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 the safety net, which prevented schools from falling more than one letter grade. That compares to 21.7 percent of district schools.

In raw numbers, that’s 54 of 381 charter schools and 495 of 2,278 district schools. The numbers do not include school grades that are pending or incomplete.

Last month, the Florida Board of Education voted 4-3 to continue the safety net, which had been used in 2012, after superintendents complained that lower grades brought on by tougher standards would give the public a distorted view of student achievement. Tony Bennett, then the state education commissioner, initially expressed concerns about the safety net but later relented, saying it would help ease the transition to Common Core standards.

Bennett resigned two weeks later after news stories suggested he abruptly changed the school grades formula in Indiana to benefit a politically connected charter school.

As we reported last month, Florida charter schools again earned both A and F grades at higher rates than district schools.

We reported last month that Florida’s private school enrollment numbers are rising again. And that’s true. But trend lines beneath the surface suggest the modest rebound is tied more to publicly funded options than to private-paying students.

Here’s the thing: McKay scholarships for disabled students and tax credit scholarships for low-income students are making up a fast-growing share of private school enrollment – from 8.5 percent in 2002-03 to 28.4 percent last year. When those students are excluded from enrollment totals, it’s clear privately funded, private school enrollment continues to drop at a steady pace.

What does that mean? It may show private schools are still suffering the effects of a long and  jobless economic recovery, which leaves fewer families able to afford an education option they used to choose. It may reflect that some private-school parents have chosen a different option, charter schools, that barely existed in the first year of our chart and enrolled 203,199 students last year (we have little data, unfortunately, on how many of these students previously attended private school). It may mean the basic economics of private school have changed for many middle-class families, either because tuition has risen too fast or incomes are declining in a more systemic way.

This is an intriguing, and possibly troubling, trend. But we’ll have more on that at another time. For now, here's a simple spreadsheet with more numbers, all from Florida Department of Education reports. And here's a few charts with the highlights: (more…)

When parents in Smyrna, Ga., wanted to open a charter school last year, they didn’t have a big management company to take on start-up costs. So they got creative and turned to gofundme, a crowdfunding site that helps people quickly raise money for projects. Within four months, the Smyrna Academy of Excellence collected $10,000.

“We went at it pretty hard,’’ said principal and board chairman Jimmy Arispe, who described the process as quick and easy compared to applying for grants and knocking on foundations doors. “You can send a link to anybody.’’

Crowdfunding is a fairly new concept in education, but the fundraising platform appears to be gaining fans – especially among charter schools. The idea is simple. Put a project or goal on one of the online fundraising sites and ask people from all over the world to help with costs. Typical donations range from 20 bucks to thousands of dollars.

Chicago’s Academy for Global Citizenship charter school has raised $50,000 so far in an ongoing $30 million campaign on indiegogo, an international crowdfunding site. The Cesar Chavez Public Charter Schools in Washington, D.C., raised $11,179 for a new gym this past spring during a three-month drive on StartSomeGood.

And a 60-day “Open the Doors’’ campaign on Fundly, which caters to nonprofits, garnered $88,000 for the Urban Montessori Charter School in Oakland, Calif.

“It’s a really cool idea overall,’’ said Parker Thomas, who, along with another of the school’s co-founders, headlined a crowdfunding seminar in March at a California Charter Schools Association conference.

No one, including the California association, really knows how many schools are crowdfunding.

“We just have a sense that they’re like most organizations or nonprofits and public schools,’’ said the Los Angeles-based group’s spokeswoman, Dannie Tillman. “Crowdfunding is just one of the methods in their fundraising toolbox.’’

Charter schools are public schools that operate independently from districts. They receive state dollars, but not as much as their district counterparts, noted Eric Paisner of the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools. So that has many charter schools raising money, he said. (more…)

Charter schools. The Pembroke Pines Charter Schools system, which recently cut teacher pay, is asking parents to pay $1,000 per student per year to restore the system's reserves. South Florida Sun Sentinel. Gov. Rick Scott signs the bill boosting accountability for charter schools. Orlando Sentinel.

Common Core. FEA President Andy Ford says too much testing could sour the public on it. StateImpact Florida.

School grades. Tony Bennett meets with the school grades task force, which  includes a number of superintendents, but says he won't make changes just to soften the blow of bad grades. Orlando Sentinel, Tampa Bay Times, StateImpact Florida, Palm Beach Post, News Service of Florida, Tallahassee Democrat.

Dual enrollment. Tony Bennett says districts and state colleges need to better collaborate in the wake of the Legislature's decision to shift costs to districts. Gradebook.

Parent power. The Pensacola News Journal writes up the new law that gives more power to parents of students with disabilities.

Superintendents. Duval's Nikolai Vitti: "Folks here know that public education can be better. And they’re willing to put their shoulder to the wheel to make it better." StateImpact Florida.

Teachers unions. The Broward union wins an arbitration case involving changes to the high school schedule. South Florida Sun Sentinel, Miami Herald.

Tardiness. Alachua looks for ways to crack down on chronic tardiness. Gainesville Sun.

School spending. Walton will consider upping the millage rate for capital improvements. Northwest Florida Daily News.

PolitiFact on PIRLS. PolitiFact looks into Gov. Rick Scott’s statement about how well Florida fourth-graders fared on the recent PIRLS results. The ruling: Mostly True.

Charter school funding. Palm Beach district officials are upset by state budget proposals that would once again give a modest amount of capital outlay money to charter schools and none to district schools. Palm Beach Post.

Class size reduction. Some Broward school board members are worried the district is pushing more students into AP classes to avoid class-size penalties. South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Economies of scale. The Orange County School District joins with other big districts across the country to buy food together and drive down costs. SchoolZone.

School security. A defense expert gives South Florida teachers a day-long session on how to react to armed intruders in their classrooms, reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel. A Flagler mom pays for an armed deputy to patrol her child's school, reports the Daytona Beach News Journal.

School spending. Refinancing debt could ease Brevard’s budget crisis. Florida Today.

Testing protest. Is anybody in Florida going to kick it up a notch? Gradebook.

Mentors. A Winter Haven program links students with professionals. Lakeland Ledger.

ESE lawsuit. The latest from Hillsborough. Gradebook.

Charter school attendance. The Palm Beach County school district plans to bring in a computer program to better track charter school attendance after one school overstated its numbers. Extra Credit blog.

“Magnet mania.” Duval puts on its first School Choice Expo. First Coast News.

ESA debate resurfacing? Gradebook.

Please raise our taxes. Some Brevard parents, upset about proposed school closures, are lobbying the school board to hold a special election to raise taxes. Florida Today. (Image from kceducationenterprise.org)

More school security. School districts will ask lawmakers for more money this year to beef up security in the wake of Newtown, the News Service of Florida reports. Its video interview with FSBA executive director Wayne Blanton here. Reactions range to a Lake County school board member’s proposal to arm teachers with guns, reports the Orlando Sentinel. More school safety coverage from the Fort Myers News Press, Naples Daily News, Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Pattern of behavior. Tampa Bay Times: “A Pinellas teacher accused of downloading child pornography on his home computer has a peculiar history of complaints against him, including allegations that he exchanged inappropriate emails with a young girl, according to records from the Pinellas County School District.”

Falling apart. A citizens group chronicles deteriorating building conditions in two Broward high schools that serve predominantly minority students. Miami Herald.

Cell phone waste. An audit finds $117,000 worth over two years in the Palm Beach district. Palm Beach Post.

Rick Scott. Visits an elementary school in Volusia. Daytona Beach News Journal.

Tony Bennett. Starts work Monday. SchoolZone.

StudentsFirst report card. Jacksonville Business Journal.

More Jeb Bush summit. Checker Finn’s a fan. EdWeek writes up Arne Duncan’s speech. More from Bloomberg, Stateline, the Getting Smart blog.

New ed leadership. John Legg, the former state rep and new state senator from Pasco is the new chair of the Senate K-20 Education Policy Committee, reports Gradebook. (The post also includes a listing of all committee members.)

Weeding out low-performing charters. EdWeek. StateImpact Florida.

Per-pupil spending by state. A new federal report shows Florida at No. 42, at $8,863 per student in the 2009-10 school year, reports the Orlando Sentinel School Zone blog.

More on $10,000 degrees. The Daytona Beach News-Journal editorial board likes Gov. Rick Scott's idea. The Sentinel's Beth Kassab does not. More from the Lakeland Ledger.

More on low grad rates. Palm Beach Post.

Voucher accountability. A problem private school in Manatee County should prompt more oversight from the state, editorializes the Bradenton Herald.

Florida charter schools, management companies and leaders are represented by at least two statewide organizations. But for years, charter school parents “were the lost group,’’ said Henry A. Rose, a longtime charter school advocate.

Rose decided to do something about it.

With help from the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools, the Fort Lauderdale-based nonprofit that counts about 400 charters as members, he and other parents formed Parents For Charter Schools in 2009.

Many charter school parents were involved with their local schools, but few knew the impact they could have in Tallahassee. The group, an arm of the consortium, now represents 4,000 to 5,000 members.

“I think a lot of them were surprised to learn, ‘Wow! We can make a difference,’ ’’ said Lynn Norman-Teck, the consortium’s spokeswoman.

Parents For Charters serves as a resource on schools, rules and legislation, and school choice issues. Kind of like a PTA, said Rose, a marketing and media consultant in Pembroke Pines.

Rose serves as co-chairman of Parents For Charter Schools and once led the Broward County public school district’s 250-school Parent Advisory Council. Though his children are grown now, his daughter taught in a Washington, D.C. charter school and his wife teaches at Franklin Academy Charter School in Pembroke Pines.

Like his family, Parents For Charter Schools members tend to be independent thinkers, Rose said. His job is to unite them for causes, such as proposed legislation, polls and conferences.

The latest example: Costco, the national grocery warehouse, sent a mass survey in its August magazine asking readers if charter schools were a good idea or a bad one. (more…)

School district officials and state lawmakers aren’t the only ones outraged by a failing Orlando charter school that cut its principal a check, as it was closing its doors, for half a million dollars.

“This is totally unacceptable,’’ Cheri Shannon, president and chief executive officer of the Florida Charter School Alliance, told redefinED Friday.

Added Lynn Norman-Teck of the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools, in a prepared release: “The alleged behavior of NorthStar is the exception, not the rule. There are many examples of public charter schools, their governing boards, and administrators, with exemplary records.’’

The Orlando Sentinel reported Thursday that NorthStar High School’s board of directors paid Principal Kelly Young $519,453.36 in taxpayer dollars. The lump-sum payment occurred two days after the Orange County School Board accepted the school’s plan to close instead of being shut down by the district for poor performance.

The principal’s payout was based on a contract that paid her $305,000 a year through 2014, even though the school’s contract with the district was up for renewal in 2012, the Sentinel reported. In addition, the charter school is still paying Young $8,700 bi-monthly to oversee the school’s shutdown, the newspaper wrote.

The story has stoked criticism of charter schools, which receive public money but are run by private boards. And it comes at a sensitive time. Charter schools in Florida served 180,000 students last year and are expected to enroll twice that many by fall 2017. Proponents, including Gov. Rick Scott, are pushing for even greater expansion. (more…)