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Crimes in schools: School districts around Florida are failing to report crimes, even murder, rape and gun possession, as required on K-12 campuses, according to reports districts have filed in the past 10 years to the state Department of Education. An investigation also shows that more than 600 schools reported no crimes at all, some schools file false information to protect their reputations, and some fail to report crimes that aren't committed by students. Sun-Sentinel. A 7th-grader at Sleepy Hill Middle School in Lakeland was beaten so badly at school last month that he was hospitalized. The attacker was charged by police but never suspended by Polk County school officials. Lakeland Ledger. This year has been the worst on record for gun violence in schools, according to research by the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security that goes back to 1970. Ninety-four incidents were recorded, an increase of 60 percent over the previous record of 59 in 2006. The Guardian.

Teacher pay: Salaries for 20-year teaching veterans in the Palm Beach County School District are about $3,000 a year less today than they were for a teacher with the same experience in 2008, according to an analysis of district salary records. A 25-year veteran earns about $2,100 less, and a 15-year veteran about $1,000 a year less. The anomalies were created in 2010 and 2011 when the district dropped a salary schedule that rewarded teachers with seniority and bumped up salaries for younger teachers, including a 14 percent boost in starting salaries. Palm Beach Post.

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BRADENTON, Fla. - Odessa Ammons was looking for a school where her son could receive individualized attention.

She hoped Jeremiah, a quiet and withdrawn kid, would find his passions.

When he began school at Visible Men Academy, Ammons said, her son came alive. The small groups and close attention from teachers at the all-boys charter school helped him improve academically.

“There were little things they pulled out of him,” she said with a laugh. “He started writing poetry. He started wanting to draw.”

School officials say Jeremiah's story is an example of how the Academy uses a variety of methods to meet the kids where they are while pushing growth. This has been proven to improve student achievement at the Academy, school officials said.

Visible Men Academy opened four years ago in Bradenton, a mid-sized city sandwiched between Sarasota and St. Petersburg on Florida's Gulf Coast. It has glistening beaches to the west and a massive master-planned community to the east. But in the middle, there are pockets of poverty.

The school is devoted to helping boys like Jeremiah thrive. Roughly 90 percent of its nearly 100 students are black, and nearly all are considered economically disadvantaged.

It's overcome difficult odds.  In its first two years, it struggled with an F. Typically double-F charters have to close, but it was held harmless the first year, as Florida moved to new standardized assessments. Then, this year, however, it jumped two letter grades.

Administrators say a combination of strong leadership and new practices helped the school earn its first passing grade. It brought in a new principal. It embraced personalized learning. It started tailoring instruction to students' individual needs and interests. It shifted students into groups based on their academic performance, allowing them to advance to higher levels of learning based on their mastery of the topic, rather than the amount of time they spend.

Mary-Luisa Berges, who is starting her second year as principal, said the school will assess each student quarterly, if not sooner, to help gauge where they are struggling — and where their school can help them improve.

Leadership

Neil Phillips, the academy's CEO, said Berges played a significant role in the school's improvement.

"She was part of overhauling our entire approach to academics and really helped us establish a new high-achievement culture around our academic landscape," Phillips said.

Berges' academic pedigree includes some A-list education reform organizations. She previously worked as assistant principal at Rocketship Alma Academy in San Jose, California and as a teacher at KIPP public charter schools.

"These are hallmark education agencies, centered around helping students from our demographic perform at significantly higher levels," Phillips said of Rocketship and KIPP.

Phillips said Berges has helped teachers understand that collecting data on a quarterly basis isn't what matters. What matters is how they use that data to help their students grow academically.

"We think it is a big part of the future of having success from our demographic," Phillips said. "We have been much more willing to customize the delivery of our academic programs. It is not one-size-fits-all."

Berges said when she took the job at VMA, its character and social education were already solid. She emphasized individualized, data-driven instruction, which was key to increasing its success.

SHINE

Visible Men Academy's motto has always been "Let your light shine."

School officials said they believe good character is as important as academic achievement. The core virtues it teaches its students are emblazoned on the walls of the school: Selflessness, Honesty, Integrity, Niceness, and Excellence.

“We call it shine saturation,” Berges said. “It is in the culture and the vernacular. Are you shining today? We are constantly using our SHINE principles in our vocabulary. It is a huge part of the school, teaching them what the principle means.”

The school says its purpose is to provide boys from low-income communities with a social education and academic character.

Dawnyelle Singleton, director of staff for VMA, said many students arrive with limited educational foundations.

“Most studies show students of color can have a significant vocabulary deficit,” she said. “The effects of poverty, language barriers and access barriers are what our kids predominately face.”

Berges said the school has hired a full-time social worker to work with the children.

“Our social workers are great at helping our students channel and recognize their feelings,” she said. “If we can get the character, social skills and behavior in control then everything else will fall in line.”

When students get out of line, VMA's social workers often ask them one question: Were you showing integrity there?

Curriculum

Sitting in the cafeteria, one student did not want to focus as he sat with his teacher going over problems. His teacher nudged him to focus on the text and kept repeating herself several times until he settled down.

The school works to instill good study habits. For teachers, persistence is often key, Berges said. “We won’t stop until we get them to do the work with excellence. Our key to success is our fundamental love for our boys and our willingness to do whatever it takes."

For one hour a day, the school groups students into classes for targeted interventions. For example, a kindergartener, first-grader and second-grader could be in one group based on their test scores at the beginning of the year, Berges said. The school routinely reassess these groups and moves students accordingly.

“Whatever that data tells us, we will adjust our practices based on that,” she said. “It is data-driven instruction.”

Parent participation

School officials say it is critical to get parents involved in helping children succeed.

For that reason, Visible Men Academy offers programs and incentives to encourage them to become more active in their students' education.

Every Tuesday night, parents can take different classes such as wellness goals, counseling, cooking, financial empowerment, among others.

“We listen to our parents,” Berges said. “Our front office is always open. Everything is really personal. We know every kid by their name.”

And the response has been positive, with 50 percent of parents participating in the school's programs.

Cedric Hameed, the arts coordinator and associate teacher, leads a fatherhood initiative group to encourage responsible parenthood.

“We talk about different issues that we have as fathers and men,” Hameed said. “We look at our relationships from our current standpoint to how we were raised and connect the dots in between.”

Hameed, a poet, also leads a parent theatre troupe in partnership with Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in Sarasota. Parents are then able to perform in theater productions.

“It is another way to give parents a voice,” Hameed said. “It gives us that bridge to connect not only to the student but to the family and ambitions. They jump into each character themselves. They have the whole lens and inspiration they need to recreate unresolved issues. They are able to trade their insecurity for confidence and the fact they are able to impact people.”

Berges said she has faith the school will continue to grow because “we have an unending belief in the potential of our families and kids.”

Charter schools. The Duval school board prepares to close a struggling charter school and transfer 70 students. Florida Times-Union. The Bradenton Herald checks in with a high-profile all-boys charter school.

Teaching. The Pinellas school district plans to spend $1 million to improve classroom management at struggling elementary schools. Tampa Bay Times.

Public opinion. School choice advocates release a poll finding strong national support for charter schools, vouchers and other educational options.

Superintendents. Volusia's superintendent, under fire, may be headed for the exits. Daytona Beach News-Journal. Palm Beach's outgoing Wayne Gent applies to lead a nearby district. Sun-Sentinel. Palm Beach Post. Hillsborough's ousted MaryEllen Elia is feted by county commissioners. Tampa Tribune.

Lawsuits. An Escambia school board member writes a column critical of the lawsuit challenging Florida school choice programs. Watchdog.org.

Bullying. An Orlando bullying victim creates a professional quality anti-bullying music video. Sentinel School Zone.

School calendars. Okaloosa's superintendent proposes doing away with early release days. Northwest Florida Daily News.

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Twenty-three second-grade boys sit cross-legged on the lunchroom floor in diagonal rows known at this Bradenton, Fla., charter school as the “rays’’ formation.

That’s because the boys are considered little “SUNS,’’ radiating Selflessness, Honesty, Integrity, Niceness and Excellence - or SHINE. It’s the Let Your Light Shine motto at the new Visible Men Academy, where organizers deem character development as important as academic success.

Founder and principal Neil Phillips got the idea for an all-boys charter school from a nonprofit network he started five years ago to connect black boys with black male role models. Program coordinators kept telling the Harvard grad and former professional basketball player, “If only we had more time’’ with the boys.

“That planted the seed,’’ Phillips said.

Visible Men Academy opened in August, leasing space from a community church to teach 73 students in grades K-2. It’s the second single-gendered charter school in Manatee County and the ninth such school in Florida, where the concept is on the rise. In 2009-10, state records show one single-gender charter school. Three years later, there were eight.

Such schools are still rare – fewer than 1 percent of all charters nationally, according to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. And Florida Department of Education officials say they don’t know why there’s an increase. It just seems to be a natural direction for a school choice model that sells itself on offering parents and students an ever-widening array of options.

Charter schools are public schools that function independently from school districts. Some focus on science and math, others on the environment or the arts. The single-gender structure is just another option, and one that’s common in private and parochial schools. Even traditional district schools are trying it, with proponents pointing to improved academic achievement and fewer discipline problems.

The idea is to build upon research that shows some boys and girls learn differently. In some single-gender classrooms, girls sit in clusters so they can talk face-to-face - and frequently - while boys have schedules that allow more breaks for physical activity.

Last year, Just For Girls Academy opened in the same Florida city with a focus on helping girls succeed in reading, math, science and technology – and boosting their confidence. The K-4 school with 102 students is an offshoot of a local girls club.

“Research shows that girls thrive in an environment like this,” said Principal Jennifer Rosenboom. “And our parents wanted a place where their daughters could be safe and flourish.’’

Phillips has a similar outlook at Visible Men Academy. (more…)