Teacher turnover: School districts in west-central Florida are struggling to find teachers willing to work in low-income and low-rated schools. Incentive money alone is not working. "It's working conditions above anything else that determines whether teachers stay or go," says Sonja Santelises, vice president of K-12 policy at the Education Trust, whose group has researched schools in poor neighborhoods that achieve high results. Tampa Bay Times. Opt-outs by teachers and principals are creating substantial numbers of openings at low-rated schools in Pinellas County that the district has targeted for turnaround. Gradebook.
Top teacher finalist: Laurie Zentz, the band director at Switzerland Point Middle School in St. Johns County, is one of five finalists for Florida Teacher of the Year. The winner will be announced in July. WJXT. Florida Times-Union. St. Augustine Record.
Debit cards and food: Orange County teachers are angry that the district is ordering them to repay any food purchases they made with their state-issued "classroom supply" debit cards. District officials said they were following orders from the state that prohibit food purchases. When asked directly about it Friday, district officials said food bought for academic lessons, such as science experiments, doesn't have to be reimbursed. That message was not shared across the district, though. Florida provides districts money for teachers to buy "classroom materials and supplies" for students. Orange County's teachers had $275 each to spend this school year. Orlando Sentinel.
Education lawsuit: A group of black pastors is urging the state NAACP to drop out of the lawsuit challenging the legality of tax-credit scholarships. “We see no principled reason to fight an education program that is targeted exclusively at low-income children and has a 14-year track record of helping black students succeed,” according to a petition directed to the NAACP. A Leon County Circuit Court judge dismissed the case last May, and an appeal will be heard Tuesday by the 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, administers tax-credit scholarships for about 80,000 low-income students, and also the Gardiner Scholarships for students with disabilities. Politico Florida. (more…)
Education vetoes: Gov. Rick Scott will not veto $49 million set aside in this year's state budget for teacher bonuses, as many urged him to do. But he says he will veto several other education-related items, and an overall total of $256 million from the $80 billion-plus budget. Here's the full list of items Scott says he will veto. Politico Florida. News Service of Florida. Associated Press. Palm Beach Post. Gradebook.
Discipline policies: The Pinellas County School Board votes to ease its discipline policies. The number of days a student can receive in an out-of-school suspension are reduced, and grades can no longer be lowered for makeup schoolwork. Several groups that have been critical of the district's policies say the changes don't go far enough. Tampa Bay Times.
Fake addresses: The Broward County School Board is considering policy changes to cut down on the number of people using fake addresses to get into schools. One proposal is to have parents resubmit registration information when a school reaches 102 percent of its permanent capacity and/or is expected to need a boundary change within the next two years. Sun-Sentinel.
School rezonings: The Duval County School Board has questions and skepticism about school rezoning and program changes proposed by Superintendent Nikolai Vitti. A vote is scheduled April 5. Florida Times-Union. The Polk County School Board approves rezonings in east Polk for a new school. More than 1,400 students will be affected. Lakeland Ledger.
New school site: A site selection committee votes unanimously to recommend the Imperial Parkway site for a new high school in Bonita Springs. The recommendation goes to the Lee County School Board, which is expected to decide in April. Fort Myers News-Press.
Employees honored: Stephen Anand, a science teacher at Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, is named Palm Beach County teacher of the year. Palm Beach Post. Sun-Sentinel. John Spolski, principal at Fort Walton Beach High School, is one of four U.S. finalists for Varsity Brands’ Principal of Principle award. Northwest Florida Daily News. (more…)
