K-12 spending: Legislators are touting the record spending on K-12 education in this year’s budget. But Orange County school officials and the Florida Education Association say the increase of about 1 percent doesn’t even cover inflation. Orlando Sentinel. News Service of Florida. House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, says there are greater differences between the House and Senate on education spending than on any other budget issue. Politico Florida. Lawmakers defend their compromise agreement on education spending. Politico Florida.
Education bill: Amendments are being added to one of the two major education bills in the Legislature. Several involve the teacher bonus program. Among them: deleting it, allowing teachers to use LSAT scores to qualify in addition to ACT and SAT, allowing teachers to qualify if they graduated from a college or university ranked among the top 25 nationally by the Princeton Review or other national publication at the time of their graduation, and more. Politico Florida.
School testing: More than 200 Lee County students have opted out of the Florida Standards Assessments so far. WINK. A Pasco County School Board member agrees with parents who believe students ought to be able to read after finishing their Florida Standards Assessments tests. A few state districts allow it, but those in west-central Florida do not. Gradebook.
Recess benefits: Key lawmakers believe the decision to require daily recess for elementary students should be made at the local level. But advocates say the problem is local school boards won’t commit, which is why the issue landed in the Legislature. The Senate bill won’t be heard, but backers aren’t quitting. They say the benefits of recess are too compelling. WTSP.
Workbook removed: A fifth-grade workbook is removed from the Walker Elementary School curriculum after a parent complained about the inclusion of the phrase “Muslims pray to Allah.” The reference was in a lesson helping Okaloosa County students differentiate between the words pray and prey. Northwest Florida Daily News.
Charter schools renewed: The Duval County School Board renews contracts for four charter schools. Duval Charter School at Baymeadows, an A-rated school the past four years, got a 15-year extension while the others were extended by five or fewer years. Florida Times-Union.
Teacher mentoring: The Hillsborough County School Board approves a new plan for teacher mentoring. About 150 positions will be designated as fulltime mentors, while 50 schools will receive “teacher talent developers,” a job that combines teaching children and helping other teachers. The district now has 260 fulltime peer evaluators and mentors that are financed by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. That grant expires at the end of this school year. Tampa Tribune. Tampa Bay Times.
Computer coding: Miami-Dade School Superintendent Alberto Carvalho speaks out against the move allowing students to choose computer coding to fulfill foreign language requirements. The two are not interchangeable, he says. Miami Herald.
Sales tax hike: A Palm Beach County commissioner wants to kill plans to work with the school board on a campaign to raise the county’s sales tax by a penny. Hal Valeche says “we need to skinny down our list of projects.” Palm Beach Post.
LGBT policies: The Brevard County School Board tabled an LGBT anti-harassment policy last week. But Superintendent Desmond Blackburn says the issue is not dead, and the district is continuing to look at ways to protect those students. Florida Today. The issue of transgender bathroom use wasn’t even on the Sarasota County School Board agenda, but hundreds of people attended the meeting to promote their views. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Impact teachers: The Department of Education designates 273 Lee County teachers as “high impact” educators. Fort Myers News-Press.
Employee reinstated: Orange County schools’ speech pathologist Wendi Lowrey, who was transferred from Avalon Elementary because of Facebook posts, will get her job back. An arbitrator ruled that her posts, which questioned state testing and education policies, are protected by the First Amendment. Orlando Sentinel.
Rivers’ past: Polk County Associate Superintendent Greg Rivers left a University of Florida job in 2006 after he was accused of having three sexual relationships with subordinates. Rivers’ allegations this year against former Polk Superintendent Kathryn LeRoy culminated in her resignation. Lakeland Ledger.
Employees discipline: A Broward County teacher is fired for threatening to punch a student. Two others were suspended for leaving students unsupervised on field trips. Sun-Sentinel.
Opinions on schools: Current teaching schedules allow very little time for teachers to engage in planning, reflecting, grading and giving authentic feedback essential for quality teaching and learning. Jennifer Tomlinson, Fort Myers News-Press. It’s unusual but heartening to see the Legislature take responsibility for school spending. Daytona Beach News-Journal. There’s more behind the Legislature’s “school tax cut” than what you might read. St. Augustine Record. A potentially tragic gun incident at a school shows the need for greater training of school personnel. Citrus County Chronicle.
Student enrichment: A few schools in South Florida start teaching students empathy skills through a program called Everyday Humane. Miami New Times. Spanish students at Burns Middle School in Brandon translate and recite Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech. Tampa Bay Times. Fifth-grade students at Lee Elementary in Tampa got a lesson in citizenship when teacher Lexi Guice heard a car crash outside and raced down to help the victims. Tampa Tribune. Blake High students Ethan Huggins and Zuriel Cousin produce a video on the dangers of crossing streets hat wins a contest sponsored by the Metropolitan Planning Organization. Tampa Tribune. Jonathan Evans, city manager of Haines City, tells students at Donald Woods Opportunity School in Dundee to not let their troubled past dictate their future. Winter Haven News Chief. Three new after-school programs will bring increased tutoring and support services to students and parents in lower-income neighborhoods of Tallahassee. Tallahassee Democrat.
