Districts trying to cope: Florida Panhandle school districts are assessing damages from Hurricane Michael and trying to cobble together recovery plans to get schools reopened. In hardest-hit Bay County, school officials say they are developing shared campus plans and hope to make an announcement by the end of the week. In Gulf County, the district hopes to reopen schools in two weeks, also by sharing schools. Other district still closed at least through this week and possibly longer are Calhoun, Franklin, Jackson, Liberty and Washington. Gadsden County reopens today. News Service of Florida. Florida Department of Education. WMBB. Associated Press. Education Week. WFSU. Miami Herald. Pensacola News Journal. Florida Today. Forty-six displaced students enroll in Leon County schools. Tallahassee Democrat. WFSU. Educators around the state are collecting donations for schools affected by the hurricane. Gradebook. Ocala Star-Banner. Pensacola News Journal.
ACT test scores: Florida students scored an average of 19.9 on the ACT test, which is both below the national average and scores from comparable states, and represents no improvement over the past four years. About 80 percent of those tested scored so low in English, math, reading and science that ACT officials say they can't be considered prepared for college work. Nearly 120,000 Florida students took the exam. “We know it is not good” to score a 19.9 and see so many students who aren’t considered college-ready, says Stacey Rutledge, an associate professor in Florida State University’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. Florida Phoenix. (more…)
'Schools of hope': In Florida, 77,000 students attend public schools that have received grades of D or F from the state for three years or more. Those are the schools House Republicans plan to improve with their "Schools of Hope" legislation, which would set aside $200 million to bring in well-regarded charter schools to offer those students an alternative. Nearly half of the struggling schools are in south Florida and the Tampa Bay area. Critics say the legislation is a simplistic solution to a complex problem. Miami Herald. Backers of the bill find support in a ruling last year by a Leon County judge. Circuit Judge George Reynolds tossed out a suit claiming that the state's funding of public schools did not meet the constitutional requirement to provide a "high quality" education system. Reynolds' ruling also warned of school boards' seeming complacency in accepting long-term F schools, something the new bill aims to address. redefinED.
School testing: Most legislators share the opinion that the state testing system needs to be reformed. What's unclear is which of the competing bills will be chosen by the Senate to move forward. One compresses the testing schedule into the final three weeks of the school year and requires results back within a week. The other would also move testing later in the school year, eliminate some exams and allow districts to administer the tests in paper and pencil. School officials say either bill would present practical challenges. Tampa Bay Times.
Religious expression: The House will vote Tuesday whether to proceed with the original Senate bill guaranteeing students and employees freedom of religious expression in public schools or adopt the House's shorter and amended version. Gradebook.
Disappearing seniors: The Manatee County School District is among 10 districts that have drawn the attention of the state Department of Education for their high number of likely-to-fail seniors who transfer from public high schools to alternative schools. Since the 2013-2014 school year, at least 515 Manatee County seniors who would not have graduated have transferred to Smart Horizons, an accredited online private school. Manatee Superintendent Diana Greene says anyone who thinks the district is "cooking the books" to improve graduation rates doesn't understand the numbers. Bradenton Herald. (more…)
