School suspensions: Suspensions in Florida K-12 schools dropped almost 13 percent from the 2011-2012 school year to 2013-2014, according to the Department of Education. That’s a decline of about 54,100 students, from more than 425,600 to 371,500. WUFT. Pinellas County school officials will offer parents of suspended students the option of sending their child to an alternative district school to serve the suspension rather than miss schoolwork. Officials think that alternative could prevent students from falling behind and potentially dropping out of school. Tampa Bay Times.
Teacher shortage: The Florida Department of Education says there’s a critical shortage of teachers in the state, especially for English, exceptional student education, reading, foreign language, English for speakers of other languages, science and mathematics. Included in the shortage figures are teachers who are hired to teach courses without the appropriate certification. More than 4 percent of the state’s teachers are teaching out of field, and the percentages are higher in failing and low-income schools. Miami Today.
Computer science standards: The Florida Board of Education is considering adopting new computer science standards to be added to existing science standards. The board is scheduled to vote May 20 on the K-12 standards. Orlando Sentinel.
Sales tax holiday: Gov. Rick Scott signs off on a tax-cut package on Wednesday that includes the back-to-school sales tax holiday. Clothing, shoes and backpacks that cost $60 or less and supplies that cost less than $15 will be tax-exempt from Aug. 5-7. Palm Beach Post. Tampa Bay Times. Sunshine State News. News Service of Florida.
Earning extra money: The Pinellas County School District recently announced it would pay teachers up to $25,000 more a year to teach in five low-income, failing schools as part of a turnaround plan. What do the teachers have to do to earn the extra money? They would have to attend 30 hours of additional training, work a longer school day and teach in the Summer Bridge program. They also would have 36 hours in the extended learning program. The range of the pay raises is $18,000 to $25,000. Gradebook.
School testing: The Florida Standards Assessments computerized testing continues to go smoothly, according to officials with the Department of Education. Only a handful of isolated glitches have been reported. Gradebook.
District reorganization: More details are emerging about Hillsborough School Superintendent Jeff Eakins’ plan to reorganize the hieracrhy of the administration. Among the highlights: eight area superintendents’ executive secretaries will be traded for eight higher-paying deputy director jobs, and an assistant deputy manager of Hispanic outreach will be hired. Tampa Tribune.
Union files complaint: The Orange County teachers union files a complaint in circuit court, saying the district has yet to comply with an arbitrator’s ruling to reinstate a teacher who was transferred after making several social media posts on education issues. Orlando Sentinel.
BETA Center rescued: The Orange County School Board gives $150,000 to the BETA Center, which helps pregnant teenagers, teenage mothers and their babies. The money allows the center to stay open through the end of the school year. Orlando Sentinel.
Bathroom access: Polk County School Board member Tim Harris takes to Facebook to post his feelings on the issue of bathroom access for transgender people: “My child’s safety in a public restroom is more important than a man who wants to dress up as a woman.” The district handles requests from transgender students on a case-by-case basis, officials say. Lakeland Ledger.
Grant criticized: Volusia County School Board members are skeptical about the need for a $1.4 million grant. The money, from the nonprofit New Teacher Center, would allow the district to hire four people to train the 60 instructional coaches already in county schools. Those mentors will then pass their knowledge on to teachers. Volusia is one of two counties in the country to receive the grant. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Registration process: The Escambia County School District wants to streamline the registration process by offering it online. Pensacola News Journal.
Bus drivers pitch: The Palm Beach County School District uses 255,362 text messages, emails and automated calls to recruit bus drivers. “Our parents want drivers, and they may know someone in their family who’s looking for a job,” said Pete DiDonato, the district’s transportation director. Sun-Sentinel.
Student gets TB: A case of tuberculosis is reported at Santaluces High School in Lantana. The student has been sent home for 10 days, until the disease is no longer contagious. Palm Beach Post.
Notable deaths: Margaret Mitchell Armand, the first Haitian-American certified teacher to be hired by Broward County Public Schools in 1980, has died at age 65. She was also a prominent author and artist. Miami Herald.
School expansion: The Leon County School Board will consider buying two properties to expand the Woodville elementary and middle school shared campus. Tallahassee Democrat.
School sued: The mother of a Tampa Day School student who was molested in 2014 files a lawsuit against the school, saying its leaders failed to act on warning signs that the principal’s relationship with her then-14 year old son was not normal. The principal, James Larkin, was sentenced last year to 10 years in prison for molesting the boy and another student. Tampa Day School specializes in teaching children with mild to moderate learning disabilities. Tampa Bay Times.
Student arrested: A third Boca Ciega High School student has been arrested and accused of distributing marijuana oil-laced candy to several other students. Five of the students who ate the candy were hospitalized briefly. Tampa Bay Times. Tampa Tribune.
Parent arrested: An Orlando woman is arrested and accused of punching her daughter’s cheerleading coach in the face. Police say Stephane Waddle was angry that her daughter had been suspended from a competition for Timber Creek High School. WFLA.
Opinions on schools: The Pinellas County School Board and Superintendent Michael Grego must listen carefully and completely to critics who assert that school officials need to act with far more urgency. And they need to enlist their help to fix these schools now. Tampa Bay Times. Across the country, there’s a growing consensus among experts that removing children from the classroom for minor misbehavior does more harm than good. Quite simply, students benefit when we keep them in the classroom. Amir Whitaker, Tampa Bay Times. Duval School Superintendent Nikolai Vitti has had four years to turn around the school district, but no turnaround has taken place. Instead, there are well over 60 schools in danger of state intervention because of continued low performance. Jim Johnson, Florida Times-Union. The Polk County School Board’s hasty hiring of Jacqueline Byrd as superintendent demonstrates questionable judgment and short-sightedness. Lakeland Ledger. Manatee School Superintendent Diana Greene has earned the strong reviews she received from the school board. Bradenton Herald. The concept of a community school on the old Wesson Elementary campus does not come without costs, but the possibility for real gains in education far outweigh the initial investment. Gil Ziffer, Tallahassee Democrat.
Student enrichment: Rocel Balmes wins the Robert J. Fisher Award for Excellence in Poetry from the Polk County Council of Teachers of English. Balmes, an 18-year-old senior at Haines City High School, won with a poem inspired by her struggles to learn English after arriving in the United States from the Philippines at the age of 7. Lakeland Ledger. Coleman Middle School eighth-graders qualify for the VEX IQ Challenge Middle School Division at the 2016 VEX Worlds in Louisville, Ky. It’s the first year the school has offered a robotics class at the school. Tampa Tribune. Starting in August, students at Central High School in Brooksville will have the option of taking classes in heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Tampa Bay Times. A Harvest United Methodist Church women’s group donates 200 books to Samoset Elementary School. Bradenton Herald.
