Single gender: StateImpact Florida talks to the principal of an all-girls public school in Hillsborough County.
Vouchers: From the Gradebook blog: A husband and wife whose private Milwaukee voucher school abruptly closes last month move to Florida and open a new school in Daytona Beach. Journal Sentinel.
Pay raises: About 2,000 Palm Beach County administrators and other nonunion school employees will receive raises this year. Sun Sentinel. More from the Palm Beach Post.
Teachers: Orange County's Dorina Sackman is recognized as one of the best teachers in the nation. Orlando Sentinel. Five teachers are up for suspension in Hillsborough County for performance reasons. Tampa Bay Times.
Restructuring: Hernando County schools superintendent Lori Romano will soon submit a proposal to restructure the district's administration. Tampa Bay Times.
Say no: Inspired by his loved ones' struggles with drug addiction, a Cooper City middleschooler wins a national contest to dress up his home with a drug-free message. Sun Sentinel.
School audits: An independent auditor finds problems in bookkeeping practices at 98 percent of Polk County schools reviewed last school year. The Ledger. (more…)
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.
School choice: Pinellas County schools Superintendent Mike Grego pushes to expand educational opportunities to woo back parents and students. Tampa Bay Times.
Magnet schools: A Polk County middle school for the arts class tries seating kids on bouncy exercise balls instead of a traditional desk and chair to help them focus better. The Ledger.
Private schools: Academy of the Holy Names in Tampa invests in technology to foster better collaboration and critical thinking among students. Tampa Bay Times.
Certificates of Completion: The not-quite-a-diploma certificate cripples career opportunities, writes the Fort Myers News-Press. Hillsborough County students look to the ACT to get their diplomas. Tampa Bay Times.
Common Core: The new education standards, state grades and teacher evaluations and pay are among the education issues to watch for in 2014. StateImpact Florida.
School funding: The Palm Beach County School District should lobby legislators to restore the 50-cent millage rate, writes Rick Christie for the Palm Beach Post.
Teacher evals: The TC Palm looks at the state's new system of rating teachers. (more…)
Charter schools: Pinellas County School Board members give district attorneys the go-ahead to look into suing the state for a new law that creates uniform charter school contracts. The Tampa Tribune.
Virtual schools: Starting next month, after 16 years of providing a distance-learning option to students in kindergarten through 12th grade, Florida Virtual School will offer several courses for adults. The Tampa Tribune.
Science ed: Polk County's public and private schools take different routes when teaching the concepts of evolution, creation. The Ledger. Even as politicians and educational leaders pledge allegiance to science, many Americans are skeptical about key tenets of scientific orthodoxy. The Ledger. A Cocoa science teacher is named by President Obama as one of 102 teachers in the country to receive the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Florida Today.
School safety: Since the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy and the 27 school shootings that followed, Escambia and Santa Rosa county school officials are trying to restore a sense of security to parents, teachers and students. Pensacola News-Journal.
Name change: An about-face decision by a new seven-member Duval County School Board to drop the name of a high school that honored a Confederate soldier and former Klu Klux Klan member leaves activists wondering what other changes are possible now. Florida Times-Union.
School grades: When the state reworks its school grading system, Collier County's superintendent is hopeful the bar will be raised and fairness also will prevail. Naples Daily News. All five Hernando County high schools saw their grades drop. Tampa Bay Times. It is time to overhaul Florida's school grading system, which has been so tweaked and massaged as to be divorced from reality, writes the Tampa Bay Times.
Pay raises: An increase in administrator pay recently approved by the Santa Rosa County School Board is not sitting well with some teachers in the district. Pensacola News-Journal. Treasure Coast school leaders struggle to overhaul teacher pay based on performance. TC Palm.
Tony Bennett: The Indianapolis charter school at the center of Indiana’s grade-changing scandal saw its grade drop from an “A” to an “F.'' Associated Press.
The best of 2013: StateImpact Florida looks at the year's top education stories.
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Dual enrollment: Florida school superintendents want to convince the Legislature to stop charging school districts tuition and other state college costs for dual-enrollment students. Tampa Bay Times.
Virtual school: Florida Virtual School's full-time high school was two points away from earning an A this year, netting a B the first time the online school qualified for a grade under Florida's annual A-to-F report card. Orlando Sentinel.
Charter schools: Hillsborough school officials meet to discuss options to head off a charter school on MacDill Air Force Base. The Tampa Tribune.
School grades: Schools superintendents for Escambia and Santa Rosa counties are among those weighing in on Florida’s current accountability system before the state’s education commissioner. Pensacola News-Journal.
School safety: Leon County teachers and district officials seek to end rumors about school violence. Tallahassee Democrat.
Teacher pay: The hearing that may resolve the impasse between the Orange County teachers union and district over raises gets off to a rocky start. Orlando Sentinel.
Class size: All Central Florida traditional public schools met the state's class-size rules this year. Orlando Sentinel.
After school: The Salvation Army of Naples acquires 3 acres on Airport-Pulling Road South for a new youth center and gymnasium to provide at-risk children with a safe after-school environment. Naples Daily News.
School calendar: The Pasco County School Board signs off on next school year's calendar, which includes the entire week off for Thanksgiving. The Tampa Tribune.
Lawsuit: The Lake County School Board faces a federal lawsuit again accusing the district of violating students' freedom of speech and federal rights by not allowing a middle-schooler to start a gay-straight club. Orlando Sentinel.
Conduct: A Tampa police school resource officer who had sex at least eight times over nearly two months with a teenage student is arrested and fired. Tampa Bay Times.
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: University Preparatory Academy in Pinellas County names a new principal, a public school transformation coach from North Carolina. Tampa Bay Times. The Lake Wales Charter Schools board of trustees approves a pay bump for more than 400 instructional and non-instructional personnel. The Ledger.
Magnet schools: Pinellas County School Board members explore reopening two shuttered schools, turning them into technology centers. The Tampa Tribune.
FCAT: Five standardized test makers formally apply to help create a replacement for the FCAT by 2015, and a sixth also wants to be considered for the job. Orlando Sentinel.
GED: StateImpact Florida looks at the growing alternatives to the GED.
Lobbyists: Contract extensions of two longtime lobbyists that the Palm Beach County School Board approved and then rescinded are back before the board. Palm Beach Post.
Outsourcing: The Broward County School Board will vote today on the first big piece of its construction outsourcing plan that already is generating controversy. Miami Herald.
Job switch: Hernando County's superintendent moves her assistant superintendent to the district's manager of warehouse and purchasing. Tampa Bay Times.
Wish lists: The Polk County School Board offers up its legislative priorities, with a "critical needs'' tax at the top of the list. The Ledger. (more…)
Charter schools: The Hillsborough school district should expand its elementary on MacDill Air Force Base to accommodate middlerschoolers, and satisfy needs of a growing military population, writes Dan Ruth for the Tampa Bay Times. Leaders of The Schools of McKeel Academy say they do not need to rush into hiring a new superintendent. The Ledger. Officials with the JAX Chamber make an agreement with the Duval County school district to help find paid internships to high school juniors and seniors. Florida Times-Union.
Magnet schools: Pinellas school board gives its initial approval to a district plan to reopen two shuttered schools as technology magnets. Tampa Bay Times.
Digital learning: Students at two Orange County elementary schools will begin toting their own laptops and tablets to school in January as the district tries out a "Bring Your Own Device" program. Orlando Sentinel. Collier County's implementation of Bring Your Own Device has been deemed a success by administrators. But some parents still are resisting the move. Naples Daily News.
IB: Another Sarasota County high school will offer an International Baccalaureate diploma program. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
District schools: Manatee County looks to streamline its operations. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
School safety: A year after 20 children and six adults were murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., Central Florida school districts say their heightened security efforts have become the new normal. Orlando Sentinel. Rhema Thompson honors those who lost their lives at Sandy Hook by remembering the "acts of love by individuals in our community.'' Pensacola News-Journal.
Audits: The latest review of Manatee County school district's finances turns up more problems. Bradenton Herald.
Tony Bennett: ACT hires former Florida education commissioner Tony Bennett as a consultant for the new test tied to Common Core standards the company is developing. Education Week.
Student arrests: Pinellas school officials follow their Broward counterparts and look at a new policy that results in fewer students getting arrested. The Tampa Tribune.
Teacher awards: Pinellas County Schools announces 10 finalists for the annual teacher of the year award. Tampa Bay Times.
Teacher raises: The Palm Beach County School District and its teachers finally reach a tentative agreement to give teachers raises averaging about $2,200 this year. Palm Beach Post.
Conduct: A Santa Rosa County high school is arrested for bringing a toy handgun on campus that leads to a lockdown. Pensacola News-Journal. A Lee County middle school student is suspended after another student reports that he touched her inappropriately. Fort Myers News-Press. A Manatee County substitute teacher is arrested after he allegedly grabbed a student and dragged him out of a classroom. Bradenton Herald.
Charter schools: The Orange County school district ties for 10th nationally for "highest growth" in charter school enrollment the past two years. Orlando Sentinel.
Career academies: The Clearwater Aeronautical Space Academy will allow Pinellas high school students to earn 30 college credits from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and complete Private Pilot Ground School. The Tampa Tribune.
FLVS: Florida Virtual School offers students flexibility when they need it. Florida Watchdog.org.
Private schools: St. John’s Episcopal Day School in Tampa donates 3,200 pounds of food to a local shelter. The Tampa Tribune.
Standardized tests: Creating an environment where students are expected to stretch their performance is the best way to assure that our nation will not be at risk, writes Michael A. MacDowell for the Fort Myers News-Press.
Achievement gaps: Florida has strong gains among White students and even stronger gains among Black students, proving once again that the Florida reform cocktail is as a highly beneficial beverage, writes Matthew Ladner for EdFly.
Finances 101: A coalition of Florida lawmakers says money matters and schools need to do a better job teaching students about finances. The Florida Current. "The Money Course" will require a half-credit, full semester financial literacy course starting next fall. Sun Sentinel. More from the Tallahassee Democrat.
Grad rates: Broward County's high school graduation rate dropped slightly in 2013, from 76.4 to 75.3. Sun Sentinel. Palm Beach County's overall graduation rate was 76.3 percent, compared to 77 percent the year before. Statewide, 75.6 percent of students graduated. Sun Sentinel. The slight drop in graduation rates for Palm Beach County is at least partly on the shoulders of the charter schools. Palm Beach Post. Polk graduated 69.4 percent of its seniors in school year 2012-13, a 2.6 percent increase over 2011-12's rate. The Ledger. More from the Orlando Sentinel, Florida Today, Florida Times-Union, Tallahassee Democrat and the Tampa Bay Times. (more…)
Charter schools: A proposed charter school for MacDill Air Force Base doesn't get the superintendent's approval, but the Hillsborough County School Board still could vote in favor of the project. redefinED. More from Tampa Bay Times and The Tampa Tribune. Only about three months after opening its doors, west Boynton Beach charter school Franklin Academy is already on the hunt for a new principal. Palm Beach Post. The principal of Imagine Schools Lakewood Ranch in Manatee County returns to work after the State Attorney's Office determines she will not face charges for failure to report suspected child abuse. Bradenton Herald.
Magnet schools: Pinellas County's superintendent proposes reopening two elementary schools, closed by the district just five years ago, as technology magnet schools. Tampa Bay Times.
Teacher evals: Count me among those skeptical that nearly 60 percent of Brevard teachers are “highly effective,” writes Matt Reed for Florida Today. Scholar Diploma and teacher evaluations are two state programs joining a long list of empty initiatives that accomplish nothing other than some politically appealing headlines for policymakers — some of whom might not be in office when the impacts hit, says the Naples Daily News. No evaluation system is perfect, but neither is every teacher. The public shouldn't stand for the kind of grade inflation for teachers that wouldn't be tolerated for students, says The Gainesville Sun.
School safety: More security guards are not needed in the Hillsborough public schools and could contribute to discrimination against minority students, says the American Civil Liberties Union. Tampa Bay Times.
Common Core: While the transition will be challenging, never before have our standards contained the coherence, rigor and depth of understanding the CCSS brings to us, writes teacher Peggy Brookins for the Ocala Star-Banner.
College prep: Survey results from the PISA show most of the nearly 2,000 Florida teenagers who took the test are “satisfied” with their schooling and feel they’ll be prepared for college as long as they put forth the necessary effort. On the other hand, Sunshine State students are more likely to skip school than their U.S. and international peers and nearly 30 percent say school “does little to prepare me for adult life.” Miami Herald. (more…)
