Charter schools: The Florida Department of Education overrules the Manatee County School Board's denial of a charter school application last year. Parrish Charter Academy's application was denied because board members decided the school's plan did not meet state standards in five areas and did so only partially in four others. Parrish appealed, and the department followed its charter school appeal commission's recommendation to reverse the denial. Because of the delay, the school may not open until 2019. Bradenton Herald. Plans for the first charter high school in Volusia County have been withdrawn. Officials of the Ivy Hawn School for the Arts and Sciences decided not to present their application after it became clear that Superintendent Tom Russell would recommend to the school board that the application be denied. Ivy Hawn backers say they'll apply next year. Russell also is recommending against approval for a K-8 charter school, Volusia Charter Academy. District officials had doubts about both schools' abilities to handle special-needs students, among other things. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
State of children: Minority children will outnumber white children by 2024, but they continue to lag behind on indicators including reading proficiency, pre-kindergarten enrollment, and poverty by racial group, according to the latest Kids Count report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Florida ranks 29th in well-being of white children, 9th with Hispanic children, and 28th with black children. “We certainly have the data to say this is a national crisis and so many children are falling through the cracks at a faster rate than ever before,” says Florida Kids Count director Dr. Norín Dollard. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Tampa Bay Times.
Filling classrooms: The Hillsborough County School District is preparing a plan that would bring preschool students into empty classrooms. There are about 29,000 empty seats in the district, and Superintendent Jeff Eakins thinks retrofitting them for 3- and 4-year-olds would better prepare the children for school and also make better use of available space. Tampa Bay Times.
Bill would bump pay: A bill to boost pay for teachers and principals is filed by state Rep. Shevrin Jones, D-West Park. Under the bill, H.B. 389, teachers and principals would get a $3,000 raise in 2018, then 3 percent increases in each of the next three years. News Service of Florida.
H.B. 7069: Sources say Gov. Rick Scott will sign the education bill, H.B. 7069, into law Thursday in Orlando, according to the website Florida Politics. The most controversial section of the bill creates a fund to recruit high-performing charter schools into areas with persistently struggling schools. The bill also requires 20 minutes of recess a day for traditional public elementary school students, includes more than $200 million to provide bonuses for teachers and principals, kills the end-of-course Algebra 2 exam and pushes Florida Standards Assessments testing to the end of the school year. Florida Politics. Gov. Scott is also still considering whether to sign S.B. 374, the higher education bill that includes an expansion of the Bright Futures scholarship program. Tallahassee Democrat.
Charter networks: High-profile charter schools companies are improving student achievement, according to a study by charter school researchers at Stanford University. The study by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes also suggests larger charter networks outperform standalone charters, nonprofit charters generally do better than for-profits, and virtual charter school students struggle to keep up. redefinED.
District finances: Volusia County school officials say they'll collect an extra $4.6 million from the state because of the legislative special session deal on per-pupil spending. The school board meets today to discuss how to close the rest of the projected budget shortfall. Daytona Beach News-Journal. St. Johns County school officials say the extra money from the Legislature is barely enough to keep up with inflation, and doesn't do enough to support enrollment growth. St. Augustine Record. (more…)
