Districts trying to cope: Florida Panhandle school districts are assessing damages from Hurricane Michael and trying to cobble together recovery plans to get schools reopened. In hardest-hit Bay County, school officials say they are developing shared campus plans and hope to make an announcement by the end of the week. In Gulf County, the district hopes to reopen schools in two weeks, also by sharing schools. Other district still closed at least through this week and possibly longer are Calhoun, Franklin, Jackson, Liberty and Washington. Gadsden County reopens today. News Service of Florida. Florida Department of Education. WMBB. Associated Press. Education Week. WFSU. Miami Herald. Pensacola News Journal. Florida Today. Forty-six displaced students enroll in Leon County schools. Tallahassee Democrat. WFSU. Educators around the state are collecting donations for schools affected by the hurricane. Gradebook. Ocala Star-Banner. Pensacola News Journal.

ACT test scores: Florida students scored an average of 19.9 on the ACT test, which is both below the national average and scores from comparable states, and represents no improvement over the past four years. About 80 percent of those tested scored so low in English, math, reading and science that ACT officials say they can't be considered prepared for college work. Nearly 120,000 Florida students took the exam. “We know it is not good” to score a 19.9 and see so many students who aren’t considered college-ready, says Stacey Rutledge, an associate professor in Florida State University’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. Florida Phoenix. (more…)