Charter schools. Tampa Bay Times: “Stop the giveaway to charter schools.” A charter school company is interesting in buying property at one of more of the three schools that the school board recently voted to shut down next year, reports Florida Today.
Will Weatherford. StateImpact Florida talks to him about his education views – and his own nontraditional education background.
Parent power. Lawmakers are showing strong, bipartisan support for legislation that would give the parents of special needs students more say in their children’s education, but groups like Fund Education Now are opposed. Miami Herald.
Testing. Valerie Strauss’s Answer Sheet devotes space to a Florida case involving the FCAT and a student who is profoundly disabled.
Teacher pay. In a meeting with the Tampa Bay Times editorial board, Gov. Rick Scott stands by his across-the-board pay plan.
Teacher conduct. Florida Times Union: “An Atlantic Beach Elementary School teacher who used depictions of minstrel caricatures of African-Americans, blackface and a lynching for a second-grade coloring assignment last month said she has used the material for the past three years.”
Superintendents. Lee’s Joseph Burke plans to retire in June, less than two years after he started, reports the Fort Myers News Press and Naples Daily News. Manatee’s new superintendent, Rick Mills, gets off to a bad start with borderline plagiarism, writes Sarasota Herald Tribune columnist Tom Lyons.
School security. The Daytona Beach News Journal looks at how the Volusia district is beefing up security in the wake of Newtown.
School spending. The Manatee district plans to eliminate 188 full-time positions. Sarasota Herald Tribune.
School calendar. The Panama City News Herald writes up the bill that would allow district schools to get an earlier start to the school year.
Rick Scott. Hands out school recognition money in Collier. Fort Myers News Press and Naples Daily News.
