Around the state: Broward’s school board is considering a proposing to lengthen the middle school day by 10 minutes, school sports are being added to two Pasco career-technical high schools, the air quality in a Pinellas classroom has been deemed safe for students, an Orange County high school music teacher is one of 10 finalists for a Grammy award, Sarasota schools announce their teacher of the year, and Flagler schools announce their top principal and assistant principal. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Miami-Dade: Teachers union president Karla Hernandez-Mats has announced she won’t run for re-election after nine years in the position. Today is the deadline for candidates to submit their names for the election Feb. 26. “As a leader you always want to leave when you are at the top of the game,” said Hernandez-Mats. She says she is weighing opportunities, but wants to continue her advocacy in the education and labor fields. Miami Herald.
Broward: A proposed calendar for the 2025-2026 school year would add 10 minutes a day in the classroom for middle school students so they can be off on the Hindu holiday of Diwali, which falls on Oct. 20 next year, and so the district can finish the first semester before the winter break while preserving a full week off over Thanksgiving. The school year would begin Aug. 11, 2025, and end June 3, 2026. School board members are expected to vote on the proposal Tuesday. Sun Sentinel.
Orange: Ocoee High School’s band director has been selected as one of 10 finalists for the Grammys’ 2025 Music Educator Award. Bernie Hendricks, 51, has been a music teacher for almost 30 years. As a finalist, Hendricks wins $1,000, with a matching grant for his school, and a trip to Los Angeles for the awards ceremony in February. Orlando Sentinel.
Palm Beach: A teacher who was recommended for termination has resigned, according to district records. Omni Middle School science teacher Lovell Northern,79, was being fired for telling students from Haiti, Ukraine and Russia to “go back where they came from” and saying they would be deported, a district investigation had found. Palm Beach Post. A science teacher at Palm Beach Central High School has been removed from the classroom and is being investigated by the district. Principal Reginald Myers did not disclose why Steven Allen was removed, saying in a letter to parents that “since this is an open investigation, we cannot supply any further details at this time.” WPBF.
Polk: Lake Wales city commissioners have approved the installation of speed-detection cameras in school zones in the city. It’s the sixth city in the county to add cameras, which detect drivers going more than 10 mph over the limit and mail them tickets. WFTS,
Pinellas: The air and water quality in the Pasadena Fundamental Elementary School classroom of a teacher who died of pneumonia last month has been declared safe. District officials said Friday that companies hired to test the air and water showed no signs of the legionella pneumophila that led to the death of teacher Katherine Pennington on Nov. 24. “Building 4 is now clear for staff and students to begin to return to that part of the campus,” the district said in a statement. WFLA.
Pasco: Sports programs will be added to the extracurricular activities offered at two career-technical high schools, Krinn Technical High and Kirkland Ranch Academy of Innovation, in 2026. A third technology-focused magnet school, Angeline Academy of Innovation, also wasn’t supposed to have sports teams when it opened in 2023, but several were added after parents indicated the absence of sports could affect their decisions to have their children attend the school. “Athletics are important for students,” said board member Colleen Beaudoin. “There’s a lot that can be learned from being part of a team.” Tampa Bay Times.
Volusia: A four-year contract for Superintendent Carmen Balgobin was approved by the school board last week. The extension of the three-year contract Balgobin signed when she was hired in 2022 now runs through July 1, 2029, and will pay her $280,000 a year plus other benefits. Daytona Beach News-Journal. A school nurse at New Smyrna Beach High School has been arrested for allegedly making arrangements online to travel to meet a minor and committing an offense against a student. Joshua Leggett, 50, has been placed on leave and will have no contact with students, district officials said. WOFL. WKMG.
Sarasota: Kelly Rozelle, a history teacher at Venice High School, has been named the school district’s teacher of the year. She will now represent the district in the state teacher of the year award competition. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Members of the county planning commission have approved a charter school contractor’s request to expand on a 22-acre Fruitville Road property just east of Sarasota. The Sarasota Classical Preparatory Academy would take over the property that currently houses The Classical Academy, which is moving. Two classroom buildings, an early learning center, a playground and an amphitheater would be added to the existing buildings. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Escambia: A ninth grade will be added to the Warrington Preparatory Academy in Pensacola next fall, and school officials plan to expand through the 12th grade by 2028, Charter Schools USA announced last week. Up to 150 students are expected to be added to the school’s current enrollment of 574, which includes 199 eighth graders, 227 seventh graders and 148 sixth graders. Pensacola News Journal.
Leon: Superintendent Rocky Hanna’s decision last week to disqualify charter school students playing on the Montford Middle School soccer team was overturned by Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. Florida High School Athletic Association executive director Craig Damon had called the district’s initial decision to disqualify Montford “unconscionable,” and Diaz supported that position, calling Hanna a “grinch.” Tallahassee Democrat. A 14-year-old student at Nims Middle School in Tallahassee was arrested Friday and accused of having a loaded gun at school. Authorities said they discovered the weapon in the boy’s backpack while investigating a complaint about vaping. Tallahassee Democrat. WTXL.
Hernando: School board members voted last week to remove three challenged books from school libraries for having inappropriate sexual content, despite a recommendation from a district committee that they be kept but with restrictions based on grade levels. The books are The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, Graceling by Kristen Cashore, and Real Live Boyfriends by E. Lockhart. Hernando Today.
Flagler: Kristin Bozeman of Matanzas High School has been named the school district’s principal of the year, and Mandy Kraverotis of Flagler Palm Coast High School has been chosen as the assistant principal of the year. Both are now eligible for the statewide awards. Flagler Live. District officials are projecting a need in the next decade for a new middle school for up to 2,000 students and a new high school for 2,600, despite a slight decline in enrollment in the district’s nine traditional brick and mortar schools since 2007. Cost estimates for the two schools total $405 million. Flagler Live.
Walton: A special education teacher at the WISE Center in Defuniak Springs has been arrested and accused of mistreating a nonverbal 3-year-old student on Dec. 10. Deputies say videos show Tonya Gainey slamming the child’s arm during lunchtime, throwing away his food and then ignoring him. She’s been removed from contact with students pending the results of the investigation. WMBB. WJHG.
Colleges and universities: University of Florida trustees have approved a downtown Jacksonville site as a home for the Florida Semiconductor Institute, which is projected to open in the fall of 2026. Trustees also approved requiring sign-off by the trustee chair on certain administrative appointments and consulting agreements. WJXT. WOFL. WUFT. Brooke Barnett, the provost and executive vice president at Butler University, has been named the 16th president of Rollins College in Orlando. She will succeed Grant Cornwell, who retires June 30, 2025, after 10 years as president. WOFL. Orlando Sentinel.
Opinions on schools: Eliminating basic graduation requirements doesn’t help students. It lets the system off the hook, especially when it comes to serving those who have traditionally been underserved by the public school system. Jay Reddick, Orlando Sentinel. Politics may have killed universal pre-K, but the research, results and family economics that made it seem inevitable a decade ago are alive and well. Conor P. Williams, The 74.
