Turnaround strategy: A turnaround team proposes pay increases of up to $25,000 a year for teachers and administrators to work at five struggling St. Petersburg elementary schools. The team, led by Antonio Burt, also wants to lengthen the schools’ day by an hour. The proposal goes to the Pinellas County School Board April 12. The schools, which are mostly black, became some of the worst in the state after the school board abandoned integration efforts in 2007, then did not follow through on providing the proper resources. Tampa Bay Times.
Charter connection? A charter school run by the wife of the next Florida House speaker is asking for permission to expand. The Legislature recently voted to shorten the period that charter schools must wait to get state money for construction. Rep. Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’Lakes, says the two events are not related, and that the legislative action was part of a broader reform. Tampa Bay Times.
Education on trial: Gainesville kindergarten teacher Susan Bowles testifies against the state in the Citizens for Strong Schools v. Board of Education, a civil trial in which the state is accused of not fulfilling its constitutional mandate to provide a quality education for all public school students. Bowles, who opposes the state’s testing requirements, told an attorney for the state that her students used to spend more time preparing for the test than the attorney spent getting ready to take his law school admission test. WCTV.
School uniforms: The Volusia County School Board approves school uniforms for students in every grade. Students will be required to wear collared polo or button-down shirts in specific colors with a wide variety of bottoms, including blue jeans. The board also changes the rules for athletic eligibility. Students no longer have to pass all classes to be eligible, but they do have to maintain a 2.0 grade point average. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Capital spending: Millions of U.S. students go to deteriorating buildings because of the nation’s $46-billion-a-year underinvestment in public school facilities, according to a report from the U.S. Green Business Council and the 21st Century School Fund. Only Florida, Texas and Georgia met or exceeded the minimum industry standard for capital construction investment from 1994 to 2013. Education Week.
Equality index: The education groups that released the Education Equality Index last week now say the index is “not the best way to compare states” because the rankings are highly correlated with the percentage of poor students in those states. The nonprofit organizations Education Cities and GreatSchools say they still stand by the city-level rankings. According to the report, Florida schools had the second-smallest gap in academic performance between poor and wealthier students. Orlando Sentinel.
SAT cheating: The newly redesigned SAT test routinely reuses material from tests that already have been given, and security has been compromised by Asian test preparation companies more often than the College Board has acknowledged, according to a report. Reuters.
Teacher union fees: Teachers unions can continue to collect fees from nonmembers. The U.S. Supreme Court’s 4-4 vote lets stand a lower court ruling allowing the collection. Education Week. Associated Press. New York Times.
Confederate flag: Some Indian River County School Board members say they’re willing to ban the Confederate flag from district properties, if they can be assured that doing so is legal. TCPalm.
School rezoning: The Hillsborough County School Board approves a plan that rezones 160 students to alleviate overcrowding at Stowers Elementary School. Gradebook.
New school site: A homeowners association is fighting a proposed location for a new high school in the northeast area of Miami-Dade. The group cites traffic concerns and is pushing its school board member, Martin Karp, to make his position on the proposal public. Miami Herald.
Sales tax proceeds: A half-cent sales tax increase approved last fall generates $1.12 million in January for the St. Johns County School District. Before the vote, it was estimated the tax would produce $13 million in the first full year and $150 million over the 10-year collection period. St. Augustine Record.
Stewart’s treatment: Florida Education Commissioner Pam Stewart, who announced her diagnosis of breast cancer in December, says she has completed chemotherapy treatment. Miami Herald.
Notable deaths: Mariam Katiba Cook, a longtime Marion County educator who also worked to keep farmland out of the hands of developers, has died at age 85. Ocala Star Banner. Dr. Barbara Anderson, a Martin County School District music teacher and administrator for 39 years, has died at age 73. TCPalm.
Students arrested: Two students are arrested after posting Snapchat pictures of themselves with a gun in a bathroom at Cypress Creek High School on Monday. Orlando Sentinel. An 18-year-old student at Palmetto Ridge High School is arrested and accused of having sex with a 15-year-old girl in the school hallways. Naples Daily News.
Opinions on schools: Despite all the problems, online standardized testing moves on. Terri Friedlander, Tallahassee Democrat. Hillsborough County School Superintendent Jeff Eakins’ reorganization plan isn’t about flexing political muscle. It’s about doing what is best for the district’s 27,000 employees and more than 200,000 students. Tampa Bay Times. Creating a productive parent-teacher relationship isn’t always easy. Laurie Futterman, Miami Herald. The Manatee County School District has made a remarkably swift financial turnaround. Bradenton Herald. Algebra is rarely used in most professions. So if universal algebra requirements prevent more students from graduating, is it time to reassess whether all students need those courses? Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
