Private schools: A Broward County private K-12 welcomes Animal Planet’s “Gator Boys” to help open the school’s $600,000 center that provides students with an outdoor classroom. Sun Sentinel.
District schools: A Brevard County elementary school wins a statewide contest for a video that promotes reading. Florida Today. Plans for a cell tower at a Naples elementary school campus are on hold. Naples Daily News. It’s the time of year when thousands of children and parents in Lee County make a decision on which school they want to attend. Fort Myers News-Press. An internal auditor reviews Pasco County schools and suggests looking more closely at the way money flows inside the campuses. Tampa Bay Times.
Charter schools: A new report looks at the lasting impacts charters have on students and whether the schools help determine paychecks later in life. The answer, in a word, is yes, writes Collin Hitt for Jay P. Greene’s blog.
Florida Virtual School: For the first time, FLVS offers an opportunity for online students outside of the state to earn their high school diploma through a virtual school. GettingSmart. The state Supreme Court will hear arguments April 28 in a dispute about whether Florida Virtual School can sue K12 Inc. for alleged trademark infringement. News Service of Florida.
Mental health: Sandy Pines Residential Treatment Center in Palm Beach County opens with three dozen new beds to fill the growing need for more mental health care for children. Palm Beach Post.
School safety: The ACLU responds to Hillsborough County’s security proposal with a letter that contends the more guards you put in the schools, the more likely you are to criminalize behavior that could better be corrected without exposing the child to the criminal justice system. Tampa Bay Times.
Jeb Bush: The former Florida governor addresses ideas about immigration, education and the plight of youths in a speech at the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts. Florida Times-Union.
Principals: The Palm Beach County superintendent’s decision to replace Pahokee High School’s principal after a state grade of a D is the right one; now the community must move forward, writes the Palm Beach Post. Leon County principals let Leon education foundation board members shadow them for a day. Tallahassee Democrat.
Teachers: The Miami-Dade teachers union plans to protest excessive testing, cuts to programs and “turning over charter schools to corporate, for-profit interests.” Miami Herald. Teaching has become an assembly line, writes retired educator Bess Hinson for the Orlando Sentinel.
Standardized tests: Don’t repeat the FCAT, writes the Pensacola News Journal.
Impact fees: Hernando builders and Realtors question the fairness of impact fee to support schools. Tampa Bay Times.
Awards: A Pasco County standout AP art student wins the Critics’ Choice award during the 2014 district thespian festival. Tampa Bay Times.
