Charter school conversion: A local NAACP affiliate parted company with the national organization to support a charter school conversion. Reason.
Charter schools. Four apply to open in Polk County. Lakeland Ledger. Indian River charters reach a settlement agreement with the school district in the wake of a funding lawsuit. TC Palm. A Manatee charter may appeal its rejected application. Bradenton Herald. An NBC News investigation finds missing equipment from a defunct charter school. WTVJ.
Facilities. Construction delays push back the opening of a Hillsborough charter school. Tampa Bay Times.
Mistreatment. A parent’s recording device catches a school resource officer berating a child with autism. Tampa Bay Times.
HB 7069. Democratic state Sen. Lauren Book, D-Plantation, proposes revisions to the sweeping education law. Gradebook. The Duval school board weighs joining the legal fight against the law. Florida Times-Union.
Rankings. Magnet schools dominate the Palm Beach Post‘s list of the best of the best.
Flooding. Heavy rains close Southwest Florida schools. Naples Daily News.
Refuge. Political turmoil in Venezuela brings hundreds of new South American students to South Florida. Miami Herald.
Truancy. Student absences are on the rise. Palm Beach County schools might take drastic action. Parents could face arrest. South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Personnel. The Palm Beach superintendent’s decision not to fire a problem principal draws fire from teachers. Palm Beach Post.
Learning in comfort. Escambia schools opt for bean-bag chairs and other comforts instead of traditional seating. Pensacola News-Journal.
Soft skills. Schools hope social-emotional learning can head off behavior problems. Tampa Bay Times.
Community upset. A controversial video prompts an angry response. Gradebook.
Bargaining. The St. Lucie school district reaches a deal with communications workers. TC Palm.
STEM. Florida students often opt not to take physics, to their academic detriment. Bridge to Tomorrow.
Class size. Districts reshuffle students to meet state mandates. Ocala Star-Banner.
Boundaries. A Pasco judge looks to resolve a rezoning dispute. Gradebook.
Peace prize. A Gainesville teacher wins recognition. Gainesville Sun.
Community partnerships. St. Johns schools try to build bridges to their surrounding communities. St. Augustine Record.
School choice. A Florida mother opines: Having access to options like Florida tax credit scholarships helped her daughter. Florida Courier. (Step Up For Students, which publishes this blog, helps administer the scholarship program.)
Marijuana. A medical dispensary should not open kitty corner to a K-8 charter school, the Palm Beach Post editorializes.
Transportation. The Martin County school district should go back to the drawing board with its busing plan, TC Palm editorializes.
Mascot. How can Destin’s new high school capture the spirit of the town? A Northwest Florida Daily News columnist ponders.
