Board speaks out: Members of the Broward County School Board have said little about the Parkland shootings in the past year, letting Broward school officials and lawyers take the lead in deciding the public response and, by and large, supporting their efforts. Now the nine board members have finally agreed to talk about the controversies, the pace of the reforms to secure schools and Superintendent Robert Runcie's performance. Only two are calling for Runcie's dismissal. Sun Sentinel. The board is considering hiring a security chief whose background was investigating Google workers who divulged company secrets. The district has routinely withheld information about the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and even launched an investigation into who leaked the academic records of the accused shooter. Sun Sentinel.

Parkland stories: Here are some of the events planned to commemorate the anniversary. WTVJ. Remembering the 17 victims of Parkland. Sun Sentinel. Survivors of the shootings and their families launch a petition drive to ban the sale of assault weapons. Sun Sentinel. Two mothers of Parkland victims captured in an iconic photo after the shooting now find themselves on opposite sides of the gun control issue. Associated Press. Lori Alhadeff, mother of a victim and now a Broward County School Board member, says she feels her daughter "that Alyssa is still coming home." Associated Press. A survivor says her life remains filled with fear and panic. WLRN. (more…)

Common Core: National support for the Common Core State Standards has fallen to the lowest level in five years, according to a report in Education Next, a journal published by the Harvard Kennedy School’s Program on Education Policy and Governance. Only about 42 percent of those polled support the standards, down from 90 percent in 2012. The report also shows that support remains as high as ever for testing, charter schools, tax credits to support private school choice, merit pay for teachers and teacher tenure reform. Sunshine State News.

School threats: School officials struggle to stay ahead of rumors and social media when it comes to online threats made against schools. Tampa Bay Times. Parents of students at Coral Springs High School are questioning how a former student could get on campus with a loaded gun. District officials say the school does not have a limited access single point of entry, which they plan to address with proceeds from an $800 million bond referendum, but there are no guarantees that it can't happen again. Sun-Sentinel.

Money for SACs cut: The Hillsborough County School District has cut funding for school advisory committees, saying it has run out of money for the programs. SACs help districts put together improvement plans and vote on how to spend school bonuses. Tampa Bay Times.

Opt-out and election: Members of the Opt-Out Florida Network create a voter guide outlining candidates' positions on state testing, and are campaigning for those who also oppose the state's use of the Florida Standards Assessments. WFSU. (more…)

Despite some of the growing resistance to Common Core State Standards in the public education arena, many private schools in Florida are voluntarily signing up to participate in statewide training.

“Private schools are always interested in what’s new and what’s cutting edge,’’ said Teri Logan of Independent Schools of South Florida, a group that represents about 70 accredited private schools.

She anticipates between 75 and 100 teachers and principals will take part in a workshop in October hosted by the Learning Systems Institute at Florida State University, which developed an extensive database of learning standards called CPALMS (Collaborate Align Learn Motivate Share).

None of the schools have voiced concerns about the broader public debate on Common Core, but many have expressed a desire to learn more about the standards, she said.

CPALMS is an online system that offers free lesson plans, assessments and professional development – including workshops. Most of the work is aligned with the Common Core, but there also is information about Next Generation Sunshine Standards and others.

The database is available to all K-12 educators, including those outside of Florida, and is currently reaching about 1,700 users from 200 countries. Funding for the project comes from grants, including ones from the U.S. Department of Education and the National Science Foundation.

A separate site known as iCPALMS is accessible only to Florida educators, in public or private schools, and it has an estimated 50,000 users. Most are from the public sector, according to program director Rabieh Razzouk, but many private school educators also have contacted him.

The Common Core standards are a set of national benchmarks designed with added rigor to help students become more career and college ready. The National Governors Association and state education officials, with financial backing from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, helped create the measures that have attracted support from education reformers and the Obama administration. (more…)