. The amendment has to be approved by more than 60 percent of voters to be added to the state constitution. Tampa Bay Times. WTVJ.
Florida preschool ratings: A new rating system is now in place to grade preschools on how much children improve. It replaces a readiness test to judge preschool quality that critics said penalized schools with children from low-income families. Results of readiness tests will still be considered, but will carry less weight in the overall ratings. “I’m excited that they’re putting more weight on what the teacher’s doing in the classroom, because that’s what’s important,” said Timothy Davis, owner of Park Avenue Child Care and Learning Center in Apopka. Orlando Sentinel.
Around the nation: Fewer middle and high school teachers are assigning students to read books, a trend that is accelerating as educators are dealing with students’ shorter attention spans and the dominance of short-form content, and a greater demand to use classtime to prepare for standardized testing. “The time has come to decenter book reading and essay-writing as the pinnacles of English language arts education,” the National Council of Teachers of English conceded in a statement on media education. Associated Press.
Opinions on schools: The number of northerners going to southern public colleges and universities went up 84 percent over the past two decades, and jumped 30 percent from 2018 to 2022. Students say they are searching for the fun and school spirit emanating from the South. Their parents cite lower tuition and less debt, and warmer weather. College counselors also say many teens are eager to trade the political polarization ripping apart northern campuses for the sense of community epitomized by the South’s football Saturdays. Matthew Ladner, NextSteps. The presidential candidates’ lack of vision and policy on education disproportionately harms low-income students of color. How many more students will be ignored before we make education a priority at the White House again? Bettina L. Love, Education Week.
