Charter funding: Superintendents from around the state tell members of the Florida Board of Education that the new education bill provision requiring districts to share capital funding with charter schools could result in traditional public schools crumbling. “You really could see the potential unraveling of long-term maintenance and construction for public school systems across the state,” says Miami-Dade School Superintendent Alberto Carvalho. “It is not a good indicator when one of the two largest credit rating agencies declares a negative condition for school systems on the basis of a policy statement out of Tallahassee.” WTVY. News 13.
Appeal denied: The Florida Board of Education declines an appeal by a Clay County charter school to remain open after the school received F grades from the state the past two years. The board cited data showing that students from Orange Park Performing Arts Academy performed “significantly lower” than similar schools, and also pointed out that no other public school in Clay County received a grade below C. redefinED.
Turnaround plans: The Florida Board of Education approves a turnaround plan for the new Gadsden High School, but with conditions: The district must hire a charter company to operate the school by the 2018-2019 school year, fire teachers with unsatisfactory ratings, and provide monthly progress reports to the board. WTXL. Tallahassee Democrat.
School may close: The Palm Beach County School Board is expected to vote Wednesday to close the half-empty Odyssey Middle School. If it does, the closing would be the first of a traditional public school in the county in more than 25 years. The school opened in 2001 in Boynton Beach at a cost of $21 million. In the past 13 years, enrollment has gone from 1,360 to 730. Palm Beach Post.
Struggling teachers: A 12-year study of Miami-Dade County schools suggests that districts are assigning their most experienced teachers to 3rd grade and up to help students get good scores on high-stakes standardized testing, and putting less-experienced teachers in K-2. “Evidence on the importance of early-grades learning for later life outcomes suggests that a system that pushes schools to concentrate ineffective teachers in the earliest grades could have serious unintended consequences,” write authors Jason Grissom of Vanderbilt, and Demetra Kalogrides and Susanna Loeb of Stanford. Chalkbeat.org.
School tax hike: Nearly all the members of the Manatee County School Board have concerns about putting another school tax hike before voters in a special election. This request would raise the current property tax rate of $6.92 per $1,000 in taxable value by 50 cents or a$1. It could bring in as much as $33 million a year for capital expenses. But some members point out that voters just approved a 15-year extension of a half-cent sales tax for schools in November, and that a single-issue special election could cost the district $250,000. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Payroll glitch: A payroll “glitch” has shortchanged several teachers at the Manatee Charter School by hundreds of dollars. Officials at Charters Schools USA, which manages the school, say they’re not sure how many teachers were affected. Manatee County School District officials say they’ve been assured the charter school is taking appropriate steps to solve the problem. Bradenton Herald.
Classroom materials: The Polk County School District is modifying how it processes complaints about classroom materials in order to comply with the new state allowing anyone to challenge textbooks and worksheets used in classrooms. Lindsay Persohn, senior coordinator of library media services, says the district might average one complaint a year, so school officials expect the transition to be an easy one. Lakeland Ledger.
Personnel moves: Frank Brogan, former chancellor of the State University System of Florida, is retiring Sept. 1 after four years as chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Philadelphia Tribune. Marva Johnson is re-elected as chairwoman of the Florida Board of Education. News Service of Florida. Dan Ferguson, principal of A. Quinn Jones School, has been recommended to fill the same role at Hawthorne Middle/High School. The Alachua County School Board will vote on it today. Gainesville Sun.
Ex-administrator sentenced: A former assistant principal in Miami is sentenced to five years in prison for accessing and viewing child pornography. Donald Paul Clippinger, 49, worked at Fienberg-Fisher K-8 Center, a Miami-Dade public school, before his arrest in February. Miami Herald.
Opinions on schools: One would think that, as Miami-Dade public schools have performed to such a level that there were no F schools this year, funding for public education would increase to pre-recession levels or that H.B. 7069 and the idea of Schools of Hope would be unnecessary. Dorothy Bendross Mindingall, Miami Herald. Principal leadership determines the school’s potential to foster student success. Stephanie Doscher, Sun Sentinel. It’s clear that more districts – or perhaps the state – will have to start incentive programs to reverse the decline of new math teachers in Florida. Paul Cottle, Bridge to Tomorrow. Marion County will be joining a small group of schools and districts whose leaders have decided to trade traditional homework for daily reading in the elementary school grades. While there are no definitive results, educators report that test scores and other learning has not suffered. Valerie Strauss, Washington Post.
Student enrichment: Nandan Patel, a Bartow High International Baccalaureate graduate, is among the last round of National Merit Scholar winners. Lakeland Ledger. Corporate volunteers from Interval International build, paint and furnish 16 new classroom for Great Heights Academy, a Miami school for special-needs students. Miami Herald.
