Charter schools. A new charter opening in Broward this fall will offer blended learning. THE Journal. The Imagine in Pasco offers an expanded expansion request. Gradebook.
Magnet schools. The Palm Beach district is speeding up its annual lottery process. Palm Beach Post.
Single-gender schools. The Palm Beach district finds a new home for an all-boys academy. Palm Beach Post.
School choice. Orange will allow students at overcrowded schools to transfer to less-crowded schools. Orlando Sentinel. Okaloosa is ending a horticulture program at one of its high school in part because of lack of interest. Northwest Florida Daily News.
Dual enrollment. The Bradenton Herald writes up the potential effect on Manatee of the Legislature's cost shift to districts.
NAEP. Scores for older students remain at the same level they were 40 years ago, but achievement is trending up for younger, minority students. Associated Press.
Science. The vast majority of commenters during a review period want Florida to adopt Next Generation Science Standards. Orlando Sentinel.
Jeb Bush. His Foundation for Florida's Future issues its annual legislative report card.
Rick Scott. In a discussion with teachers of the year from around the state, he stresses increased funding for education. Palm Beach Post. More from the Tallahassee Democrat.
School spending. The Pinellas school board turns down the idea of contracting its police force out to the sheriff's office, even though it might save money. Gradebook. More from the Tampa Tribune.
Superintendents. Brevard's Brian Binggeli gets a positive eval and an offer of a three-year contact. Florida Today.
Charter schools. They're becoming more involved in the political process, reports the Florida Times Union. The Bradenton Herald takes a look at the challenges ahead for Rowlett Elementary, the Bradenton magnet that's becoming a charter school. So does the Sarasota Herald Tribune. (Sidebar on other charter school conversions here.) The fledgling Ben Gamla charterschool in Pinellas closes because of a dispute with its national board, reports the Tampa Bay Times. The Lake Wales Charter School system has more than 400 students on a waiting list for its middle school, prompting debate how to expand, reports the Lakeland Ledger.
Dual enrollment. Districts are chafing at having to pick up the tab, reports the Tampa Bay Times. More from the Northwest Florida Daily News.
School choice. The lottery process will be a topic for discussion at a school choice summit in Palm Beach County. Extra Credit.
Common Core. Training helps teachers instill love of math, reports StateImpact Florida. It's clear, concise and good for kids, says a teacher at a high-poverty school in this column by Karin Choweth at Ed Trust (H/T Tampa Bay Times).
Testing. The Happy Scientist raises questions about the science FCAT. Miami Herald.
Humanities. Don't forget them amidst the growing emphasis on STEM. Tampa Bay Times.
School technology. Hillsborough teachers like BYOD. Tampa Bay Times. (more…)
Arizona: New statistics show the state has the second-highest percentage of students enrolled in charter schools in the nation (Today's News Herald). Gov. Jan Brewer signs off on expansion of school voucher program, adding kindergartners and increasing funding for all students who qualify (Arizona Daily Star).
Washington, D.C.: New study shows district and charter schools suspended one out of 10 students in the 2011-12 school year (Washington Post). Mayor Vincent Gray talks about blurring the lines in school choice, suggesting elementary charter schools feed into traditional middle schools and vice versa, among other ideas (Washington Post).
Delaware: The state approves three new charter schools, including one that offers its students internships (The News Journal).
Georgia: Atlanta public schools take fight against charter schools concerning unfunded pension liabilities to Georgia Supreme Court (Atlanta Journal-Constitution).
New Jersey: Gov. Chris Christie's administration puts another three charter schools on probation and issues warning to 11 others in a quest to raise standards (NJSpotlight). Some Camden district teachers want to open their own charter schools (Philadelphia Inquirer).
New Hampshire: A judge rules the new education tax credit law violates the state Constitution’s ban on sending public money to religious schools, but the program can continue to provide scholarships for secular schools and homeschooling (Concord Monitor).
Louisiana: Gov. Bobby Jindal signs off on a parent trigger bill that allows parents to petition to shift control from some failing Recovery School District schools back to the local system (Times-Picayune). The state Board of Education approves a new course choice program that will allow public school students to take hard-to-get classes online (The Advocate).
Florida: The woman spearheading a charter conversion in Manatee County has ties to Fund Education Now, an organization that has opposed charter school expansion (Sunshine State News). Rowlett Magnett Elementary will be the first public school to convert into a charter in the past five years (Sarasota Herald-Tribune). A Marion County school board member suggests some cost-saving ideas to save teachers jobs, including shutting down or charging students for the IB program (Ocala Star Banner). Some private schools in Florida are signing up for Common Core training (redefinED). Pembroke Pines agrees not to privatize its charter school system, but teachers will have to take pay cuts (Sun-Sentinel). A tax credit scholarship helps single father send his son to private school (redefinED). Gateway Charter School in Fort Myers tells students to finish up Florida Virtual School online courses, or pay up (Associated Press). (more…)
Editor’s note: Most discussions of school choice today are focused on newer options – charters, vouchers, tax credit scholarships – that are intended to empower parents without the ability or means to access the right school. But Catherine Robinson, a Tampa mother and assistant director of outreach for the Step Up For Students scholarship program, writes that old-fashioned methods can work as well.
School choice time again with the Robinsons.
I’ve been through this before. Many times.
Searching for the right school for my children has never been easy, but since we all know the importance of education in determining a good future, every few years, I skip some happy hours and dedicate myself to finding the best choice for my twin sons.
Ten years ago, Jacob and Zachary were ready for preschool and over the course of several months, I researched local providers. I consulted trusted friends, official “studies” and interviewed administrators in ways that put Senate confirmation hearings to shame.
I finally decided on a school 45 minutes away from our home. Quite a drive, but my husband deferred to me in this area, as I was a teacher at the time, the way I deferred to him, as the father, when deciding which coaches to ignore at T-ball practice.
Our children did well in preschool and precedent was established.
A few short years later, in preparation for their elementary years, I conducted similar research. I looked at school grades, asked around, and visited facilities at drop off and pick up times before choosing a wonderful public school, this time only a half-hour drive from our home.
The Big Recession threw us some unexpected curve balls and we relocated to Colorado Springs. Where it snows. In May. Within a year, we high-tailed it back to Tampa. This was 2008, the height of the economic crisis, and so we rented a home rather than buy.
I didn’t realize then what a blessing that would be. (more…)
Rowlett Magnet Elementary teachers react after hearing the final vote count for a charter conversion school.
In a state that has found itself politically deadlocked over whether parents should be given the power to change who runs a public school, a Bradenton elementary magnet school pulled its own type of trigger this week. The vote to convert to a charter school was made under existing Florida law, which calls for both parents and teachers to approve, and the results were a disquieting declaration of educational independence. Parents: 480-26. Teachers: 57-4.
This is an arts school mimicking art, conducting what amounts to its own version of Won’t Back Down, the Hollywood drama that featured a band of parents and teachers who fought to turn their own school around. Yes, there are clear differences: Rowlett Elementary is not suffering. It is a popular magnet school that has received an A or B rating from the state over the past five years and has enjoyed the financial fruit of a Rowlett Family Association that raised $170,00 just last year.
Parents gathered at Rowlett Magnet Elementary in Bradenton, Fla., recently to witness the final vote count to turn the district school into a charter school.
But Rowlett is a racially and economically diverse school, in a middle- to low-income neighborhood, and what is familiar is the powerful sense of self-determination. The campaign has brought together teachers and parents who in other circumstances might have been skeptical of such tools. One of the parents is an active member of a group in Florida, Fund Education Now, that has taken credit for defeating the parent trigger bill the past two years.
“It’s not the direction I thought we would be going in after 13 years,” said principal Brian Flynn, a 34-year school district employee who has led the school since it opened in 2000. “It’s not about wanting to leave the district. We wanted to be able to continue the type of programs that we have always offered.”
"We will be able to continue the excellence, the programs, the tone, that Rowlett already has," parent Glorianne Flint told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. "What is the School Board going to do to continue the wonderful programs that Rowlett has? The district can't give us that answer." (more…)
Going charter: An overwhelming number of parents and teachers voted in favor of converting Rowlett Magnet Elementary in Bradenton into a charter school. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. More from the Bradenton Herald.
Job cuts: Plans to cut and downgrade Polk County school district positions are put on hold. Ledger.
Budget fix: Residents tell a local newspaper how Polk County schools can offset its $12.7 million shortfall. One common solution: eliminate school board salaries. Ledger.
Black males: Broward County looks to figure out how to boost academic success of young black boys. Miami Herald.
Disney ED: Broward County schools hopes the Disney Institute can help the South Florida district make its schools a more pleasant place for students, parents, and district employees. Miami Herald.
In debt: Palm Bay Academy charter school in Brevard County is $12.2 million in debt and way behind on bond payments. Florida Today.
High demand: Sarasota County Technical Institute gets a new precision-machining lab that will help the school train students for high-skilled manufacturing jobs. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Music man: Flagler Beach music teacher Rodney Harshbarger is up for a national award. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Outsourcing: Volusia County school district looks at using a private company for groundskeeper services to help plug a $19 million shortfall. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Common Core: A quick primer on the new national education standards that have divided conservatives and created a backlash of criticism. Miami Herald.
Illinois: Gov. Pat Quinn is expected to sign into law a bill that sets aside 33 percent of the enrollment at charter schools for children with parents assigned to federal military bases (Lake County Journal).
New York: The successful True North Rochester Prep charter school group plans to expand to serve 2,600 students (Democrat and Chronicle).
New Jersey: Newark's charter schools network receives $10 million from national donors including the Walton Foundation and the Doris and Donald Fisher Fund (Newark Patch). A proposed state takeover of the Camden school district could result in an all-charter district or a radically restructured one (Education Week). Debate continues on Gov. Chris Christie's school voucher program (NJ Spotlight). The state education department blocks the opening of two virtual charter schools with ties to K12, Inc. (Star-Ledger).
Michigan: Detroit Academy of Arts and Sciences' CEO, Maurice Morton, says the charter school has had its share of success and failure, much like any public school (BET).
Maine: Bangor City Council considers a moratorium on charter schools, citing the negative effects of competition on the local school district (Bangor Daily News). Lawmakers pass a bill requiring charter schools to be run by nonprofits (Bangor Daily News). The Senate gave preliminary approval to a bill that would put a temporary moratorium on virtual charter schools (Portland Press Herald). The charter school commission considers a year moratorium on charter applications after noting the time-consuming work monitoring the five charters it already approved (Morning Sentinel).
Pennsylvania: The Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit, a school choice program, aims to raise at least $1 million by July 1, with donations starting to add up (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). The House Education Committee passed legislation that prevents charter schools from double dipping in pension funds from the district and the state, and increases the tax credit program funding from $25 million to $125 million (Patriot-News). More from the York Dispatch. State charter school leaders joined Philadelphia's call for more state education funding (NewsWorks). 2016 GOP presidential candidate Rand Paul set to give commencement speech at Philadelphia charter school (Washington Examiner).
Mississippi: House Speaker Philip Gunn predicts one of the most heavily-debated education reform measures next year in the Legislature will be tax credit scholarships (Northeast Mississippi News). (more…)
Charter schools. Parents at Rowlett Elementary, a magnet in Manatee, say their calculations show a charter school conversion will bring in more money for fine arts programs. Sarasota Herald Tribune.
Virtual schools. Florida Virtual School holds its first ever graduation for full-time students, reports the Seminole Chronicle. Lee County's virtual school, the Lee Virtual Instruction Program, gets a Bronze ranking from U.S. News & World Report's high school rating system, reports Fort Myers Beach Talk.
School technology. Foundations may need to help school districts shift into higher gear. StateImpact Florida.
Common Core. Crazy claim of the week: involves Glenn Beck, Common Core and eyeball scanners in Polk County. Oh, mercy. EdFly Blog.
Retiring teachers. A final farewell. South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Graduating seniors. A Pinellas teen with cancer finds the strength to walk with her class. Tampa Bay Times. (more…)
For the last month, the North Carolina legislature has been debating whether to create a scholarship program to help low-income families pay the tuition and fees at qualified K-12 private schools. Since this proposal closely parallels Florida’s tax credit scholarship program, I’ve traveled to Raleigh three times in recent weeks to discuss what we’ve learned in Florida about school choice over the last 10 years and how these lessons might apply to the North Carolina program.
Below are the lessons learned I’ve shared with supporters and opponents:
The former superintendent abruptly resigned amidst a budget shortfall. The new superintendent came under fire immediately for alleged plagiarism. Now teacher positions are being cut.
Given that backdrop, some parents at one of the most popular magnet schools in Manatee County, Fla., say it’s obvious why they want to convert the district school into an independent charter.
They’re worried Rowlett Elementary will lose the special programs and dedicated teachers that made it so successful. And they don’t believe district leaders, mired in a budget crisis that promises drastic cuts, know what they’re doing.
Asked if she had doubts that district administrators could keep Rowlett a top performing school and properly run the district, parent Jessica Nehrboss said this: “Absolutely. I have no doubt in my mind. I have no doubt in my mind and it’s more apparent than ever that they can’t. The county has absolutely proven they cannot handle it.’’
Nehrboss is a mother of four with a fourth-grader at the school and a rising kindergartner. She and other parents will be voting next month on whether to convert Rowlett. Teachers will also be voting. If a majority of each group says yes, the school will apply to the district for a charter.
If Nehrboss’ assessment sounds harsh, consider this: The 44,000-student district is under a spending freeze that has at least one middle school principal so desperate, he is asking parents for donations to make it through the end of the school year. Meanwhile, the proposal to eliminate 182 teaching positions next fall has prompted a petition from a parent who doesn’t believe the district’s projections are accurate. (more…)
