Testing. Testing resumes in Florida amid minor "hiccups" and continued cancellations in Duval County. Sun-Sentinel. Palm Beach Post. Florida Times-Union. Bradenton Herald. Completion rates climb. Orlando Sentinel. How does computer-based testing affect students? StateImpact. Testing opt-outs rise. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Charter schools. Charter school legislation is also on the agenda in Tallahassee. Miami Herald. Naples Daily News.
Superintendents. Hillsborough's MaryEllen Elia bids farewell to her leadership post. Tampa Tribune. Brevard's superintendent is also set to leave. Florida Today.
Planning. The Hillsborough school district will get representation on a local planning board. Tampa Tribune.
Start times. New legislation would give school districts more control over when classes can start. Gradebook.
STEM. Where is prep for physics teachers succeeding? Bridge to Tomorrow.
Education legislation. StateImpact takes a look at where key education issues stand - including tax credit scholarships and funding for charter schools - at the midway point of the legislative session.
School rankings. The Washington Post ranks six Florida magnet and charter schools in the top 20 on this year's list of the most challenging schools in the country. More here.
Tax credit scholarships. Florida's program is the largest of its kind in the nation. WCTV. More from RedefinED.
School boundaries. Despite concerns about the impact charter schools could have on enrollment, Palm Beach County school district officials plan to alter zoning boundaries to relieve overcrowding at some locations. Palm Beach Post.
Magnet schools. A struggling Miami-Dade middle school could soon add a magnet program. Miami Herald.
School recognition. Palm Beach County schools bring in $8.4 million in bonuses this year. Sun-Sentinel. Gov. Rick Scott touts the money during a visit. Palm Beach Post.
Testing. The Utah Board of Education reaches a deal to allow Florida to lease its testing systems. Desert News, via Gradebook.
Closures. The Brevard school board is set to take up new procedures for closing schools in the future. Florida Today.
If you need any more proof that the political coalition for school choice is as broad as it gets, listen to Nancy Stacy, a school board member-elect in Marion County, Fla. Stacy is a Republican Party activist, backed by the Tea Party, who describes herself as “to the right of Jerry Falwell.” But in some of her battles with school boards, she said, her closest allies were feisty moms “to the left of Hillary Clinton.”
Now Stacy, 58, has plans to use her new power as a school board member to pitch school choice and parental empowerment to low-income parents, particularly minority parents. She suggests many of them are probably fans of President Obama, but … so what?
“One thing all parents have in common with one another, regardless of political party, is we all want the best education for our children,” she said in a phone interview with redefinED. “I work with anybody that can help me with that goal.”
For two decades, Stacy has been a steady pain for the district, unleashing her inner pit bull on everything from curriculum to scheduling. Don’t get her started. Within minutes, the retired construction company owner will be railing against a school system that has “become a jobs program,” blows money on “snake oil peddling consultants,” and is run by “a bunch of jocks.“
Stacy said she was inspired by Herman Cain to run for school board instead of again backing other candidates. Her opponent was a retired school administrator. He had strong backing from the teachers union. The reaction last month when he lost?
People were “freakin’ slap out,” she said. “Totally.”
They don’t believe what she’s going to do next, either, she said. (more…)
