Tutoring: A Tampa Bay Times investigation finds that one in four public educators made money from a taxpayer-funded program by tutoring children from their own schools.
Education crisis: Nothing less than a community-wide commitment and expectation of excellence can turn the tide for children in St.Petersburg, writes the Tampa Bay Times editorial board.
Single-gendered: Hillsborough County’s two single-gendered middle schools find success, see state grades rise. The Tampa Tribune.
Tony Bennett: Before resigning as Florida’s Education Commissioner, Bennett emails former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, and describes his last few days on the job as a “living hell.” The Buzz.
GEDs: South Florida is seeing a spike in applicants rushing to earn their GEDs before tougher new standards kick in. Sun Sentinel.
Overcrowding: West Boynton Beach is growing – too much and too fast for some parents in the Palm Beach County school district. Palm Beach Post.
Back to school: Palm Beach County hands out backpacks and other school supplies at six free community events. Palm Beach Post. Seminole County’s nearly 64,000 public school students head back to classes this morning. Orlando Sentinel. Churches and community agencies help outfit students with new supplies. Florida Today. Lincoln Park Elementary, the turnaround school in Escambia County, starts the new year with new teachers. Pensacola News-Journal.
Special needs: A teacher’s emails to Hillsborough County district administrators reveal problems months before a special needs student dies. Tampa Bay Times.
Jeb Bush: Bush backs Common Core State Standards while speaking at the ALEC conference in Chicago. Associated Press.
Educational scandals cast a cloud over the former Florida governor’s presidential prospects, writes the Miami Herald.
School grades: A Miami Herald analysis of A-F grades shows the wealthiest schools never get Fs, and schools with high populations of poor students face an uphill battle to get even a C. Miami-Dade Superintendent Alberto Carvalho lauds student achievement while criticizing the state’s A-to-F school grading system as “dysfunctional.” Miami Herald. Clay County kindergarteners through second-graders no longer get A-F grades. Florida Times-Union.
Student conduct: St. Lucie County public schools have more than 100 arrests a year, reports the TCPalm.
New super: The St. Lucie County School Board continues its search for the district’s next superintendent. TCPalm.
Principal conduct: Four years after Journeys Academy shut down in Lee County due to its principal embezzling more than $360,000, the school’s owner is waging a legal battle for reimbursement from two banks. Naples Daily News.
Common Core: Pasco County schools move ahead with preparing for the new education standards. The Tampa Tribune.
