District's force blasted: A Palm Beach County grand jury looking into school security issues a report blasting the school district's police department, calling it "understaffed, underfunded and underpaid" and saying it is misleading the public about how well it's protecting schools. “If the Palm Beach County School Board and the [school district] do not want to adequately fund, hire, pay and equip the [school district police], they are in effect wasting our taxpayer money and could be putting our children’s lives in danger,” the grand jury concluded. If the district isn't willing to spend the money necessary, the grand jury said, it should turn over the job to the sheriff's office. School officials call the grand jury's suggestion to fix the problems by using financial reserves or cutting other school programs “irresponsible.” Palm Beach Post. Sun-Sentinel.
School security: South Florida schools districts are scrambling to hire police officers to comply with the state mandate of having an armed officer in all schools when they reopen this fall. Sun-Sentinel. Sarasota County Sheriff Tom Knight and county commissioners criticize School Superintendent Todd Bowden for his handling of negotiations for school resource officers and for the district's decision to create its own police force. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. WFLA. WTSP. About 180 people have applied to become armed guardians for the Volusia County School District. Sheriff's officials say about 130 met the minimum requirements and will be interviewed. As many as 52 could be hired to guard elementary and charter schools. Daytona Beach News-Journal. Orlando Sentinel. Estero city officials say protecting schools should be the responsibility of the Lee County Sheriff's Office, not the city. WFTX. The St. Johns County School District and county agree to a deal to have the sheriff hire 16 youth resource deputies to help guard schools. The district will contribute $1.4 million and the county $1 million. St. Augustine Record. (more…)
School assignments. Parents should have more say in where their kids go to school, rather than face felony charges for lying about their addresses, a Sun-Sentinel guest column argues. (The author works at Step Up For Students, which publishes this blog, and an earlier version of the piece ran here.) The Escambia school district starts implementing a digital school registration system. Pensacola News-Journal.
Elections. Florida's statewide teachers union is keeping a close eye on legislative races as they develop. Gradebook. Charter school operators make campaign contributions in school board races. Gradebook. The League of Women Voters weighs in here. Collier County School Board hopefuls debate. Naples Daily News. A Marion school board candidate drops out of her race, citing confusion over residency requirements. Ocala Star-Banner. A Leon County superintendent candidate may abandon his bid, and seek re-election to the Tallahassee City Commission instead. Tallahassee Democrat.
Collective bargaining. Hillsborough County schools look to rewrite teacher job categories after a Gates Foundation grant expires. A proposal would create three classes of teachers: Tenured teachers, one-year contract employees and probationary hires. Gradebook.
Charter schools. The St. Johns County School Board moves to take over a charter school plagued by financial problems. St. Augustine Record.
School boards. Alachua County's April Griffin is set to lead the Florida School Boards Association next year. Gainesville Sun. (more…)
K-12 budget: The Senate and House make no progress on resolving their differences on education spending. Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, presented a final version of the bill to the House, but the cochair of the education budget conference committee, Rep. Erik Fresen, R-Miami, apparently wanted to continue negotiating. So Gaetz ended the talks, and work on resolving the issues will continue in appropriations committees. "Most of the issues, although the entire budget's getting bumped, are closer than what it would seem," Fresen says. Politico Florida. News Service of Florida. Naples Daily News. Here's a status update on the major education bills in the Legislature. Politico Florida. The Senate's next president, Joe Negron, R-Palm City, expresses satisfaction at increasing school spending without relying on property taxes. Politico Florida.
No test glitches: No glitches are reported on Monday, the first day of statewide Florida Standards Assessments testing. Testing continues through May. Sun-Sentinel. Gulf Breeze students talk about the pressures of testing. Pensacola News Journal.
Opting out: Opt-out movement leaders predict more students will skip the Florida Standards Assessments tests that began Monday. In 2014, about 5,500 didn't take the exams. In 2015 that number was more than 20,000 - but that's just a tiny fraction of the 3 million-plus exams taken. Orlando Sentinel.
Pre-K questions: The man who helped create the state's free, voluntary prekindergarten system now questions how the state is calculating readiness. David Lawrence Jr., chairman of the board of the Children’s Movement of Florida, says any assessments have to include early literacy skills. Pensacola News Journal.
Tornado days: As weather forecasting skills continue to improve, school "tornado days" are joining "snow days" in the education vocabulary. Forbes. (more…)
School tax hike: St. Johns County voters approve a half-cent sale tax increase to pay for new schools and renovate existing ones. St. Augustine Record. WJAX. Florida Politics.
School testing: Brevard County Superintendent Desmond Blackburn is canceling 192 mandatory district-level assessments tests while he evaluates the county's examination system. Florida Today. Gov. Rick Scott should raise the bar on the Florida Standards Assessment math exams, argues Paul Cottle on Bridge to Tomorrow. Examining the changes in the new SAT test. New York Times.
School construction: Orange County school officials urge county commissioners to allow schools to be built on smaller lots. Orlando Sentinel. Lee County school officials acknowledge property adjacent to several gated communities is not a perfect spot for a new high school, but they argue it is the best of what's available. Naples Daily News.
School spending: Hillsborough County School Board members are asking for a $900,000 efficiency audit to help control spending. Tampa Bay Times. Tampa Tribune. Higher than expected tax revenues will allow Pasco County to accelerate the timetable for school improvements. Gradebook.
Charter schools: The Palm Beach County School Board is expected to deny Renaissance Charter School's request to open its first high school in the county because the Charter Schools USA product reportedly is not innovative enough. Palm Beach Post. (more…)
Charter schools: K12 Inc., a company that operates two charter schools in South Florida, accuses the board chairman of those schools of possibly breaking ethics laws by writing checks to a nonprofit organization he runs and its chief administrative officer. Sun-Sentinel. The Washington Post recounts the story of the relationship between Jeb Bush and an African-American charter school he helped start in Miami in 1996.
Testing optional: Even though a majority of respondents in Florida and nationally support regular school testing, a growing number of parents think they should be able to opt out, according to a St. Leo University Polling Institute survey. Gradebook. The Pasco County school system is asking teachers and principals for their thoughts on quarterly tests. Gradebook.
School recess: Osceola County parents are petitioning to require daily recess for elementary students. News13.
Teacher shortage: Lee County schools have a shortage of teachers and qualified substitutes, and teachers are no longer permitted to take off work for professional training. Fort Myers News-Press.
Administrators retiring: Two top administrators in the Marion County school system are retiring. Ocala Star-Banner. (more…)
School testing: A Polk County teacher's resignation over her frustration with testing is going viral. Wendy Bradshaw wrote, in part, "Like many other teachers across the nation, I have become more and more disturbed by the misguided reforms taking place which are robbing my students of a developmentally appropriate education." Lakeland Ledger. President Obama's call to cut back on school testing is not enough to make a difference for Florida, the Sun Sentinel editorializes. And it probably won't change much. State Impact Florida. Florida's performance in the most recent round of testing assessments is not as bad as it seems, according to a Sarasota Herald-Tribune editorial. Standardized testing is failing its mission, argues the Ocala Star-Banner in an editorial.
Teacher pay: Volusia County teachers resume bargaining over salaries with the school district today. The teachers are lobbying for a 5 percent boost. Daytona Beach News-Journal. A bill setting a statewide minimum salary for teachers isn't the best approach, writes Scott Kent, opinion page editor of the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
School district funding: Hillsborough County's school district is optimistic it can close a funding shortfall of $142 million. Tampa Tribune. Leon County School Board member Alva Striplin is concerned about the school system dipping into reserves. Tallahassee Democrat. St. Johns County voters will decide Tuesday on a half-cent sales tax increase to support school district capital projects. St. Augustine Record. The Manatee County School Board has delayed asking the county to reinstate school impact fees, a decision the superintendent says could cost the system $1 million a month. Bradenton Herald.
Charter school funding: Should five Indian River County charter schools receive the same per-student funding as other district schools get? A mediator is being called in to help resolve the dispute. TCPalm. (more…)
Gates Foundation: Hillsborough County's school district will dismantle the complex teacher evaluation system it developed six years ago with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Tampa Bay Times.
School testing: This week's Board of Education hearing reveals a perception gap among parents, school officials and business leaders on school testing and accountability. Miami Herald. Gradebook. Sunshine State News. Bridge to Tomorrow. Behind the politics of testing. The Atlantic. School testing takes up far too much time, the Tampa Bay Times argues in an editorial.
Charter schools: Palm Beach County School Supt. Robert Avossa reverses a decision to withhold federal funds from charter schools for disabled student services. Palm Beach Post. A member of the Indian River County School Board says the district's charter schools are being shortchanged when it comes to financial resources. TCPalm. State Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Destin, proposes a bill to make charter schools eligible for mandatory student uniform incentive funds. Tampa Bay Times.
Sales tax controversy: Lake County school officials say they couldn't have renovated six high schools without use of the penny sales tax, but county officials contend that use requires voter approval. Daily Commercial.
Teacher pay: Negotiations between the Hillsborough County school district and the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association break down. Tampa Bay Times. (more…)
Failure Factories. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan calls his visit to South Pinellas County schools "the beginning, not the end." Tampa Bay Times.
Testing. The New York Times covers Florida's testing controversy. Parents will soon get the results from last spring's round of testing. Orlando Sentinel. A Miami Beach parent-teacher organization weighs in. Gradebook. An outmoded testing rule will be taken off the books. Gradebook.
Parental choice. The EdFly recaps parents' discussion of the impact of reform.
Philanthropy. The Tampa Bay Times looks at the hidden costs of a Gates Foundation grant in Hillsborough.
Class size. The Sun-Sentinel explores the complications of Florida's constitutional requirement.
Digital learning. The Palm Beach Post talks to an award-winning librarian. Collier parents get tech training. Naples Daily News.
STEM. A student's project to combat toxic algae wins awards. Stuart News. Students visit an agriculture extension to learn about science and farming. Ocala Star-Banner. (more…)
Personalized learning. A Gates Foundation grant helps Pinellas schools try a new approach. Tampa Bay Times.
Charter schools. The Lake school board wants more time to decide a charter application. Leesburg Daily Commercial.
Principal autonomy. Legislation returns this year. Sun-Sentinel.
Lawsuits. The statewide teachers union might sue over a bonus program. Orlando Sentinel.
Class size. Lake school board members hope to avoid penalties incurred last year. Orlando Sentinel.
Audits. Lawmakers probe Palm Beach bus woes. Sun-Sentinel. Palm Beach Post.
Supplies. Teachers bristle at having to show receipts for supply-assistance funding. Gradebook.
School boards. A Collier school board member avoids censure by the Republican Party. Naples Daily News. An Escambia school board member is set to resign. Pensacola News-Journal.
