Florida roundup: Virtual schools, testing, teaching and more

02/12/15
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Travis Pillow

florida-roundup-logoVirtual school. Florida Virtual School recruits students for its new on-campus option. Orlando Sentinel. Pasco's virtual school gave a high school senior the flexibility to learn how to fly planes. Tampa Bay Times.

Testing. The Florida Senate's deliberations over testing issues are intensifying. Gradebook. A proposed limit on testing time might not lead to fewer assessments. StateImpact. It's too early to say whether parents took part in an Orange County testing boycott. Sentinel School Zone.

Teaching.  Pinellas teachers say they want more freedom to teach. Gradebook.

Rigor. A new college-prep program is coming to some Jacksonville middle schools. Florida Times-Union.

Community schools. A new K-8 community school could open in one of Tampa's struggling neighborhoods. Tampa Bay Times.

Athletics. A Catholic school with a young but successful football program recruits a new coach. Ocala Star-Banner.

Superintendents. An advisory panel will help guide the Palm Beach school district's search for a new leader. Sun-Sentinel. Palm Beach Post. The elected-vs-appointed debate picks up in Escambia County. Pensacola News-Journal.

School boards. The Manatee school board votes to pay the legal fees of a former district investigator. Bradenton Herald. The Miami-Dade school board aims to untangle a local taxing issue. Miami Herald.

Transportation. The Palm Beach school district is hiring bus drivers. Palm Beach Post. Lee schools face a lawsuit in the wake of a fatal bus crash. Fort Myers News-Press.

PTA. An elementary school organization is raising money with donated shoes. Gainesville Sun.

About Travis Pillow

Travis Pillow is senior director of thought leadership and growth at Step Up For Students. He lives in Sanford, Florida, 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.
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