For those who dismiss the potential upside of for-profits in education, Rick Hess asks them to consider virtually every other aspect of their lives. “Think about other big investments people make: their house, their car, their tablet or smartphone,” wrote Hess, director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, in a live chat on… Read more »
Tony Bennett: A new report finds the school grading formula changes that former Florida Education Commissioner Tony Bennett made in Indiana in 2012 were “plausible” and “consistently applied” to all schools. StateImpact Florida. More from Tampa Bay Times. More from the Associated Press. The report showcases the problems with implementing a radically new school-rating system. Education Week. “We finally have a… Read more »
Gov. Scott: The Florida governor isn’t the education cheerleader he portrays himself to be, editorializes the Tampa Bay Times. Virtual ed: Online schools and programs brace for a major enrollment boom now that the state wants every high schooler to take an online class to graduate. Sun Sentinel. Common Core: This is supposed to be the final year of FCATs, but… Read more »
A new report finds more Florida charter schools operating in the red, but it’s not necessarily a sign they’re in trouble. Released this month, the annual report from the Florida Auditor General shows 12 percent of the 499 charter schools reviewed in the audit ended the 2012 fiscal year with a deficit, up from six… Read more »
Editor’s note: This is the third post in our series commemorating the 50th anniversary of Dr. King’s Dream speech. It was January 18th, the Saturday of the MLK weekend in 1997, when I printed out the “I Have a Dream” speech. I’m not completely sure why, except that I was transitioning in my life from… Read more »
#EdSummitFL: State Sen. Dwight Bullard calls Gov. Scott’s education summit a “missed opportunity.” Meanwhile, other legislative leaders praise the three-day event that ends today. The Buzz. Common Core discussions draw debate from legislators, superintendents and parents. StateImpact Florida. More from Tampa Bay Times. Board of Education Chairman Gary Chartrand says he did not call for screening books on homosexuality or socialism during the summit. Miami Herald. He offers… Read more »
Ed summit: Education leaders from across the state convene for a three-day conference that could shape the future of teaching, testing and a school-grading system. Palm Beach Post. More from the Orlando Sentinel, Associated Press, Tampa Bay Times. Long before the summit, former Education Commissioner Tony Bennett had made it clear he might recommend Florida shift gears and pick a… Read more »
Even for Florida, a state that has put education policy on overdrive for 15 years, Monday’s summit was remarkable: Three dozen education leaders, business leaders and lawmakers, all but locked in a room to hash it out over the state’s contentious approach to standards, testing and accountability. Gov. Rick Scott called the three-day event at… Read more »
Florida charter schools didn’t benefit as much as district schools from the school grades “safety net” that state education officials continued this summer. According to Florida Department of Education data, 14.2 percent of the charter schools that have been graded so far would have dropped more than one letter grade had it not been for… Read more »
District app: The Broward County school district redesigns its website to make it more parent-friendly, adding a mobile app and translating into more than 40 languages. Sun Sentinel. Virtual school: The Palm Beach County School Board plans to urge state lawmakers to repeal a new funding approach that slashed dollars for the state-run Florida Virtual School. Palm… Read more »
