School security: Paul Grohowski, who most recently worked as the director of public safety and chief of police for the Allan Hancock Joint Community College Police Department in Santa Maria, Calif., is hired as police chief for the Sarasota County School District. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Some of the everyday people being hired as school guardians in Polk County talk about their motives for taking the job. Lakeland Ledger. CBS News. A survey shows that students in Boca Raton want improved active shooter drills, bulletproof windows installed and identification badges on campus enforced. Palm Beach Post. The Gulf County teachers union holds a community meeting to discuss school safety, motivating students and other issues. Port St. Joe Star.
Budget problems: The Volusia County School District is projecting a budget deficit of $4.49 million for the next fiscal year, and district officials and school board members have six weeks to close it before the scheduled board vote. Items unsettled include how much school security is going to cost, pay raises as the district continues to negotiate with the teachers union, and whether there will be money left over from the current budget year, which ends June 30. Dipping into reserves has been mentioned as an option to close the deficit. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Teaching with depression: Teachers who suffer from depression spend less time than other teachers in group instruction and explaining new assignments, according to research published in the Journal of School Psychology. Researchers studied 32 3rd-grade teachers and their 326 students in eight schools in north Florida three times over the course of a year, and theorize that depressed teachers may be choosing lessons that require less energy. Education Week.
Trump and choice: President Donald Trump called education "the civil rights issue of our time" during his speech to Congress Tuesday. He urged legislators to "pass an education bill that funds school choice for disadvantaged youth, including millions of African-American and Latino children. These families should be free to choose the public, private, charter, magnet, religious, or home school that is right for them." Education Week. Los Angeles Times. Florida's Denisha Merriweather is cited during Trump's speech as someone whose life was turned around because of school choice. redefinED. The 74. President Trump will visit Saint Andrew Catholic School in Orlando Friday, where he is expected to talk about school choice. Saint Andrew has 295 students who use the tax credit scholarship. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer the scholarship. Orlando Sentinel.
Testing debate: Standardized testing will again be a focus of the legislative session that begins Tuesday. Critics want to cut back on the exams, or give students the option of taking different tests. Others think the testing system in place is necessary and needs to be preserved in some form. News Service of Florida.
Voucher study: A new study finds little evidence that school voucher programs significantly improve student achievement or school district performance. The study, written by Martin Carnoy, a Stanford University professor and research associate at the Washington-based Economic Policy Institute, included evaluations of Florida programs. He wrote that the lack of evidence “suggests that an ideological preference for education markets over equity and public accountability is what is driving the push to expand voucher programs.” Washington Post.
Teachers honored: Evangeline Aguirre, who teaches in the English for Speakers of Other Languages program at Palm Beach Central High in Wellington, is named the Palm Beach County School District's teacher of the year. Palm Beach Post. Sun-Sentinel. Maria Torres-Crosby, a sixth-grade English teacher at Memorial Middle School. is named the Hillsborough County School District's teacher of the year. Tampa Bay Times. (more…)
Meetings agenda: School testing and choice will be the focus of next week's legislative education committee meetings. The House committee will meet Tuesday to discuss "closing the opportunity gap" for low-income students, and the Senate committee will meet Wednesday to discuss ways to cut back on testing. Politico Florida.
Education bills: Two bills are filed in the Florida House that are intended to make college more affordable. One would allow students to use their Bright Futures scholarships to cover summer tuition, and the other increases the number of credit-hours an in-state student can take before incurring a 100 percent tuition surcharge. Both were filed by new Rep. Amber Mariano, R-New Port Richey, a 21-year-old University of Central Florida student. Gradebook. Politico Florida.
Out-of-school suspensions: Orange County School District principals must now consult with their bosses before imposing out-of-school suspensions on students for all but the most serious offenses. The new policy is meant to encourage principals to consider other options. About 1 in 15 Orange students were given out-of-schools suspensions in the 2014-2015 school year, which is slightly higher than the state average. For black students, the rate was 1 in 8. Orlando Sentinel.
School elections: The Manatee County School Board is considering a change in how school board members are elected. The current system elects board members to at-large seats, voted on countywide. Board member Charlie Kennedy wants to change that to single-member districts, arguing that would cut campaign costs and the influence of outside money. Making the change would require a countywide referendum. Bradenton Herald. (more…)
