Charter schools: The Legislature considers proposals that would make it easier for the nontraditional public schools to open and provide more oversight. Sun Sentinel. Renaissance Charter Inc., one of the largest charter school operators in the country, is growing in North Florida despite a mixed record of achievement. Florida Times-Union. Lawmakers look at changes to the charter school process, including state review of applications. The Tampa Tribune.
Magnet schools: Turning three Polk County schools into magnet schools next fall leaves some students traveling farther to a new school. The Ledger.
Same-sex schools: WLRN in Miami looks at the latest legislative proposal to create more single-gender classrooms in Florida.
Teachers: In a year when Florida's public school teachers are getting substantial raises, substitutes will see no bump in their paychecks. Orlando Sentinel.
School safety: St. Lucie County School District students will see new deputies in their schools, thanks to a national grant allowing the school resource officer program to expand. TC Palm. School mental health workers grapple with the best way to offer students such services in a patchwork, underfunded system. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Common Core: Republican Party of Florida activists vote to oppose the Common Core education standards in a sign of growing anger over the national school benchmarks. News Service of Florida. Gov. Rick Scott says the state will unveil its revisions to the standards next week. News Service of Florida. More from The Florida Current.
Charter schools: The Miami-Dade school district rejects a charter application for a public safety-themed high school. Miami Herald.
School safety: Hillsborough County school leaders continue to debate having armed guards at schools. Tampa Bay Times.
Charter schools: Lee County administrators are putting greater scrutiny on charter applicants and state officials have tightened requirements to open schools. Naples Daily News.
School safety: The Broward school district has allowed police officers to live rent-free on some school grounds since the 1980s as a way to provide after-hours safety, but there's no proof the program is still effective. Sun Sentinel. A dozen educators from Pinellas and Hillsborough counties come to a martial arts studio to learn what they can do to stop a tragedy. The Tampa Tribune.
Teacher pay: It's time for the Palm Beach County school district and teachers union to sign an agreement for pay raises, writes Rick Christie for the Palm Beach Post.
Testing: Florida's next generation of standardized tests moves a step closer to adoption when the state gets a look at the players that want to create FCAT's replacement. Orlando Sentinel. Are Florida high school students really as unprepared for the job market and college as recent PISA tests results suggest? Local and state civic and business leaders say yes, but educators are starting to address the problem. Tampa Bay Times. Changes to the GED are causing concerns. StateImpact Florida.
Teacher evals: Almost half of Polk County's classroom teachers receive a "highly effective" rating and the rest of evaluations that have been submitted so far are rated "effective.'' The Ledger. Rosy teacher evals contradict student progress. The Tampa Tribune.
After school: Pinellas County seeks college students to staff afterschool programs. Tampa Bay Times.
School spending: A group of community activists urges the Broward school district to reduce the costs of its in-house lawn mowing services by hiring an outside company. Sun Sentinel.
College prep: Too many students are arriving to college unprepared, writes Ed Moore, president and CEO of the Independent Colleges & Universities of Florida, for the Tampa Bay Times.
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Charter schools: Pinellas County's University Prep organizes a local board and moves forward in the search for a new principal. Tampa Bay Times. A proposal for a charter school on MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa still awaits a recommendation from Hillsborough district staff. Tampa Bay Times.
Private schools: Florida Air Academy in Brevard County has done away with text books and moved to iPad-only classes. Florida Today.
Virtual school: The exponential growth Florida Virtual School and online learning have experienced will continue as we transform education worldwide, writes Julie Young for the Tallahassee Democrat.
Special needs: Special needs students in Hillsborough County are treated to music lessons. Tampa Bay Times.
Hydroponics 101: A Cape Coral high school's aquaculture and hydroponics class draws students from around Florida and even outside the state. Fort Myers News-Press.
Lawsuit: The Hillsborough County School Board will vote next week on a decision to pay more than $500,000 to the family of a special-needs child who drowned behind her Riverview middle school. Tampa Bay Times. More from The Tampa Tribune.
Quality teachers: The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida launches a fundraising campaign to raise $50 million to pay for more high-quality public school teachers in high-demand areas like math and science. Florida Trend. (more…)
Homeschooling: A Florida woman who has been homeschooling her children is ordered by a judge to put them in public school after a guardian ad litem says she believes they would benefit from the socialization. Tampa Bay Times.
Charter schools: A Palm Beach County senator wants to narrow the mission of charter schools with a bill that would require charters meet “a specific instructional need or a need for additional educational facilities.” The Florida Current. Charter school administrators are now required to post the school’s annual budget and fiscal audit, the state grade and names of governing board members on their websites. Daytona Beach News-Journal. At Immokalee Community School, every parent has signed a contract to speak Spanish with their kids for at least 30 minutes a day, most days of the week. StateImpact Florida.
Magnet schools: With the opening of a new aviation academy, students at Clearwater High School soon will be able to graduate with a pilot's license - and a jump into the growing field of aviation and aerospace. Tampa Bay Times.
Private schools: Academy Prep Center of St. Petersburg is looking for a new leader after an announcement that its head of school is stepping down. Tampa Bay Times.
College credit: Duval County's strongest advanced high school programs may "seed" smaller accelerated or career courses at other district schools. Florida Times-Union.
Achievement gap: Escambia County School District officials will soon be forming a new task force to help close the achievement gap among the district’s students. Pensacola News-Journal. (more…)
Charter schools: The Lake Wales Charter School system is creating a new position to help with private fundraising. The Ledger.
Magnet schools: Beginning next school year, Hernando County's magnet schools will be able to send students with attendance problems, excessive tardiness, behavior issues or poor grades back to their zoned schools. Tampa Bay Times. Pinellas County School District officials want to add more magnets, fundamental programs, career academies and other options to the district's school choice mix. The Tampa Tribune.
Achievement gap: Two prominent community leaders say Pinellas County schools could do more to close the achievement gap between black and white students. Tampa Bay Times.
School safety: Pinellas considers scaling back five school police officers' schedules by June 2014. Instead of working 12 months, these officers would work 10, aligning with the school year. Tampa Bay Times.
School nurses: The Palm Beach County School District plans to ask the health care district for help finding as much as $600,000 for eight additional school nurse positions this year. Palm Beach Post.
Magnet schools: Seminole Ridge High School Construction Academy students build a modular home for Habitat for Humanity of Palm Beach County - turning in their assignment five months ahead of schedule. Palm Beach Post.
Charter schools: The Pinellas County School Board votes unanimously to approve an application for the district's first Montessori charter school, which would serve about 200 students. Tampa Bay Times. More from The Tampa Tribune.
Teacher evals: A panel of appellate judges orders the state Department of Education to release controversial teacher performance data. The Buzz. More from the News Service of Florida and Florida Times-Union. Nearly 68 percent of Seminole County teachers earned top-notch, "highly effective" evaluations last year compared to fewer than 7 percent in Orange County. Orlando Sentinel. If the purpose of revamping teacher evaluation is to improve teaching and learning, then it's worth it for states and school districts to take time to get it right, writes Laura Bornfreund for the Orlando Sentinel.
Teacher pay: Duval County teachers and other school workers will receive about $18.9 million in bonuses. Florida Times-Union.
Teacher of the year: Thirty-three Santa Rosa County teachers are up for the title of the district’s Teacher of the Year. Pensacola News-Journal.
Conduct: The state has disciplined eight area teachers and former teachers for incidents that allegedly happened both inside and outside their classrooms. Sun Sentinel. (more…)
Charter schools: Central Florida will see 14 new charter schools next year focusing on a range of themes from Montessori to military to science and technology. Orlando Sentinel. Ben Gamla Charter Schools take in more than $10 million in public funding. Miami Herald. A Lakeland charter school hosts free workshops to help teachers learn best practices for the classroom. The Ledger.
Social learning: Broward school district teachers and employees can use district computers to log onto previously blocked sites, like Facebook and YouTube. Sun Sentinel.
Common Core: Common Core State Standards could soon have an effect on report cards. As course work gets harder, students' grades could take a hit. Tampa Bay Times.
District policies: Duval County's superintendent wants to change a hiring policy that would allow applicants with a felony that happened more than 10 years ago to be eligible for a district job. Florida Times-Union. Manatee County parents want the district's concussion policy updated. Bradenton Herald.
School budgets: The Manatee County School District has a $3.9 million budget shortfall. Bradenton Herald.
School security: Hillsborough school officials continue to debate the merit of added security officers at schools. Tampa Bay Times. (more…)
Magnet schools: Broward County's popular district choice schools, NOVA, face scrutiny for what some parents call unfair advantages over other magnet and choice options. Sun Sentinel.
Charter schools: Bok Tower Academy charter school in Lake Wales attempts to set a Guinness World record for hand-holding. The Ledger. All 430 of Hillsborough's Brooks-DeBartolo Collegiate High School students plan to pursue post-secondary education and all 69 seniors have received college acceptance notices. The Tampa Tribune. Pasco County school administrators change procedures for reviewing charter schools. Tampa Bay Times.
Teacher pay: The teachers union and Palm Beach County School District return to negotiations about raises. Palm Beach Post. Osceola County's public school teachers will get raises of about $1,400 this year. Orlando Sentinel.
Bright Futures: The state scholarship that used to pay up to 100 percent of college tuition for qualifying students now covers only about half the costs. Fort Myers News-Press.
School safety: Hillsborough school board members continue talks about putting armed security guards at elementary schools. Tampa Bay Times.
Principals: Patricia Noble is the new leader of Kingsford Elementary in Polk County. The Ledger. Janet D. Knott of Duval County is one of 61 school principals named a distinguished principal by the National Association of Elementary School Principals. Florida Times-Union.
Class size: Broward County school officials expect a lower fine this year, maybe even as low as $1,600. Sun Sentinel. Hillsborough County district schools meet class size. The Tampa Tribune. (more…)
Charter schools: The Pasco County school board will consider charter applications, including one aimed for low-income elementary students at risk for dropping out. Tampa Bay Times.
Private schools: A Tampa Islamic school simulates the hajj to teach children about the rite. Tampa Bay Times. The McKay Scholarship helps more than 27,000 children with disabilities attend private school. Tallahassee Democrat.
Virtual schools: Florida Virtual School leaders tell lawmakers that a shift in funding has hurt enrollment in the online learning program, especially in rural districts. Florida Current.
Teacher raises: Only 13 districts have negotiated pay increases with their unions, with the average raise ranging from $1,500 to $2,900. The Buzz. More from the Palm Beach Post and Naples Daily News.
School security: The Broward County school district agrees to spend $555,000 for 12 officers to patrol elementary schools in six cities. Sun Sentinel. Instead of hiring armed security officers all at once for 144 elementary schools, Hillsborough's latest plan would phase them in over four years. Tampa Bay Times.
Safety net: The State Board of Education will vote again on a "safety net" for school grades that would extend the controversial measure through 2014. Orlando Sentinel.
Outsourcing: The Miami-Dade school district may look to privatize its vast fleet of school buses and transportation employees. Miami Herald. The Polk County School District is looking into outsourcing the management of its substitute teachers. The Ledger.
Board view: Clay County school board members say their superintendent didn't tell them he was authorizing $2,037 to reserve a meeting room and amenities for an “American exceptionalism” conference. Florida Times-Union. (more…)
