Senate testing bills merged: The Senate Education Committee decides to merge elements from competing school testing bills. The consolidated bill, SB 926, moves testing into a shorter window and toward the end of the school year, kills several end-of-course exams, allows districts the option of using paper and pencils for the tests instead of computers, and will consider allowing national tests such as the ACT and SAT to replace high school assessments. News Service of Florida. Miami Herald. Gradebook. Associated Press. Tallahassee Democrat. WFSU. The committee also approved bills increasing the money students get for tax credit scholarships and widening eligibility for teachers and adding principals to the state's teacher bonuses program. Politico Florida. Meanwhile, the House PreK-12 Appropriations subcommittee approves a bill that would require the state Department of Education to release third- and 10th-grade math and language arts tests every three years. The DOE estimates the cost of doing so at $4 million. Gradebook. Politico Florida.
Help with testing: Experts say there are a variety of things parents can do to relieve their children's anxiety about taking statewide assessment tests. They recommend helping children visualize success, maintaining a routine, having children not study so much and getting them to laugh, which gives a child's brain a shot of neurotransmitter dopamine and can improve test performance. Miami Herald.
Naming rights: The Lee County School District is selling naming rights to stadiums, gymnasiums and theaters at several schools around the district. “This is a new opportunity for companies to reach our students, families and communities,” Superintendent Greg Adkins said. “It is a way we can provide companies the benefits and loyalty that come with this kind of support while helping out students at the same time.” The Orange County School District has been selling naming rights since 2012, and has raised $241,650 for its Athletic Preservation Fund. And Collier County, directly south of Lee, is also looking into the sale of naming rights at its seven high schools. Fort Myers News-Press. (more…)
Bob Luddy is a longtime businessman who's become an education entrepreneur.
A libertarian businessman known for his group of private nonprofit Pre-K-12 schools in North Carolina is considering opening two similar schools in Central Florida.
Bob Luddy is the owner of CaptiveAire, one of the nation’s leading manufacturer of commercial kitchen ventilation systems.
Luddy told Reason magazine he became interested in education when he learned at many of his hires at CaptiveAire did not have the basic science and math skills to succeed on the job.
He is also the founder of Thales Academy, a network of low-cost private schools.
The network has six schools but Luddy said he wants it to grow. He said he is in the early stages of discussions about a potential private school in Groveland.
“It is a growing area,” he said in an interview. “We have a manufacturing plant in Groveland in Lake County and found that to be a nice area down there.”
School district officials across Central Florida are grappling with a growing student population. Nearly half of Lake County's schools are at capacity. Future projections do not look much better. Officials estimate 17 out of 42 schools will be over capacity by 2022. Neighboring districts are growing, too.
Luddy said he is also looking at opening a school in Orlando. Discussions on the schools are preliminary, but he said he hopes to open one of them in 2018 or 2019.
Lake County School Board member Bill Mathias said he has worked with Luddy in business relations for the past 30 years.
“I know of his personal integrity and commitment to education,” he said.
Expanding educational opportunities
The idea for a network of nonprofit schools, known as Thales Academy, originated in 2006 when a group of parents approached Luddy asking for better educational options for their children. (more…)
