Florida schools roundup: Frank Brogan, Florida Virtual, first days & more

Frank Brogan: The outgoing Florida university system chancellor talks about Common Core, state grades and Tony Bennett. TCPalm.

florida-roundup-logoCommon Core: Polk County’s new teachers get a primer on the new education standards during their district orientation. The Ledger.

Florida Virtual School: About 6,000 Polk County students took classes last school year through Florida Virtual School. Recent drops in enrollment statewide have resulted in teacher and staff layoffs. The Ledger. More from the Associated Press.

Early dismissal: Polk County’s early dismissal days will be 1½ hours shorter this school year than last. The Ledger.

Safety: St. Johns County schools wants to limit each school to one entrance. St. Augustine Record.

First day: Summer is over for 86,000 Lee County students who are back in school. News-Press. More from Naples Daily News.

School supplies: Lipman and Pacific Tomato Growers hand out 1,400 back packs to needy Immokalee families. Naples Daily News.

More Bennett: Two more Tony Bennett hires, Anna Shultz and Katie Stephens, leave their Florida Department of Education posts. Tampa Bay Times. American Federation of Teachers and its Indiana affiliate request public records from the Indiana Department of Education, seeking all communications between Tony Bennett, Foundation for Excellence in Education, ALEC and others since 2009. School Zone.

Feeder schools: Pinellas County School B0ard members once again question Jamerson Elementary’s link to Thurgood Marshall Fundamental Middle School. Tampa Bay Times.

Ed chief: The Florida Democratic Party pushes a petition to change the state education commissioner post from an appointed position to an elected one. Tampa Bay Times.

Letter grades: Starting this fall, Pinellas County’s fundamental elementary schools won’t give letter grades until the third grade. Tampa Bay Times.

Turnaround: Pinellas County’s Melrose Elementary gets a fresh start with new teachers, part of a state-mandated restructuring for low performance. Tampa Bay Times.


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BY Sherri Ackerman

Sherri Ackerman is the former associate editor of redefinED. She is a former correspondent for the Tampa Bay Times and reporter for The Tampa Tribune, writing about everything from cops and courts to social services and education. She grew up in Indiana and moved to Tampa as a teenager, graduating from Brandon High School and, later, from the University of South Florida with a bachelor’s degree in mass communications/news editing. Sherri passed away in March 2016.