Florida roundup: Charter schools, turnarounds, back to school and more

Charter schools. The boards of three schools threatened with losing their charters offer to meet with Hillsborough district officials. Gradebook.

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Parental choice. The parent of a child expected to benefit from a Personal Learning Scholarship Account criticizes the Florida Education Association’s lawsuit against parental choice legislation in a Tallahassee Democrat guest column. The Naples Daily News looks at Charlie Crist’s past positions on charter schools and tax credit scholarships.

Campaigns. A district manager for Florida Virtual School is mounting a viable campaign against a Broward school board incumbent dogged by controversy over a racial slur. Miami Herald. The Tallahassee Democrat endorses the challenger in Leon County’s only contested school board race. A Hillsborough candidate faces an ethnically charged attack. Gradebook. The Daytona Beach News-Journal catches two Flagler candidates plagiarizing.

CAPE. Walton High School adds aeronautics lessons through a dual enrollment program. Northwest Florida Daily News.

Early learning. Pinellas prepares to open a district-run early learning center. Tampa Tribune.

Turnarounds. The Volusia school district focuses on three schools identified as needing intervention. Daytona Beach News-Journal.

Back to school. Manatee teachers are overhauling their lessons as they get ready for new state standards. Bradenton Herald. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.The Orlando Sentinel runs down what’s new in Central Florida. Tampa children prepare for the new year. Tampa Tribune. A picnic helps prepare homeless students for the school year in St. Johns. St. Augustine Record. The Bradford school district is staggering start times to help kindergarteners adjust. Gainesville Sun. Duval officials christen the renamed Westside High School. Florida Times-Union.

Facilities. Collier schools focus their construction funds on maintenance rather than new buildings. Fort Myers News-Press.

Reading. Hillsborough officials say they won’t have much trouble adding an extra hour of reading instruction. Tampa Bay Times.

Superintendents. Hillsborough’s MaryEllen Elia gets high marks from school board members. Tampa Bay Times.

STEM. Florida’s evolution controversy never dies. Bridge to Tomorrow. Not all STEM fields are equal when it comes to future earnings. Tallahassee Democrat.The Democrat highlights a STEM-based summer camp aimed at Native American students.

Administration. Leon County unveils a dedicated app for middle schools. Tallahassee Democrat.

Attendance. The Northwest Florida Daily News offers tips to prevent students missing class time.

Nutrition. A pizza contract is a source of controversy in Volusia. Daytona Beach News-Journal.


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BY Travis Pillow

Travis Pillow is Director of Thought Leadership at Step Up For Students and editor of NextSteps. He lives in Sanford, Fla. with his wife and two children. A former Tallahassee statehouse reporter, he most recently worked at the Center on Reinventing Public Education, a research organization at Arizona State University, where he studied community-led learning innovation and school systems' responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. He can be reached at tpillow (at) sufs.org.