Teacher of the year: Jessica Solano, a third grade math teacher at Lakeland’s Highlands Grove Elementary School in Polk County for eight years, is named Florida’s teacher of the year. Solano, 29, wins $20,000 and a free trip for four to New York City for Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. She also will serve as the Christa McAuliffe Ambassador for Education, traveling around the state for the next year to talk about education. The other finalists were: Amy Miller, a math teacher and and science coach at Kissimmee Elementary School in Orange County; Precious T. Symonette, a creative writing teacher at Miami Norland Senior High; Laurie Zentz, the band director at Switzerland Point Middle School in St. Johns County; and Donald Blake, a technical education specialist at Marchman Technical College in Pasco County. Each receives $15,000. Lakeland Ledger. Tampa Bay Times. Orlando Sentinel.
School infrastructure: Florida’s schools were given a D grade for infrastructure in an inspection by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Eleven categories were judged. Bridges (B), airports (B-) and ports (B-) earned the highest grades, while schools, stormwater and coastal areas each were given a D. Overall, the state grade was a C. Tallahassee Democrat.
School choice: The standoff between the Florida NAACP and a group of black pastors over school choice draws the attention of Radio One, the largest African American-owned broadcasting company in the United States. NewsOne.
School voting age: Longtime Florida children’s advocate Jack Levine is pushing for a constitutional amendment to lower the voting age for superintendent and school board races from 18 to 16. Politico Florida.
Teacher pay: The St. Lucie County School District and the teachers union agree to a contract that will pay teachers up to $1,070 more in the coming school year. All school workers will also receive a $500 bonus. The agreement will cost the district $2.6 million for the pay hikes and $1.9 million for the bonuses. TCPalm.
School growth: Pasco County is again struggling to keep up with rapid growth along the State Route 54 corridor in Trinity. All nearby high schools are well over capacity, and two new housing developments are being built. The growth overran school planning, and the district has no money or land set aside to fill the need. Tampa Bay Times.
School uniforms: Hudson Elementary School Principal Dawn Scilex is proposing uniforms for all students as part of a turnaround plan for the Pasco County school, which has received an F grade from the state the past two years. Gradebook.
New school site: Tests show that the property chosen for a Bonita Springs high school is not contaminated with asbestos, and is safe to build on. The land on the Imperial Parkway was previously cleaned up in 2009-2010, and the engineering company GHD was hired to test the soil. The Lee County School District will now start the closing process on the property. Fort Myers News-Press.
Candidate’s residency: Public records suggest that Miami-Dade County School Board candidate James Bush III lives outside the district in which he’s running. Florida law requires candidates to live in the districts they campaign for by the time they qualify for the race. Bush claims he’s lived in District 1 for five years. Miami Herald.
Reform school help: The Pinellas County School District borrows from Osceola County’s playbook to improve its behavioral reform school, Pinellas Secondary School. The school contains students in grades 6-12 who were reassigned for violating the code of student conduct at their schools. A scorecard grades students on attendance, academic and behavioral performance, and students must hit a certain target to be permitted to return to their school. Gradebook.
Board investigation: The Citrus County School Board will investigate allegations that some school buildings are unsafe and some school administrators tampered with grades. The allegations were apparently made to a parent by State Rep. Jimmie T. Smith, R-Inverness, who says he never notified the school district because he didn’t know if the rumors he had heard during his six years in the Legislature had merit. Citrus County Chronicle.
Vandalism arrests: Three people are arrested and accused of causing $50,000 to $100,000 damage in the vandalism of the Deane Bozeman School in Bay County earlier this week. The suspects are a 19-year-old man and boys 16 and 14 years old. The father of the 19-year-old notified police. Panama City News Herald.
Opinions on schools: Until the formula for calculating Florida school grades becomes consistent and several consecutive years of data are collected under a uniform standard, it’s impossible to achieve a reliable, accurate metric. Daytona Beach News-Journal. The school grade scoring method is too complicated, and the Department of Education needs to tweak it. Bradenton Herald. The well-being of our students is a shared responsibility that requires the commitment and support of families, social and human services agencies and business. William Hanna, TCPalm.
Student enrichment: Florida State and Florida A&M universities are partnering on a summer program, North Florida Freedom Schools, that aims to stem reading loss for at-risk children. Florida State 24/7. More than 180 summer learning events were held Thursday across the Tampa Bay and southwest Florida region, the most of any region in the United States. Thursday was national Summer Learning Day. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
