Speaker attacks union: In his opening address, new Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’Lakes, condemns the state’s largest teachers union for “destroying the lives” of children by fighting school choice expansion. He said the Florida Education Association’s actions to have the state’s tax credit scholarship program declared unconstitutional are “evil, disgusting and repugnant,” and called on union leaders to drop the lawsuit. House Democratic leader Janet Cruz of Tampa said she didn’t expect Corcoran to “villainize” teachers on the day he was sworn in. Corcoran’s wife Anne is the founder of a charter school in Pasco County. Florida Politics. Tampa Bay Times. Sunshine State News. Politico Florida. WFSU. Florida Times-Union. Miami Herald. News Service of Florida.
ESOL assistance: The Duval County School District will benefit from a $2.2 million federal grant that will help the University of North Florida train 160 more English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) teachers and paraprofessionals over the next five years. The need has exploded in the county. In 1990 there were 600 ESOL students. By 2010 that had grown to 6,000 students representing 130 countries and 100 languages. Florida Times-Union.
New school officials: Two new members and one re-elected one are sworn in as Pinellas County School Board members. All seven members of the board are women. Gradebook. The Pasco County School Board reorganizes, chooses new leadership and immediately hears from parents who are angry about proposed school boundary charges. Gradebook. The now seven-member Lee County School Board is sworn in, elects new leadership and votes to name a new high school Bonita Springs High School. It opens next fall. Fort Myers News-Press. New school board members are sworn in and new leaders chosen in several other school districts. Lakeland Ledger. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Bradenton Herald. Ocala Star Banner. Citrus County Chronicle. Daily Commercial. Orlando Sentinel. Palm Beach Post. Florida Times-Union. Florida Times-Union. Florida Today. Tallahassee Democrat. WFSU.
Orange schools HOF: The Orange County School District Hall of Fame will induct five new members on March 4. They are: Wayne Brady, TV personality and Dr. Phillips High graduate in 1989; S. James Gates Jr. (Jones High, 1969), a theoretical physicist; Toni Jennings (Winter Park High, 1967), two-time president of the Florida Senate and the first female lieutenant governor; David “Deacon” Jones (Hungerford High, 1957), NFL Hall of Fame player; and Jim Schott, district superintendent from 1980-1992. Orlando Sentinel.
Opinions on schools: Competing views on the state’s tax credit scholarship program: The state has made a significant investment in unproven and less-than-accountable voucher schools, despite the fact that the Florida Supreme Court ruled the original voucher program unconstitutional. This is an issue that should be settled in court. Joanne McCall, Orlando Sentinel. All poor parents want is the power to do what families of means do every day — the power to find the best school for their children. Why would anybody deny them by ending the state’s tax credit scholarship program? R.B. Holmes, Orlando Sentinel.
Student enrichment: The College Football Playoff Foundation and the Tampa Bay Sports Commission will donate $55,000 to cover technology needs at the Brooks-DeBartolo Collegiate High School in Tampa. Tampa Bay Times. Cape Coral High School junior Travis Sonder has flown with his father to the Bahamas 10 times in the past seven weeks to provide aid for Hurricane Matthew victims. Fort Myers News-Press. Elementary and middle school students in Homestead write books with the help of college students as part of an eight-week literacy program called Pages for Ages. Miami Herald. Students in a fourth-grade class at Nova Eisenhower Elementary in Davie are helping train a service dog. Gunther will be at the school through February 2018, then finish off his training at Canine Companions for Independence. Sun-Sentinel. The Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired launches a pilot program that offers simultaneous learning for sighted children and the visually impaired. Miami Herald. Movie Day for Wesley Chapel High School at the Pasco Schools Center for the Arts is a monthly production by special-needs students. Tampa Bay Times. Two members of the Naples High School marching band, seniors Alexandra Puckett and Lizanna Angeli, are chosen to play with the Macy’s Great American Marching Band at the Thanksgiving parade in New York City. Naples Daily News. A team of four Vanguard High School juniors wins a Youth Business Plan competition with a plan for a sports mouthpiece with sensors that would indicate concussion-force impacts while monitoring hydration level and heart rate. Ocala Star Banner. Fifth- and sixth-graders at Old Kings Elementary School in Palm Coast display their cooking skills by preparing a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for their parents, siblings and school officials. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
