Teacher bonuses: The Miami-Dade School District is asking the state for $2.3 million grant though the "schools of hope" program to pay highly rated teachers extra to work in five of the district's failing schools. If the schools are selected by the state for the program, teachers who are rated "highly effective" could earn up to $11,500 in bonuses if they transfer in or stay at one of the five schools, help students improve and have good attendance. Broward County is also asking for money for teacher recruitment and retention bonuses for teachers at three struggling schools. If the schools are among the 25 selected by the state for the program, those teachers could earn an extra $8,000 or $9,000 in bonuses. Miami Herald.
Charters warned: Charter schools are in line to get an extra $10 million from the Palm Beach County School District this year because of the new education law. But school officials are warning the charters to not commit that money to any projects before the legal fight over H.B. 7069 is over. “If the school board’s challenge is successful, these provisions will be struck down,” wrote Mike Burke, the district’s chief financial officer, in a letter to the 48 charter schools. “Therefore the purpose of this notice is to advise you and all relevant parties to refrain from pledging any and all future revenue(s) derived from (the property tax dollars).” Palm Beach Post. There's a lot in the new state education bill that Brevard County school officials don't like, but they are not likely to be joining other districts in suing the state over H.B. 7069. Superintendent Desmond Blackburn says he will "turn the corner" in his disappointment over the bill to make it work in Brevard County. Most school board members agree, with saying joining the lawsuit could damage their relationships with local legislators who supported the bill and potentially affect future funding. Florida Today. Text messages obtained through a public records request show Republican legislators lobbying black Democrats to support H.B. 7069 during the last legislative session. Politico Florida.
Years of mold: In 2003, a Broward County grand jury ordered the school district to fix the mold problem in schools that was making teachers and students sick. But records recently obtained indicate the district is slow to respond to complaints, with many unresolved even years after they were filed, and doesn't have accurate records on repair orders or if they were completed, or even if the repairs fixed the reported problem. “The information that you’re trying to extract is information that we would love to extract, but we cannot,” says Leo Bobadilla, chief facilities officer. Sun-Sentinel.
English proficiency: Of the nearly 260,000 children who took the statewide English-language learner proficiency exam, which measures listening, reading, writing and speaking skills, 43,425 are proficient, according to a Florida Department of Education report. Gradebook.
Day 1: School buses in Palm Beach County arrived on time and most classes started on time on what the district is calling a very smooth first day. But a near-tragedy was reported. A middle-school student was hit by a car near the Egret Lake Elementary School bus loop. He was taken to a hospital and is not seriously injured. Sun-Sentinel. Palm Beach Post. Another student falls into the path of a bus at Braden River Middle School in Manatee County, but narrowly avoids injury. Bradenton Herald. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Other districts also reported few problems on opening day. Florida Times-Union. Pensacola News Journal. Florida Today. Naples Daily News. Gainesville Sun. Daytona Beach News-Journal. Orlando Sentinel. Lakeland Ledger. TCPalm. Tallahassee Democrat. Northwest Florida Daily News. Every teacher and administrator in Titusville and Mims receives a back-to-school rose and a thank-you note from florists Dawn and John Acklin. Florida Today. The St. Johns County School District school enrollment is up 5.3 percent over last year. St. Augustine Record.
Surprise closing: Zellwood's Little Red School House shut down without notice Monday, leaving students in the private K-12 school scrambling to find an alternative on what should have been its first day. The school apparently lost its lease in a dispute with its landlord, Rolling Hills Community Church. WFTV.
Chronic absenteeism: The Marion County School District's "Attendance Matters" program has helped cut down slightly on chronic absenteeism and tardiness. The district's attendance rate was up from 93.25 percent in 2014-2015 to 93.88 percent in 2015-2016. The state average is 94.3 percent. Ocala Star Banner. (more…)
Board member arrested: Palm Beach School Board member Mike Murgio is arrested by the FBI. Federal court records allege Murgio is connected to a bribery scheme to gain control of a credit union in New Jersey, and that the credit union then laundered money for online criminals. His arraignment is next week in New York. Murgio’s arrest could lead to his suspension from office by Gov. Rick Scott. Palm Beach Post. Sun-Sentinel.
Bathroom access: Marion County School Board members agree to consider a resolution that would restrict school bathrooms to students based on birth sex, not gender identity. If passed at Tuesday's meeting, the ban would take effect Wednesday morning. Ocala Star Banner.
FCA rep banned: A Fellowship of Christian Athletes representative has been banned from all Hillsborough County school campuses because he has a criminal record and did not undergo the district’s background check procedures. The atheist group Freedom From Religion Foundation filed the complaint that led to David Gaskill being banned. The district is also requiring special training next week for all public high school sports coaches. Tampa Tribune. Tampa Bay Times.
School impact fees: The Orange County School Board votes to increase school impact fees by almost 35 percent for single-family homes. County commissioners must approve the hike, which would take effect in August. Orlando Sentinel.
STEM push: The White House and a group of public and private leaders are calling for a national initiative to teach science, technology, engineering and math to students as young as 3 or 4 years old. USA Today.
Pearson's problems: Pearson Education, the largest education company in the world, is again a subject of criticism when its computerized Common Core testing in New Jersey malfunctions and has to be postponed. It's the latest in a long list of problems Pearson has had over the years - many of them in Florida. Washington Post. (more…)
School class sizes: More than 60 percent of Florida schools now define themselves as schools of choice, which allows them to calculate class size as a schoolwide average rather than the room-by-room count non-choice schools must adhere to. State Sen. John Legg, R-Lutz, who chairs the Senate Education Committee, says new legislation will be drafted to "stop playing shell games" that began after a 2013 law gave schools a way to sidestep the class-size requirements of the 2002 constitutional amendment. Orlando Sentinel. Tampa Bay Times. Palm Beach Post.
Opinions on schools: Today's tests-oriented classrooms are putting critical thinking skills at risk, and the decline started with a 2006 Florida law that says "only facts be taught when it comes to discussing the period of discovery and the early colonies." This Magazine.
School for Deaf and Blind: The Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind (FSDB) provides hope and services for children across north Florida. Tallahassee Democrat. FSDB football coach Eric LeFors, who is deaf, talks about the school's 102nd season. Tallahassee Democrat.
Literacy project: Palm Beach County schools, the city of West Palm Beach, nonprofits and corporations team up to improve literacy in schools. Palm Beach Post.
School traffic patterns: There will be little traffic impact if children from a Pasco County subdivision are rezoned to a different school, school official say after studying the complaint by parents. Tampa Bay Times. (more…)
School settlement: Miami-Dade County Public Schools settles with the U.S. Department of Justice over a claim that the system discriminated against job applicants who were immigrants. The county does not admit to any wrongdoing, though it has paid a $90,000 civil citation. Miami Herald.
School testing: State Sen. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, is confident the Legislature will consider reforms to school assessment testing in the next session. Daily Commercial. Highlands County teachers complain to the school board that there's a mismatch between reading curriculum and testing. Highlands Today.
Instructional coaches: Are Florida schools getting their money's worth for the increasingly popular practice of having district instructional coaches? A legislative committee wonders. Gradebook.
Principal legislation: A Florida House committee has approved a bill for a three-county pilot program that would give principals of underperforming schools greater autonomy to hire and fire teachers. Bay News 9.
Transfers for sports: Too many Polk County high school students are switching schools for athletics, a practice that doesn't always work out for the students, county school officials say. Lakeland Ledger.
STEM classes in jeopardy: Four teacher training classes - middle grades and secondary math, middle grades science and secondary biology - are suspending enrollment at Florida SouthWestern State College due to a lack of interest. Fort Myers News-Press. (more…)
