Around the state: More than 500,000 students have now been awarded K-12 scholarships from the state, districts around Florida are reporting their public high school graduation rates for 2024, Broward teachers and staff will wear start wearing ID badges next fall that include a panic button, the Volusia and Gadsden school districts announce their teacher of the year, and Hernando County has added a K-9 deputy to help sniff out vapes and other contraband paraphernalia. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Miami-Dade, Broward: High school graduation rates improved in 2024 for both the Miami-Dade and Broward school districts, according to data from the Florida Department of Education. Miami-Dade’s rate was a record 91.8%, higher than the state average of 89.7%, while Broward’s rate was 89%. Sun Sentinel. WTVJ. Broward teachers and other school employees will begin wearing ID badges that include panic buttons next fall. Pressing the button three times will notify the school official of a medical emergency, and pressing eight times will summon law enforcement and trigger a school lockdown. Sun Sentinel. A teacher at the Aspire Preparatory Academy charter school in Miami Gardens, 25-year-old Chrishawn Nicholson, was arrested last week and accused of hitting a 5-year-old student with a ruler last November. WPLG. WSVN. WTVJ.
Tampa Bay area: The Pinellas and Pasco school districts both bettered the state’s 2024 high school graduation rate of 89.7%. Pasco’s rate of 95.5% and Pinellas’ rate of 91.5%, were both improvements from 2023. Hillsborough’s 2024 graduation rate of 88% was unchanged from the previous year. Tampa Bay Times.
Central Florida: High school graduation rates were up sharply in the Lake and Osceola school districts in 2024 and stayed the same in Orange and Seminole counties. Lake’s rate was 91.7%, up 2 percentage points, and Osceola’s 88.8% was up 4 percentage points. Orange’s rate remained at 89.3%, and Seminole’s at 91.8%. Orlando Sentinel. Positively Osceola.
Palm Beach: The district’s 2024 high school graduation rate was 92.1%, up from 90.5% in 2023. Eight schools graduated 100% of their students, up from one the previous year. Palm Beach Post.
Duval: A record 90.9% of district high school seniors graduated in 2024, up from 87.2% in 2023 and bettering the previous record of 90.2% in 2020. Jacksonville Today.
Lee: Improvement in the district’s 2024 graduation rate wasn’t enough to reach the state average of 89.7%, according to state data. Lee’s rate went from 85.1% in 2023 to 85.8% last year. WGCU. Joe Roles, a former teacher, football coach and administrator in district schools, died Jan. 4 at the age of 82. Fort Myers News-Press.
Brevard: Eleven high schools improved their graduation rates in 2024 to lead the district to an overall mark of 89.8%, slightly higher than the state average. Space Coast Daily.
Volusia: Jeremy Davies, a math teacher in the International Baccalaureate program at Spruce Creek High School in Port Orange, has been named the school district’s teacher of the year. He’s now eligible for the statewide award. Volusia County School District.
Manatee: The district’s graduation rate improved last year from 82.3% to 85.7%, but remains below the state average. WWSB. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
St. Lucie, Martin, Indian River: All three Treasure Coast school districts boasted graduation rates higher than the state’s average of 89.7% in 2024. St. Lucie’s rate went up from 91.5% in 2023 to 94.3% last year, while Martin improved from 90.3% to 92% and Indian River from 95.6% to 96.2%. TCPalm. A 15-year-old student at Fort Pierce Westwood Academy in St. Lucie County was arrested last week and accused of having a loaded gun in his backpack. TCPalm. WPTV. WPEC.
Sarasota: A record graduation rate of 92.5% in 2024, up from 2023’s 90.3%, has moved the school district’s ranking from 19th to 13th among the state’s 67 county districts. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Charlotte Sun. In the past 24 years, the number of charter schools in the county has increased from 1 to 14 and enrollment has gone from 1,412 students to 7,178. Eight of the schools are combination schools, three are middle schools, two are elementaries and the other is a high school. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Escambia, Santa Rosa: Public high school graduation rates rose in 2024 in both Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. Santa Rosa’s went from 90.4% in 2023 to 90.9% last year, and Escambia’s from 80.5% to 84.2%. Pensacola News Journal. Two students were hospitalized after the Escambia County school bus they were on was involved in an accident Friday with two cars. Highway Patrol troopers said a car ran into another car, which then ran into the school bus that had stopped to pick up a student. Neither of the injuries was considered serious, the FHP said. Pensacola News Journal. WEAR.
Alachua: The percentage of district seniors graduating in 2024 declined slightly, from 84.2% in 2023 to 84.1% last spring. Mainstreet Daily News. Gainesville Sun.
Bay: A record 91.4% of district high school seniors graduated in 2024, moving the district to 20th in the state just two years after being 42nd. WMBB. WJHG.
Hernando: The district’s graduation rate declined slightly in 2024, to 88.1% from 89% in 2023. Hernando County School District. Add Hernando to the districts that now have a K-9 deputy to help sniff out vapes and other contraband paraphernalia. Skyy is a black Labrador retriever. Hernando County School District.
Columbia: Some students will be headed to a new school in the fall. Five Points Elementary School in Lake City is closing at the end of this school year, and the rebuilt NiBlack Elementary will reopen. Superintendent Keith Couey said renovation work will then begin on Eastside Elementary, with its students attending Melrose Park. The work is being financed with the extra half-cent sales tax approved by voters in 2022. WCJB.
Walton: The school district’s 97.4% graduation rate in 2024 was the second-highest in the state to Lafayette’s 100%. That’s an improvement of 20% since 2016, says Superintendent A. Russell Hughes. WJHG.
Gadsden: Ashley Uchebo, a teacher at the K-8 Havana Magnet School, has been chosen as the school district’s teacher of the year. She’s now eligible for the statewide competition. WCTV. Gadsden County School District.
Colleges and universities: The number of first-year students enrolling in Florida universities declined 4% in the fall of 2024 and 5% nationwide, according to a recent analysis. Experts say the key to stemming enrollment losses is keeping the higher education system affordable and accessible. Tampa Bay Times.
Choice scholarships: More than 524,000 students have been awarded scholarships under the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, Florida Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options and the Florida Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Disabilities programs, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Friday. In total, nearly 1.4 million Florida students are now using a scholarship option. In 2023, DeSantis signed House Bill 1, which eliminated all financial eligibility restrictions for scholarships. Office of the Governor. Here’s a history of the growth of education choice programs and enrollment in Florida. NextSteps. Meet five families who have taken control of their children’s educational destiny with the help of state scholarships. NextSteps.
Opinions on schools: The path to economic success lies in embracing a “no wrong door” approach. By valuing all postsecondary pathways — whether a four-year degree, two-year degree, certification or a credential — Florida can unlock opportunities for every individual. Paul Luna and Mark Wilson, Orlando Sentinel.
