Online learning: The Miami-Dade assistant superintendent responsible for selecting K12 as the new online learning management platform received a more than $9,000 raise. Miami Herald.
School boards: Miami-Dade schools will have three new school board members when the elections are over. Here are the candidates. Miami Herald.
Donations: Two St. Andrews high school students in Boca Raton have already donated more than 3,000 bottles of hand sanitizer they’ve made from their startup business and plan to donate $1,000 to the local Red Cross. WPTV.
Rebuilding year: Kathleen Middle School in Polk County continues to rebuild after being damaged by a tornado a year ago. More than $5 million of the $8 million insurance pay out has been spent on repairing the school. WVTV.
Teacher resignations: Fourteen Leon County teachers resigned citing concerns about the coronavirus as reasons for their resignation. Tallahassee Democrat.
Land deal: Sarasota County School board approves a land swap in order to build a new middle school. Venice Gondolier.
Hairy but heartwarming: An elementary school student in Naples and his principal bond over hair loss. Naples Daily News. Naples elementary school principal battles breast cancer during coronavirus pandemic. Naples Daily News.
College admissions: The University of Florida will give high school seniors a little extra time to apply to the university. Tampa Bay Times. Enrollment at USF St. Petersburg is down 1,000 students over the last three years, but the university promises local leaders it will add 650 freshman to the Pinellas County campus this upcoming year. Tampa Bay Times.
Lost in translation: More than a third of students in Manatee County are Latino and the local school district is working to improve communication with their parents. Sarasota Herald Tribune.
Covid contact: Tampa Bay area schools adapt to handling the coronavirus as more than 1,300 cases have been reported across four local counties. Tampa Bay Times. Covid infections in Miami-Dade schools have exceeded 200 but still remains a small percentage of the total student and staff population. Miami-Herald. A parent was notified that their child was potentially exposed to coronavirus and needed to be quarantined for 14 days, 13 days after the incident occurred. Florida Times-Union. Two Duval County high schools are set to re-open after closing due to multiple coronavirus infections. WJXT. More students in Manatee County test positive for the coronavirus forcing other students into quarantine. Bradenton Herald. After 15 positive coronavirus infections in five days Bethune-Cookman University goes on lockdown. Daytona Beach News-Journal
School enrollment: Public schools along the Treasure Coast have seen a decline in enrollment of 1-2 percent over last year. TC Palm. Only 57 percent of elementary school students and 42 percent of middle school students in Palm Beach plan on returning to in-person learning in November. Palm Beach Post. Students with disabilities and medically fragile students make adjustments to learning amidst the coronavirus pandemic. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Tax increases: Concerns emerge that Duval’s planned $1.9 billion tax increase to support constructing new schools and maintaining existing ones might not stick to those promises. Florida Times-Union. Pinellas County residents are set to vote on a half mil property tax increase. School district officials claim the tax will help support arts, music, teacher pay and more. WFTS.
Opinion: Hyper-partisan politics must stay out of history education at our local schools, says the Citrus County Chronicle editorial board. Citrus County Chronicle. Low-income and minority students are falling further behind with online learning during the pandemic. Rev. Al Sharpton says more needs to be done to help these students. Orlando Sentinel. Although only 47,000 of America’s 50 million K-12 students have been infected by the coronavirus, Kevin Bohacz of Jacksonville says reopening schools is putting them on thin ice. Florida Times-Union. If the pandemic has proven one thing, it is that parents need educational options for their children, says scholarship parent Shannon Dolly. Tampa Bay Times. Is the American public education system facing collapse amidst the coronavirus pandemic and if so how long will it take to recover? redefinED.
