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

florida-roundup-logoCommon Core: On Hernando County School Board members’ discussion of the new standards: “If there was one bright spot in board members’ critique of Common Core it was that they accidentally made a beautiful argument in the standards’ favor,” writes columnist Dan DeWitt for the Tampa Bay Times. Jeb Bush’s Foundation for Excellence in Education reaches out to the Pasco school district get the word out to parents about Common Core. Tampa Bay Times.

School nurses: School health clinics re-imagine the role of school nurses with more programs that could help students earn better grades. StateImpact Florida.

Conduct: A former Hillsborough County elementary school principal receives six consecutive life sentences after pleading guilty to two murders, four counts of attempted murder and two counts of aggravated battery. Tampa Bay Times.

Bus fees: Thousands of Lake County students who lost their bus service to school this year will soon be able to pay a fee to ride while others will get free rides if their walking route is considered dangerous by a new school board-created standard. Orlando Sentinel.

Teacher pay: Manatee County school leaders and the local teachers union reach an agreement that will restore some of the salaries frozen or cut in past years. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. 

Conversion charter: Manatee County School Board leaders approve the district’s first conversion charter school – Monroe Rowlett Academy of Arts and Communication, which will open next fall. Bradenton Herald.

Budgets: The Manatee County School Board postpones the final vote on the budget to give the public time to review it. Bradenton Herald.

9/11 tribute: Two Providence Community School students in Manatee County promote a 9/11 project to make sure their community and fellow students never lose awareness of the tragic day. Bradenton Herald.

Science fair: A Leon County middle school student has been named a finalist in the Broadcom MASTERS national science fair. Tallahassee Democrat.


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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.