Miami-Dade: As high school seniors here walk across the graduation stage to get their diplomas this month, many are hearing the words of poet Amanda Gorman. Steve Gallon, a school board member, says he's quoting from Gorman's poem, "The Hill We Climb," in every graduation speech he gives. The references in Gallon's speeches are in response to a recent decision at a public school in Miami Lakes to limit the access of elementary school students to the poem after a parent claimed the work included 'indirect hate messages' and was 'indoctrinating' students. Gorman at 22 years old became the youngest inaugural poet in the nation's history. WLRN.
Palm Beach: The Lake Worth High School teacher who put photos of students on his classroom board and labeled them using coffee terms is being recommendation for termination. Cary Altschuler, an Advanced Placement statistics teacher, posted three students photos on the board with the terms above their heads, according to two classroom sources. Principal Elena Villani sent home a letter apologizing to parents, and the teacher was moved to a job where he had no student contact. The school board will vote on June 14 regarding Superintendent Mike Burke's recommendation to fire Altschuler for violations of ethical standards and inappropriate interactions with students, among others. Palm Beach Post.
Hillsborough: Missing keys, broken strings and stuck pedals are just some of the issues plaguing pianos at Blake High School. To help solve the problem, a massive fundraising effort is underway to replace them. The school has teamed up with the Robby Steinhardt Foundation to raise $500,000 for 17 new Steinway pianos. “So the school opened in 1998, and the pianos we are currently using every day are from 1998,” said piano teacher Matt Stemberg.
Hernando: Commencement ceremonies ended last week, but accolades continue for students who finished in the top of their classes at public and private schools in this county. Tampa Bay Times. Meanwhile, teachers and staff members got a briefing on school safety this week as part of the district's annual School Safety Summit at Crosspoint Church. This year, two nationally recognized experts in school safety hosted keynote sessions. One, held Monday, featured Max Schachter, who lost a child in the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High. Schacter said he is working on a project that focuses on keeping students in Florida safe. Baynews 9. Meanwhile, as HB 773 approaches Gov. Ron DeSantis' desk, a signature from the governor would mean it will be up to Hernando voters to decide whether the superintendent will be an appointed position by the school board or elected by voters in a partisan election. Controversy has arisen over John Stratton, the current superintendent, in recent years. If the bill is signed by the governor, it will need to be passed by referendum from Hernando voters in 2024. Partisan elections for superintendent would start four years after that. WUFT.
Alachua: Priorities for comprehensive rezoning efforts will again be on the agenda for the school board's meeting, in addition to public hearings for proposed changes to student conduct codes and other board policies. The school board here began a public discussion of its priorities for the rezoning effort at a May workshop. Students are spread unevenly, with some over capacity and others under, according to SBAC Chair Tina Certain. Main Street Daily News.
University and college news: New College of Florida's visiting professor, Erik Wallenberg, learned in May that the school's administration opted not to renew his contract — leaving the school without a U.S. history teacher. Miami New Times.
Black history: An EdWeek Research Center survey this year found that a slim majority of educators said they spend some or a lot of time teaching Black history. Meanwhile, chapters of the Florida coalition of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History are stepping in to teach Black history to high school students. In St. Petersburg, the Freedom School is a summer program aimed at high school students to be held at the local Carter G. Woodson Museum. Classes are free, and take place once a week through the beginning of August, with a limit of about 25 students for the pilot this year, officials say. It is one of at least two Florida chapters piloting such a program this year. The namesake harkens back to Freedom Schools of the 1960s. Education Week.
School study: Charter schools now outperform traditional public schools, according to a report from a group of researchers who have studied the evolution of charters since 2000. Education Week.
Opinions on schools: Last week saw excitement in Arizona political circles as the state's Department of Education estimated 2024 Empowerment Scholarship Enrollment at 100,000 students. But that excitement translated into absurd fear mongering predictions of financial ruin for Arizona. Matthew Ladner, reimaginED. In October, about 70 school and district leaders from around the country gathered in Utah for a mental health summit. Administrators broke away more than once to deal with mental health emergencies in their districts. This brought to light what has become increasingly apparent over the past few years: Students are in the middle of a mental health crisis. Depression and anxiety are on the rise among young people, statistics show. Anne Brown, The 74th.
Testing investigation: Six conservative legislators are calling on the Florida Department of Education to investigate whether three school districts deliberately limited the number of low-performing 7th-graders taking the state end-of-course civics exam in order to earn better school grades from the state. Sen. Dennis Baxley and Reps. Jason Fischer, Michael Bileca, James Grant, Bob Rommel and Jennifer Sullivan, all Republicans, and the Florida Coalition of School Board Members suggest that the Duval, Manatee and Polk districts limited the number of struggling students taking the test in order to boost the grades of schools and keep charter schools from moving in under the Schools of Hope law. District officials say they are simply having many of the struggling students take the test as 8th-graders, when they might be better prepared, which state law allows them to do. Gradebook. redefinED.
School security: A school safety agreement is reached between the Sarasota County School Board and Sheriff Tom Knight. The district will pay 80 percent and the sheriff 20 percent of the $1.6 million for 11 deputies to cover 10 schools, plus a lieutenant and two sergeants. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. More than 100 people have applied to become armed guardians to protect Manatee County schools. Most have law enforcement or military backgrounds, officials say. About 40 will be hired. Bradenton Herald. The city of Clermont agrees to provide resource officers for three elementary schools and a K-8 charter school. The Lake County School District will pay the city $279,653 for the officers, and a one-time fee of $211,280 for equipment, including new police cars. Daily Commercial. A coalition of law enforcement groups is looking at ways to make schools safer. The initiative is led by Max Schachter, whose son Alex died in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting Feb. 14. Schachter's group, Safe Schools for Alex Foundation, organized the meeting of the eight groups after he discovered there is no nationally recognized list of recommendations to improve school security. Sun-Sentinel. As individual districts work to meet the state mandate for an armed guard in every school, the Florida Department of Education is working to finish setting up its Office of Safe Schools to coordinate the security efforts. Damien Kelly, formerly a public corruption inspector for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, is its director. WFSU. (more…)
School grades improve: The number of Florida schools getting a grade of A or B from the state this year is up 2 percentage points, from 56 to 58 percent, according to the Florida Department of Education's annual report. The state also says the number of schools receiving a D or F dropped a percentage point, from 8 to 7 percent, and 96 percent of the schools that got an F last year moved up at least one grade. More than 3,200 schools were graded, and 1,027 received an A. Districts were also graded, and 53 of the 67 got an A or B, up from 48 last year. The grades are calculated with an 11-category formula that includes student achievement, learning gains on state tests and high school graduation rates. Florida Department of Education. Orlando Sentinel. Gradebook. Here are reports from individual school districts: Miami-Dade, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Palm Beach, Broward, Duval, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Polk, Brevard, Leon, Sarasota, Manatee, Highlands, Lee, Collier, Lake, Alachua, Marion, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, St. Johns, Clay, Nassau, Baker, Hernando, Volusia, Flagler, Bay, Escambia, Citrus, Jefferson, Gadsden. No Florida charter school will be closed, since none received back-to-back F grades from the state. redefinED.
Ruling hits unions: The U.S. Supreme Court rules 5-4 that public labor unions, such as teachers unions, cannot compel workers who do not wish to join to pay dues to support for collective bargaining. Forcing dissenting employees to pay dues to a union is a violation of First Amendment protections, wrote Justice Samuel A. Alito for the majority. The case, Janus v. AFSCME, overturned a precedent set in the 1970s that allowed unions to collect dues for contract negotiations and other labor activities from workers who didn't join. You can read Wednesday's decision here. The 74. New York Times. Associated Press. Tallahassee Democrat. Chalkbeat. Education Week. Politico. More on the decision and the possible ramifications. The 74. (more…)
