Florida roundup: Student success, charter schools, Cameron Diaz and more

florida-roundup-logoSuccess. A high school graduate who worked 12-hour weekend shifts to pay his family’s bills is headed to Johns Hopkins. Tampa Bay Times. A student who rose from homelessness is awarded a college scholarship. Tampa Bay Times.

Charter schools. A planned charter school in the Broward city of Tamarac is put on hold amid opposition from a neighboring senior center, concerns about the cost of facilities, and questions about enrollment priority for city residents. South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Arts. A White House program aimed at promoting the arts in low-performing schools will bring Cameron Diaz to Broward schools. Sun-Sentinel.

Retention. Fewer third-graders may be held back this year. Orlando Sentinel.

Discipline. Flagler settles a civil rights complaint over alleged bias in its discipline practices. Daytona Beach News-Journal.

Special needs. A Treasure Coast lawmaker sets out to create a dyslexia pilot program. Stuart News.

Dress mess. A student stripped of her National Honor Society title over a dress code violation meets with school district officials. Fort Myers News-Press.

Awards. Students at a single-gender turnaround magnet program win a national award for an anti-bullying campaign. Florida Times-Union.

School boards. Manatee’s may consider adding two members. Bradenton Herald.

Summer safety. School and city officials in Tampa try to keep teens busy, and safe, over the summer. Tampa TribuneTampa Bay Times.

Administration. Manatee plans to hire a new superintendent. Bradenton Herald. A veteran principal, demoted amid swings in her school’s letter grades, may soon be restored to a school leadership position. Gradebook. Districts plan to reshuffle their administrative ranks. Gradebook. Gainesville Sun.

Charity. Students at a Lakeland Montessori school show support for Nepal earthquake victims. Lakeland Ledger.

Cellphones. A teacher suspended for using a cellphone jammer tells his side of the story. Gradebook.

Budgets. Gradebook looks at the Legislature’s spending plans.

Retirement. Long-serving educators bid farewell. Sun-Sentinel. Daytona Beach News-Journal.

School’s out. Naples Daily News.


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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.