Discrimination query: The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights launches an investigation into the Pinellas County School District’s treatment of black students. The investigation will determine if the district is denying black student access to special programs and quality teachers, school leaders and support staff. Tampa Bay Times.
Standardized testing: State education officials, responding to complaints from parents that school districts are threatening students with retention if they don’t take the Florida Standards Assessments tests, say test results alone are never the sole reason for promotion or retention. Gradebook. Less than 1 percent of Manatee County third-graders opted out of Florida Standards Assessments testing, district officials say. Just 5 of the 3,100 students chose not to take the tests. Bradenton Herald.
Athletics changes: Athletic directors around the state are split on the effects of a bill that would allow athletes to transfer schools and be eligible to play sports immediately. Some think late changes to the bill mitigate the potential problems. Gov. Rick Scott has until April 14 to sign the bill into law. Miami Herald.
Emphasis shift: The emphasis of the Legislature next year will shift from K-12 to higher education, incoming Senate President Joe Negron, R-Palm City, says in a memo to senators. Gradebook.
IB programs: Lake County school officials are considering adding an International Baccalaureate curriculum to Leesburg and South Lake high schools. Orlando Sentinel. Fewer incoming kindergarten students are applying to attend Frances Wakeland Elementary School, the Manatee district’s only International Baccalaureate elementary school. Bradenton Herald.
District restructuring: Palm Beach County School Superintendent Robert Avossa restructures the district’s top-level administrators with four hires from his previous Atlanta-area school district. Palm Beach Post.
School repairs: Long-delayed repairs to three Broward County high schools are delayed again, officials say. The school board threw out bids for the repairs to Stranahan High in Fort Lauderdale, Northeast High in Oakland Park and Blanche Ely High in Pompano Beach, and no new timeline has been established. Sun-Sentinel.
Unexcused absences: The Pasco County School District is considering a change in mandatory penalties for unexcused absences. The change would give principals and teachers more leeway in deciding how to deal with students. Gradebook.
District bids on land: The Manatee County School District bids on land in Parrish that is adjacent to land it already owns. If the district is successful, it plans to build a high school on the site. Bradenton Herald.
New school: The Bay County School Board approves an agreement with the St. Joe Co., which will donate 45.56 acres for a new K-5 school in Panama City Beach. The site will also include a sports village and a fire station. Panama City News Herald.
Technology award: The Orange County School District is honored for its use of technology in the classroom. The district ties for eighth among U.S. school districts with more than 12,000 students in the Center for Digital Education’s and National School Boards Association’s annual Digital School Districts Survey. Orlando Sentinel.
District sued: The family of a then-16-year-old boy with developmental disabilities is suing the Broward County School District. The suit alleges the district did not properly investigate the family’s claims in 2012 that a teacher at Cypress Bay High was sexually abusing the boy. Beach New Times Broward-Palm Beach.
Teachers union president: The Broward Teachers Union members have elected Anna Fusco as president. Fusco, a fifth-grade reading teacher at Colbert Elementary, replaces the retiring Susan Glickman. Sun-Sentinel.
Opinions on schools: Something needs to change in the teaching of algebra. Ocala Star Banner. The teacher bonuses program is one of the dumbest pieces of legislation I’ve ever seen. Scott Kent, Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Student enrichment: The STEM program at St. Petersburg’s Jamerson Elementary School is named tops in the nation. WUSF. Quint and Rishy Studer commit $105,000 through the 20-16-2017 school year for leadership training at five high schools in northwest Florida. Pensacola News Journal. Students at Prine Elementary School make muffins in the school kitchen, part of a district initiative with the Food and Nutrition Services Department. Bradenton Herald. A three-legged dog visits the i3 Academy at Flagler Palm Coast High School to test prosthetics designed by students. Daytona Beach News-Journal. Three Fort Walton Beach High School students create a prosthetic arm that uses salt water as an energy source. Sisters Munisa and Maryam Said, who are 16 and 17, and their friend Ahtziri Gonzalez, 15, say they were inspired to help a friend who is paralyzed from the waist down. Northwest Florida Daily News. For the first time in a decade, the Bay County School District will have a driver’s education program this summer. Panama City News Herald.
