Florida roundup: Charter schools, lawsuits, superintendents and more

florida-roundup-logoCharter schools. Students scramble for other options – and say emotional goodbyes – as their charter school shuts down late in the school year. First Coast News. An Alachua charter school’s principal and some of its board members resign. Gainesville Sun.

School choice. Schools should have to compete for students, and students should be free to choose, an Orlando Sentinel guest column argues.

Career academies. Demand is high for a new Okaloosa machining academy. Northwest Florida Daily News. Duval launches an aviation program. Florida Times-Union.

Lawsuits. Florida Virtual School takes its supporting foundation to court over alleged financial mismanagement. Orlando Sentinel.

Magnet schools. Duval offers students a museum-themed magnet. Florida Times-Union.

Virtual school. Palm Beach’s virtual school will celebrate its graduating class. Palm Beach Post.

Testing. What will testing reductions mean for teacher evaluations? StateImpact. North Florida students seem OK with the switch to computerized testing. Northwest Florida Daily News. Students have to retake geometry exams after they were improperly given calculators. Fox 13.

Remedial courses. Remedial reading and math classes will no longer be mandatory for struggling students, though schools will be required to offer them support. Orlando Sentinel.

Special needs. A program helps students with unique abilities cultivate practical skills. Naples Daily News.

Employee conduct. A Mavericks High principal caught with a student in a pot-filled car had a history of issues at a charter school where she previously worked. Palm Beach Post. Sun-Sentinel. The issue has gotten the attention of outlets like Gawker. A Jacksonville teacher faces allegations of an improper relationship with a student. Florida Times-Union. A school staffing specialist is arrested for forging a doctor’s note to get out of work. Keynoter.

Summer. Some Lee County schools plan to extend the school year to help combat the summer slide. Fort Myers News-Press.

Superintendents. Leon County Schools weigh replacing an elected superintendent with an appointed one. Tallahassee Democrat.

Funding. School budgets are among the programs in flux amid a legislative budget standoff. Tallahassee Democrat.

Growth. Orange County debates new policies to select sites for school construction. Orlando Sentinel. Marion looks to hire more teachers. Ocala Star-Banner.

Mental health. Schools often lack the resources to educate students about mental health issues. Orlando Sentinel.

Labor. Volusia schools reach a contract agreement with support staff. Daytona Beach News-Journal. The school board is set to vote on a new teacher contract. Daytona Beach News-Journal.

School boards. Manatee school board members take part in training. Bradenton Herald.

College prep. Volusia considers ending a popular program. Daytona Beach News-Journal.

Extracurricular activities. Okaloosa students start a competitive bass fishing team. Northwest Florida Daily News.

Start times. Manatee considers an earlier start for high schools. Bradenton Herald.

History. A Manatee high school celebrates its 10th anniversary. Bradenton Herald.


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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.