Florida schools roundup: charter schools, Common Core, school safety & more

Charter schools. The principal of an Imagine charter school that tried to separate from the parent company will leave at the end of the school year, and the school will remain with Imagine, according to a settlement deal, reports the Sarasota Herald Tribune. The Miami-Dade School Board approves contracts for a Somerset Academy charter school despite objections from neighbors, reports the Miami Herald.

florida roundup logoCommon Core. Teachers will learn more about it in summer school. StateImpact Florida.

Teacher conduct. Coach, porn. Tampa Tribune.

Tutor conduct. Frank Cerabino on the math tutor/former porn guy.

Teacher evaluations. The new evals may be legal “but they’re still absurd.” Palm Beach Post.

Teacher pay. Teacher’s aides in Sarasota County wonder if they’ll get raises too. Sarasota Herald Tribune.

School turnarounds. Pinellas advertises for teachers at F-rated Maximo Elementary. Gradebook.

School closures. Flagler officials say they won’t have to close a school this year but closures may be possible in the future because enrollment keeps slipping and many schools are under capacity. Daytona Beach News Journal.

School safety. Lawmakers didn’t include any more money than last year, reports the Sarasota Herald Tribune. Thousands of Palm Beach County students write about violence in their lives, including school violence and bullying, reports the Palm Beach Post.

School spending. Land sales may net the financially struggling Manatee school district $2 million. Sarasota Herald Tribune.

Student activism. Manatee students join efforts to deter teen pregnancy. Bradenton Herald.

PTA. A preliminary audit finds the PTA of a Broward County elementary school paid teachers for extracurricular work while they were supposed to be on the job and paid some of its members who were supposed to be volunteering for free. South Florida Sun Sentinel.


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BY Ron Matus

Ron Matus is director for policy and public affairs at Step Up for Students and a former editor of redefinED. He joined Step Up in February 2012 after 20 years in journalism, including eight years as an education reporter with the Tampa Bay Times (formerly the St. Petersburg Times). Ron can be reached at rmatus@stepupforstudents.org or (727) 451-9830. Follow him on Twitter @RonMatus1 and on facebook at facebook.com/redefinedonline.