NAEP test scores down: Math and reading scores for 13-year-olds on the National Assessment of Educational Progress test fell for the first time in the 50-year history of the test. The decline can’t be blamed on the pandemic, either. Almost 9,000 13-year-olds from 450 U.S. schools took the test in 2019, between October and December, and math scores dropped an average of 5 points while reading scores were down an average of 3 points. The results. announced Thursday, stunned Peggy Carr, the head of the U.S. Education Department agency that administers the test. “None of these results are impressive,” said Carr. “They’re all concerning. The math results were particularly daunting, in particular for 13-year-olds. I’ve never reported a decline like this.” Results for 9-year-olds were also released, but they showed no significant changes since 2012. Politico. K-12 Dive. The 74. Education Week. Chalkbeat.
In the Legislature: A bill has been filed for the 2022 legislative session that would create a nine-day back-to-school tax holiday next summer. S.B. 500, proposed by state Sen. Keith Perry, R-Gainesville, would prevent the collection of state and local sales taxes from July 29 through Aug. 7 on clothing and backpacks costing $60 or less, personal computers that cost $1,000 or less and school supplies that are $15 or less. News Service of Florida.
Around the state: A television station in south Florida is reporting that the accused Parkland school shooter will plead guilty to killing 17 students and employees and wounding 17 others, Orange and Brevard school officials say they will continue their face mask mandates despite the state’s threat to withhold funding, some Broward school board members want the district to end its association with a human rights group financed by Scientology, a Brevard school board member’s description of threats she’s faced because she supports mask mandates has gone viral, a mention of the Black Lives Matter movement in a reading passage in 5th grade curriculum materials in Sarasota County has been removed, a 49-year-old University of Central Florida instructor has died of COVID-related complications, and some former Palm Beach County teachers talk about why they left their jobs. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Broward: Nikolas Cruz reportedly plans to plead guilty today to the killing of 17 students and employees and wounding of 17 others in 2018 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Another report indicated Cruz would not be at the hearing and that the guilty plea would be submitted at a later date. Attorneys for Cruz, 23, a former student at the school, had previously offered a guilty plea in exchange for a sentence of life in prison, but prosecutors have been seeking the death penalty and said Thursday that no plea deal had been reached. A guilty plea would move the court proceedings directly to the penalty phase, in which a jury would determine whether Cruz receives the death penalty or spends the rest of his life in prison. WSVN. Associated Press. Sun Sentinel. Miami Herald. WPLG. Some school board members are calling for an end to the district’s relationship with a Clearwater human rights group that is funded by Scientology. The group, called Youth for Human Rights, has been training teachers for more than a decade. School officials said the curriculum meets district standards and that they can’t discriminate on the basis of religion. Sun Sentinel.
Orange: School officials have responded to the state’s warning to amend the district’s face mask mandate or face financial penalties by providing the state with the salaries of school board members and declaring that the mask mandate would continue until the number of coronavirus cases in the community drops to 50 per 100,000 people. “We’re going to continue to move forward with what we think is best for our children and work with our parents as we transition to the next phase,” said school spokesman Scott Howat. WKMG. WMFE. WESH.
Palm Beach: More than 150 district teachers resigned between late summer and the end of September, according to districts records. That’s about twice as many than in 2019, and a couple dozen more than in 2020. About 20 percent of those teachers had at least 10 years of experience, and seven had 20 years or more. Several of them discussed their reasons for resigning, including health risks, standardized testing, lack of respect and low pay. They moved to private schools, started their own schools, switched careers, and quit to take care of their families. Krystle Bounds, who left to start a business making candles, said, “Teaching is emotionally draining, physically draining in a way that no other job is. We’re parents. We’re referees. We’re friends. When I thought of all that combined, it just was not worth it.” Palm Beach Post.
Polk: The process for enrolling in magnet or choice schools has been revised for the 2022-2023 school year. There will be three enrollment windows for parents to apply, starting in January and continuing until the school year begins next August. “The objective was to reimagine the way that we do choice applications and choice open enrollment in our district,” said Steve Cochran, senior director of workforce education and multiple pathways. “We worked extremely hard, did a lot of legwork to bring us an exciting new opportunity for the parents and stakeholders.” Lakeland Ledger.
Brevard: The school board’s response to the state over the district’s face mask mandate contends that the state Board of Education did not provide the district with due process, and therefore “failed to satisfy the requirements for a finding against the substantial interests of the school board and district, and as such may be invalid.” The state is threatening to financially penalize the district for its policy, which requires students to wear masks unless they have a medical excuse from a doctor. The state’s rules insist only parents have the right to decide if their children wear masks. Superintendent Mark Mullins said that mask rules can be relaxed once the number of community coronavirus cases drops to 50 per 100,000 population. It’s currently at 83. WFTV. WKMG. WMFE. WESH. Comments made by school board member Jennifer Jenkins at a board meeting this week have gone viral. Jenkins described a campaign of harassment against her by anti-mask protesters. “I don’t reject them standing outside my home. I reject them following me around in a car, following my car around. I reject them saying that they’re ‘coming for me,’ that I need to ‘beg for mercy.’ I reject that, when they are using their First Amendment rights on public property, they’re also going behind my home and brandishing their weapons to my neighbors, that they’re making false (Department of Children and Family) claims against me to my daughter, that I have to take a DCF investigator to her playdate to go underneath her clothing and check for burn marks.” Florida Today. An armed 17-year-old student was arrested Thursday as he rushed toward the field of a junior varsity football game at Astronaut High School in Titusville. Florida Today. WKMG. WESH.
Manatee: A student who fell off the monkey bars on the playground at Braden River Elementary School in Bradenton on Wednesday was airlifted by helicopter to a hospital. The 6-year-old 1st-grader fell about 10 feet and broke his “right elbow/arm area,” according to the 911 call. Manatee County EMS decided to call for a medical evacuation in an “abundance of caution,” principal Joshua Bennett told school families in a message. Chloe Conboy, the strategic affairs manager for Manatee’s Public Safety Department, said, “The decision was made because the patient met trauma alert criteria and needed a pediatric trauma facility.” Bradenton Herald.
Sarasota: A mention of the Black Lives Matter movement in a reading passage in 5th grade curriculum materials has been removed. District officials said it “may be controversial” and “in conflict” with the Florida Department of Education’s order not to teach content that constitutes critical race theory, which states that racism is embedded in U.S. legal systems, institutions and policies. WUSF. A science and music teacher at the Triad alternative school for students who are placed there in lieu of being suspended because of behavior issues has gotten creative as a way to engage his students and keep them interested in learning. Brian Upholz started a school band, a new music class and a community garden to build rapport. “With at-risk students, you’ve got to learn through observation and patience what the needs are of each student,” Upholz said. “You pay attention to cues, miscues, and you work on building that circle of trust.” Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
St. Lucie: Three live 9mm cartridges were found by a student Wednesday in the auditorium of Treasure Coast High School in Port St. Lucie, according to a school official. Deputies said there is no indication how long they’d been there. TCPalm.
Colleges and universities: Daniel Jones, an instructor at the University of Central Florida who managed the the theater department’s costume shop, has died of COVID-related complications. He was 49. Orlando Sentinel. The College of Central Florida has spent $18.5 million so far of the $33.6 million it’s received in coronavirus relief funding, and $7.6 million of it has gone to students for “financial hardships such as health care, child care and other living expenses.” Another $10.9 million has been used to upgrade technology and improve student safety. Ocala Star-Banner. Northwest Florida State College in Niceville will receive a grant of $2.8 million from the state to create a diesel mechanic training program. Northwest Florida Daily News. WKMG. WEAR. The head athletic trainer at Southeastern University in Lakeland has been fired and lost his license to practice in Florida after being accused of sexual misconduct. Jem Sirrine allegedly exposed a volleyball player while treating her for a leg injury. WFLA.
COVID impact on mental health: The pandemic has had a serious effect on the mental health of students, causing suicidal thoughts, anxiety, depression and inability to concentrate, according to a paper released this week by the U.S. Department of Education’s civil rights office and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. “The COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on student mental health are widespread and deeply concerning,” said Suzanne B. Goldberg. DOE’s acting assistant secretary for civil rights. Florida Phoenix.
Opinions on schools: Singling out charter schools from other public schools and threatening to jeopardize their federal funding over the types of partners they work with is unjust, harmful and puts millions of students at risk of losing all their federal funding simply because of the type of public school they attend — a public charter school. Nina Rees, Miami Herald.
