Tax credit scholarships. The Miami-Dade school board declines to hold a debate on the program and the lawsuit challenging it. Miami Herald. redefinED. Step Up For Students' Doug Tuthill responds to criticism of the program in the Sun-Sentinel. The organization co-hosts this blog.
Virtual school. The director of FLVS Campus, Florida Virtual School's new blended learning initiative, explains why one of the country's largest virtual schools is creating a physical learning space. Virtual Voice.
Teacher evaluations. The Palm Beach County school district proposes an evaluation system that would give all teachers positive evaluations. Palm Beach Post.
School grades. A survey finds parents in Jacksonville rely on things like test scores and school grades to judge schools, but don't understand all the changes to the system. Florida Times-Union.
School info. Design can increase parents' ability to get information about their schools, Omid Jahanbin writes on the EdFly.
Testing. The Lee County school board takes aim at testing with its legislative platform. Fort Myers News-Press.
Teacher pay. Bay County teachers are in for a raise. Panama City News Herald. Pasco teachers may be, as well, after protracted contract negotiations finally close. Tampa Bay Times.
Tax credit scholarships. A Miami Herald guest column attacks the program for not being subject to the same regulations as the public school system. Students in the program should be assessed in science, FSU professor Paul Cottle writes in the Tallahassee Democrat.
Migrant students. The Miami-Dade school board plans to seek more federal funding to accommodate an influx of migrant children fleeing from Central America. Miami Herald.
Whistleblowers. The Palm Beach school board tosses a retaliation complaint against its inspector general. Palm Beach Post. Sun-Sentinel. More here. More school district employees become whistleblowers in a Leon County contracting scandal. Tallahassee Democrat.
Campaigns. An Orange County teacher whose speech blasting school reform spread around the Internet is now running for school board. Orlando Sentinel. Fields are set in many Southwest Florida school board races. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Charter schools. How does Florida's sector stack up? Perhaps not so well. Flypaper.
Employee conduct. One Manatee school administrator is acquitted, and another convicted, in a high-profile sex abuse case. Sarasota Hearld-Tribune. Bradenton Herald.
Teachers. Most days, there are hundreds of substitutes teaching in Pinellas County classrooms. Tampa Bay Times. A report on a teacher prep paints an unflattering picture of Florida colleges. Extra Credit.
Summer. Pasco schools expand their summer course offerings. Tampa Bay Times. Parents don't always make reading a priority after the school year ends, a survey shows. Orlando Sentinel.
Attendance. Hillsborough students are honored for 13 years of perfect attendance. Tampa Tribune.
Legislature. StateImpact reviews the legislative session and talks about parental choice legislation with Senate Education Chairman John Legg.
Private schools. A man hopes to open a small private school to better meet the needs of some children. South Florida Times.
Common Core. The Miami Herald captures Gov. Rick Scott on video as he explains his stance on the standards to a crowd of protestors.
Teachers. Pinellas County public school teachers feel they are over-worked and students are over-tested. Tampa Tribune. Several Broward and Palm Beach County teachers face state discipline. Sun-Sentinel.
Budgets. Palm Beach County school district is projecting a budget shortfall. Extra Credit. School board members worry a last-minute budget blitz in the waning days of the legislative session could backfire politically. Extra Credit. Pasco's superintendent plans to start re-investing in school staffs. Tampa Bay Times. Collier County schools expect to dip into their reserves. Naples Daily News.
Special needs. Exceptional students in Jacksonville – including those who attends Christian schools – learn about art at a local museum. Florida Times-Union. A program helps them prepare for careers. Naples Daily News.
School district employees. Palm Beach County's internal schools watchdog is accused of retaliation. Sun-Sentinel. A former Manatee school board attorney is feuding with the district. Bradenton Herald. A former Manatee High employee said her firing was a case of retaliation. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Facilities. A Pinellas County high school is set to be torn down and rebuilt. Tampa Bay Times.
STEM. Middle schoolers learn about DNA. Bradenton Herald.
Moms. Hernando County graders read mothers-day poetry. Tampa Bay Times.
Lunch. Manatee County's district food and nutritional director receives national recognition. Bradenton Herald.
Charter schools. A new study shows they receive about $2,130 less in funding per student than district-run schools. StateImpact. Next week is National Charter Schools Week. Extra Credit.
Tax credit scholarships. Advocacy groups are mobilizing against legislation expected to come up for discussion today in the Senate. Sentinel School Zone.
School grades. An A-F revamp passes the House on the 15th anniversary of Jeb Bush's original A-Plus Plan. Associated Press. Orlando Sentinel. Florida Current. Times/Herald. Pinellas schools receive school recognition bonuses. Tampa Bay Times.
Private schools. A Christian school in Clearwater plans to expand to accommodate growing enrollment. Tampa Bay Times.
School safety. Lawmakers increase penalties for sex offenses committed by school workers. Tampa Tribune. Gradebook.
Funding. Palm Beach County school district officials oppose the Legislature's latest education budget. Palm Beach Post.
Weather. Schools close in Northwest Florida amid widespread flooding. Panama City News Herald. Pensacola News-Journal.
Accreditation. Duval schools retian their seal of approval for another five years. Florida Times-Union.
Labor. Pasco school district officials prepare for contract negotiations with their employees. Gradebook. It should not have taken years to remove a teacher from the classroom, the Tampa Bay Times editorializes.
Last year, 43 percent of Florida’s PreK-12 students attended a school other than their assigned neighborhood school. This enthusiastic embrace of school choice by parents is forcing school boards to rethink their roles and responsibilities. Should they fight to prevent parents from attending non-district schools? Or should they embrace parent empowerment and help ensure all their community’s students have access to the schools - neighborhood, magnet, charter, virtual or private - that best meet their needs?
This dilemma was on full display at a recent Palm Beach County, Fla. school board meeting. The board was reviewing what to do about three struggling charter schools when one board member, Marcia Andrews, suggested the board should do more to help these schools succeed. “We’ve got to kind of change how we do business,” she said, according to the Palm Beach Post, “so they’ll know we’ll partner with them, so they’ll be successful.”
Some of her colleagues disagreed. They argued that when parents choose charter schools they take their funding with them and that hurts the district. They also worried about the costs of helping charter schools when district budgets are already stretched tight.
This caused another board member, Frank Barbieri, to join Andrews in calling for greater collaboration and support. “I don’t want to hear about ‘we’re taking money from our kids and giving it to these kids,’ ” said Barbieri. “These are our kids. Let’s help them.”
Statistics from Florida’s tax credit scholarship program, which I help administer, support the these-are-all-our-kids position. (more…)
