Teacher wins a Tony: Melody Herzfeld, the one-person drama department at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School who saved 65 students during the shooting rampage at the school Feb. 14 by barricading them in a closet, wins a special Tony award for educators. The award is given annually to U.S. teachers who have "demonstrated monumental impact on the lives of students and who embodies the highest standards of the profession." She wins $10,000 and a pair of tickets to the Tony ceremony and gala. Sun-Sentinel. New York Times. Associated Press.
National spelling bee: Two Florida students spell their way into Thursday's finals at the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C, before being eliminated. Simone Kaplan, a 12-year-old 6th-grader from Davie who attends St. Bonaventure Catholic School in Broward County, was eliminated in the ninth round when she spelled the word carmagnole as carmagnol. Marisa Langley, a 14-year-old home-schooled 8th-grader from Tallahassee, was eliminated in the eighth round when she spelled the word hausen as housen. The champion is Karthik Nemmani of McKinney, Texas. The 519 spellers who started the competition included 31 students from Florida. Associated Press. Scripps Howard Spelling Bee. Miami Herald. Sun-Sentinel. Palm Beach Post. TCPalm. (more…)
Teaching alternatives: As more teachers retire and fewer are graduating from education schools, some districts that struggle to recruit teachers fill the gaps with technology. In Pasco County, for example, far-away teaching experts provide virtual instruction while in-class monitors set up the lesson, help prepare for the connections and police student conduct. "For a couple of years we’ve been really looking for a solution for, typically, when a teacher isn’t able to complete their assignment," says Vanessa Hilton, an assistant superintendent in Pasco. "It obviously is a whole lot better than a substitute not doing any instruction." Tampa Bay Times.
Politics kills safety forum: A Palm Beach County town hall meeting about school safety is canceled after the school district gets complaints that it appeared to be related to gun-control events organized by Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students and to the Democratic party. The organizers say they have no direct affiliation with the March for Our Lives events, and have received no funding or resources from that group. But deputy superintendent Keith Oswald canceled the meeting through an email to organizers that said, “the political tension around this topic is palpable” and that "we cannot risk losing hard earned trust and credibility with our parents by hosting what many are perceiving to be a partisan event." Sun-Sentinel. Palm Beach Post.
School shooting developments: Confessed school shooter Nikolas Cruz had been assigned to an alternative discipline program, Broward County school officials are now acknowledging. Superintendent Robert Runcie had previously denied that Cruz had been part of the program that is designed to find discipline alternatives to arrests and suspensions. WLRN. Students who were among the 17 killed in the shootings Feb. 14 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are honored at the school prom. Associated Press.
