Education reform. Gov. Rick Scott releases a second-term education agenda. Times/Herald. Tampa Tribune. Gainesville Sun. redefinED. A Tampa Bay Times columnist criticizes the governor over testing.
Campaigns. It's election day. Charter schools are among the issues at stake in Clay County school board races. Florida Times-Union. Common Core looms large at all levels. Naples Daily News. WJCT looks at spending in school board races.
Enrollment. Sarasota classrooms aren't as crowded as officials expected. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Start times. Advocates for a later start to the school day have their cause bolstered by a new study. Northwest Florida Daily News.
Accountability. This will be a lower-stakes "baseline year" for school accountability. Ocala Star-Banner.
Charter schools. A host of new schools, not all of them reputable, submit charter applications. Sun-Sentinel. Fewer charter schools apply in Flagler and Volusia Counties. Daytona Beach News-Journal. Officials debate the location of a planned West Palm Beach charter. Palm Beach Post. A Post columnist weighs in.
Teacher conduct. Administrative law judges repeatedly thwart Broward's attempts to fire teachers. Sun-Sentinel. A Southwest Florida teacher is accused of sleeping in class. Naples Daily News.
Digital learning. A state Board of Education member helps create financial incentives for children to obtain technology-related industry certifications. Keynoter.
Campaigns. WFTV offers its take on school choice supporters getting involved in school board races. Pinellas school board candidates debate background checks and felony records. Tampa Bay Times.
Career education. A Hernando aviation program launches as hoped after enrollment rises. Tampa Bay Times.
Testing. The FCAT reading exam trips up a recent Chinese immigrant on the path to a diploma, drawing a lawmaker's attention. Orlando Sentinel. A South Florida teacher is accused of helping students during FCAT testing. Sun-Sentinel. Summer algebra camps boost the pass rate on algebra end-of-course exams. Lakeland Ledger. Opting out becomes a hot topic in Palm Beach. Palm Beach Post.
Private schools. The Bradenton Herald profiles an Episcopal school's cultural exchange program with Chinese students.
Charter schools. A Duval charter school that just opened is at risk of being shut down. Florida Times-Union. Children affected by a charter school's miscalculation are placed in new schools. Gradebook. WTVJ follows up on the impending closure of a South Florida charter school. Two small Palm Beach charters fail to open due to lack of enrollment. Palm Beach Post. A Polk Montessori preschool looks to open a K-8 charter. Lakeland Ledger.
Campaigns. School choice supporters pour money into a Volusia school board race. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Teacher quality. A study finds the least experienced Miami-Dade teachers often end up in schools with the greatest needs. Miami Herald.
College readiness. New scores show Florida students struggle on the ACT. Tampa Tribune. Patricia Levesque sounds a not of urgency on the EdFly. Results improve in Brevard and Alachua. Florida Today. Gainesville Sun.
Facilities. Officials look into the possibility of a new high school in Bonita Springs. Fort Myers News-Press.
Polling. The latest PDK/Gallup education survey shows support falling for Common Core. Sentinel School Zone. StateImpact. The American Federation for Children provides a disclaimer for the poll's voucher results.
Catholic schools. The latest evaluation of Florida's Tax Credit Scholarship program suggests Catholic schools get impressive reading results. The Thomas Fordham Institute's Ohio Gadfly runs the numbers.
Charter schools. A Palm Beach Post columnist rips charter schools.
Turnarounds. The EdFly highlights a successful effort to turn around a struggling Central Florida school.
Transportation. St. Lucie students who live close to their schools may soon have the option of paying for bus service from the district. St. Lucie News-Tribune. The Pasco school district improves communication with its bus system. Tampa Bay Times.
English language learners. Their treatment in the state's testing and accountability system is the subject of a dispute between Florida and the federal government. Tampa Bay Times.
Reading. The extra hour of reading for 300 struggling schools may be more like a half hour in two Southwest Florida districts. Naples Daily News.
Growth. Hillsborough's enrollment is up. Gradebook.
Single gender. The Hillsborough District responds to an ACLU complaint. Tampa Tribune.
Tax credit scholarships.Sunshine State News reports on the latest evaluation of student results.
Digital learning. A Collier bring-your-own device policy proves popular. Naples Daily News.
Testing. The Lee County School Board discusses a district-wide testing boycott. Fort Myers News-Press.
Accountability. Brevard's superintendent discusses falling school grades. Florida Today.
Budgets. The Manatee school district faces an investigation into bond funding it could not account for. Bradenton Herald.
Campaigns. A "contract" between voters and five school board candidates stirs controversy in Collier. Naples Daily News. The Tampa Bay Times profiles a three-way race for an open school board seat in Pinellas while a columnist looks at a controversial incumbent in Hillsborough. The Tampa Tribune profiles a different Pinellas race, while the Bradenton Herald looks at one in Manatee.
English language learners. Pinellas looks to review its policies for students who need help learning English. Tampa Tribune.
Superintendents. Hillsobrough's MaryEllen Elia gets a contract renewal. Tampa Bay Times. Tampa Tribune.
Facilities. Polk County delays the release of impact fee revenue to the local school district. Lakeland Ledger.
Charter schools. Charters in conflict with the Hillsborough school district say they want the matter brought to a hearing. Tampa Tribune. Gradebook. Conflict is brewing over a proposed municipal charter school in West Palm Beach. Palm Beach Post.
Back to school. Frank Biden rallies charter school educators as they prepare for the new year. Palm Beach Post. Seminole, the third district to open for classes, sees a smooth start. Orlando Sentinel.
Acceleration. Alachua schools will allow some eighth graders to take Advanced Placement Physics. Gainesville Sun.
Graduation. New rules, including an online course requirement, take effect for the Class of 2015. Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers.
Campaigns. The Tampa Tribune looks at a crowded field and an ethnic attack in Hillsborough school board races. Brevard holds a forum on a tax referendum. Florida Today. The superintendent looms large in Clay County school board elections. Florida Times-Union. The Bradenton Herald profiles two Manatee County School Board races. Collier school board candidates take part in a forum. Naples Daily News. The Northwest Florida Daily News offers a voters guide.
Charter schools. The boards of three schools threatened with losing their charters offer to meet with Hillsborough district officials. Gradebook.
Parental choice. The parent of a child expected to benefit from a Personal Learning Scholarship Account criticizes the Florida Education Association's lawsuit against parental choice legislation in a Tallahassee Democrat guest column. The Naples Daily News looks at Charlie Crist's past positions on charter schools and tax credit scholarships.
Campaigns. A district manager for Florida Virtual School is mounting a viable campaign against a Broward school board incumbent dogged by controversy over a racial slur. Miami Herald. The Tallahassee Democrat endorses the challenger in Leon County's only contested school board race. A Hillsborough candidate faces an ethnically charged attack. Gradebook. The Daytona Beach News-Journal catches two Flagler candidates plagiarizing.
CAPE. Walton High School adds aeronautics lessons through a dual enrollment program. Northwest Florida Daily News.
Early learning. Pinellas prepares to open a district-run early learning center. Tampa Tribune.
Turnarounds. The Volusia school district focuses on three schools identified as needing intervention. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Back to school. Manatee teachers are overhauling their lessons as they get ready for new state standards. Bradenton Herald. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.The Orlando Sentinel runs down what's new in Central Florida. Tampa children prepare for the new year. Tampa Tribune. A picnic helps prepare homeless students for the school year in St. Johns. St. Augustine Record. The Bradford school district is staggering start times to help kindergarteners adjust. Gainesville Sun. Duval officials christen the renamed Westside High School. Florida Times-Union.
Charter schools. Hillsborough's superintendent tells parents the district won't close charter schools it is scrutinizing, but may take over their operations. Gradebook. An Orlando TV station airs claims, but little evidence, that charter schools are promoting "resegregation." WFTV.
CAPE. The Hernando school district prepares to launch an aerospace career academy. Tampa Bay Times. The Okaloosa school district may be among the first in the country to combine an Advanced Placement course with an industry certification course. Northwest Florida Daily News.
Parental choice. Families should have access to options like Florida's Personal Learning Scholarship Accounts, the Tampa Tribune writes in an editorial.
Campaigns. A Manatee school board candidate is accused of mimicking a logo of a district facility in her campaign materials. Bradenton Herald. The Florida Times-Union profiles a four-way school board race in Duval. The Tampa Tribune profiles a four-way race in Hillsborough. Pinellas candidates' "claws came out" during a recent Tiger Bay meeting. Tampa Tribune.
Common Core. Gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist says the state should pause accountability measures while the new standards take effect. StateImpact.
Closures. The Palm Beach school board considers closing schools that are below capacity. Sun-Sentinel.
Superintendents. Hillsborough's superintendent gets high ratings from the school board. Tampa Tribune.
Charter schools. The Miami-Herald writes about a push by parents to keep their F-rated charter school open. The Cape Coral charter system hires an interim superintendent. Fort Myers News-Press.
Special needs. Duval parents win a court fight with the district over appropriate education for their daughter with autism. But what's next? Florida Times-Union.
Lawsuits. Florida Education Association Vice President Joanne McCall explains the union's decision to sue the state over SB 850 in a Tampa Tribune column.
Teacher quality. The Duval school board signs off on a plan intended to draw highly rated teachers to schools where they are needed the most. Florida Times-Union.
Retention. A New York Times article on third-grade retention notes improved reading scores among Florida's fourth graders.
Campaigns. The Sun-Sentinel sizes up the field running for Palm Beach County school board. Seminole County school district employees who campaigned for a sales-tax initiative could face disciplinary consequences. Orlando Sentinel.
Vals and sals. Pasco schools will keep their honorary titles for graduates, at least for the time being. Tampa Bay Times.
Charter schools. The Tampa Bay Times follows up on a simmering dispute between Charter Schools USA and the Hillsborough County school district. More from redefinED. The Palm Beach County School Board chairman comes out against a proposed municipal charter. Palm Beach Post.
Private schools. Title I services for Palm Beach County private schools hit a snag. Palm Beach Post.
Virtual schools. Florida Virtual School's new rule relaxing must-pass end-of-course exam requirements irks some school district officials in Pasco County, home to one of its largest district-run competitors. Tampa Bay Times.
Teacher quality. The Florida Times-Union takes a deep dive on Duval County's efforts to lure top-rated teachers and administrators to schools where they are most needed. Perhaps the program will get more districts to take pay incentives seriously for teachers in sought-after math and science fields, Paul Cottle writes at Bridge to Tomorrow.
Tenure. The Panama City News Herald takes a critical look at Florida's switch to annual contracts for teachers. More here.
Campaigns. A Pinellas school board candidate is behind on her property taxes. Tampa Bay Times. Eight candidates are running for three Orange County school board seats. Orlando Sentinel. The Palm Beach Post makes its school board endorsements. Collier candidates discuss concealed weapons in schools. Naples Daily News. Common Core is an issue in a Sarasota race. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. A teacher is challenging a longtime incumbent in Leon County. Tallahassee Democrat.
