Storm-watching: Several school districts around the state have announced closings as early as today to prepare for the projected impacts of a hurricane that is threatening most of Florida. A state of emergency for all 67 counties was declared by Gov. Ron DeSantis over the weekend, with the potential for landfall for Hurricane Ian ranging from midweek in west-central Florida to later in the week in the Panhandle. Ian is expected to strengthen into a major hurricane as it approaches landfall. State residents are being urged to make storm preparations, follow local weather reports and check the Twitter (https://twitter.com/educationfl) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/educationfl/) accounts of the Florida Department of Education for information. News Service of Florida. Associated Press. Politico Florida. Florida Department of Education. CNN. Weather Channel. USA Today Florida Network. Tallahassee Democrat. Tampa Bay Times. Spectrum News 9. WFTS. WTVT. WFLA. WTSP. WUSF. Bradenton Herald. Orlando Sentinel. WKMG. WESH. Lakeland Now. Daily Commercial. Suncoast News. WOFL. Sun-Sentinel. Palm Beach Post. Naples Daily News. Florida Keys Weekly. Charlotte Sun.
School safety concerns: State officials say they still have concerns about school safety issues in Orange, Palm Beach and Duval counties. “Based on the site visit and further analysis, the Office of Safe Schools has confirmed that issues outlined in the grand jury report still remain and require immediate attention,” director Tim Hay wrote late last week to superintendents in the three districts. Concerns center on the alleged underreporting of data of crimes and violence on local campuses. Orange County schools fail “to submit timely and accurate school safety and discipline data,” according to the Florida Department of Education, which also questions whether the district’s code of conduct and classroom management strategies are “providing a safe learning environment free of major classroom disruptions.” Palm Beach is not accurately reporting incidents, said Hay, and he also wants the district to “allow school-based staff to serve as guardians.” Hay also disputes the accuracy of school crime activity submitted by Duval. Politico Florida.
Around the state: Broward schools’ problems with elevators appears to be largely fixed, Palm Beach Superintendent Michael Burke is getting a $10,500 raise after his evaluation by school board members, principals who have gone through violent school tragedies in Florida and elsewhere have compiled a handbook of practical advice for their peers on how to recover, Tom Brady’s TB12 Method for fitness and wellness is drawing criticism from health experts for some of the advice it’s giving, and a second student who was in a boat that capsized in a lightning storm in Orange County during rowing practice has died. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Miami-Dade: An experiment developed by students at Ransom Everglades High School in Coconut Grove is scheduled to be launched into space next year on a Blue Origins rocket. Students will try to measure perpetual motion by observing the movement of liquids through the zero gravity in space. Miami Herald.
Broward: The district’s problem with malfunctioning elevators, detailed in a newspaper report in May, has largely been fixed, according to data provided by school officials. Last spring, only 32 percent of school elevators had a current certificate of operations. But now, 218 of the 232 elevators have a certificate noting they’ve passed a county inspection and are in good working condition. Another 10 have met safety requirements, and the district is in the process of getting the certificates from the county. Sun-Sentinel.
Orange: A second student who was at rowing practice Sept. 15 when lightning struck and their boat capsized on Lake Fairview has died. The body of one student was recovered about 24 hours later, and the second was hospitalized. They were members of the North Orlando Rowing Club. WKMG. WOFL. WESH.
Palm Beach: School board members gave Superintendent Michael Burke a 4.5 rating on a 5-point scale on his recent performance evaluation, earning him a raise of $10,500 on his $300,000-a-year salary. Board members said there was room for improvement in filling open teaching and bus driving positions, and in providing transportation for students with special needs. The district started the school year short of 400 teachers and 80 bus drivers, and district is lagging in processing applicants to fill the jobs. Burke scored highly in communicating with board members and the public, and creating a positive and supportive climate. Palm Beach Post.
Pinellas: School district support employees’ union has reached a contract agreement with the district that would increase pay by 4.25 percent, to $15 an hour, and fully cover increases in health insurance premiums. The raises would be retroactive to July 1. Nelly Henjes, president of the union, said she thought the district could do better, but that this raise is a start. Union members will vote on the agreement this week. Teachers are still negotiating on a contract with the district. WMNF.
Pasco: An elementary school teacher was arrested last week and accused of abusing a student. New Port Richey police said Tyler Faulkner, a 5th-grade teacher at Richey Elementary School, argued with an 11-year-old student who didn’t want to leave his backpack in the room during a physical education class. According to reports, Faulkner grabbed the backpack off the student, leaving him with bruises and scrapes the length of his right arm. Faulkner has been placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation. Tampa Bay Times.
Brevard: Voters will decide Nov. 8 whether to increase property taxes to raise employee salaries, expand student programs and upgrade technology. If approved, the tax would raise about $54 million a year. Superintendent Mark Mullins said the extra revenue is needed to improve pay for veteran teachers and other employees and fill open positions. “Your beginning teacher is struggling, and likely leaning on that experienced teacher right next door for support, but what separates them in salary at this point is several hundred dollars,” Mullins said. Florida Today.
Volusia: A state audit has shown that the school district wasted more than $1 million on software implementation that didn’t work as planned and was later abandoned, but the former employee who called attention to the problem won’t be able to use the results in his court case appealing his firing. A judge has ruled that the employee, Alex Kennedy, was not a whistleblower entitled to protection because his complaint was a “routine operational disagreement” rather than a protected act, such as disclosing an “act or suspected act of gross mismanagement, malfeasance, misfeasance, gross waste of public funds.” Kennedy is appealing that decision. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Leon: Safety and art are being combined in crosswalks leading to Tallahassee’s Cobb Middle and Kate Sullivan Elementary schools. Students under the guidance of a professional artist are painting colorful murals on the crosswalks to draw attention to them with the goal of reducing speeding. “This is going to be a movement that’ll continue to explode,” said Kathleen Spehar, who heads the Council for Culture and the Arts. “It’s happening now in particular neighborhoods, but I’d love to see it happen all over the city and county.” WFSU.
Bay: The teacher at Mowatt Middle School in Lynn Haven who openly spoke a racial slur while reading a book to students earlier this month no longer works for the school district, according to officials. The teacher, who has not been named, was reading the book Zane and the Hurricane to students when she read aloud the n-word, which was not in the book, according to author Rodman Philbrick. Principal Ed Sheffield apologized to parents and guardians, and last week officials confirmed the teacher was no longer employed, though they did not say if she was fired or resigned. Panama City News Herald.
Indian River: The District 2 school board candidates endorsed by both the candidates for governor are facing off in the general election runoff Nov. 8. Incumbent Jacqueline Rosario was endorsed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in the Aug. 23 primary election, where she won 47 percent of the vote. Cynthia Gibbs, the runnerup with 26 percent support, was backed by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist. One topic of clear disagreement is library books. Rosario wants to remove access to sexually explicit books, while Gibbs maintains that discussions about book bans are a distraction from important school business. TCPalm.
Colleges and universities: Someone is stealing banners at the University of Florida that mark its latest ranking as a top 5 U.S. university. So what’s the university doing about it? Making a TikTok video, of course. Florida Politics.
Handbook for tragedy: Principals who have gone through violent school tragedies in Florida and elsewhere have compiled a handbook of practical advice for their peers on how to recover. The Principal Recovery Network has grown to about 50 members, and their advice includes how to keep schools safe, how to reopen a school and how to observe anniversaries of the tragedies. “Open it, know it’s written by people who walked the walk,” said Elizabeth Brown, who was the principal when a former student shot into a classroom and injured a student at Forest High School in Ocala in 2018. WOFL.
TB12 Method questioned: A fitness and wellness program developed with the help of star NFL quarterback Tom Brady has been adopted in some schools in Pinellas County. TB12 Method is mostly a mainstream guide, but some of the advice it gives is drawing criticism from health experts. “I just am a little bit alarmed that a school district the size of this one would grab onto this celebrity program,” said Terri Drain, a past president of the Society of Health and Physical Educators who now runs a nonprofit providing professional development for health and physical education teachers. Associated Press. Washington Post. New York Times.
Opinions on schools: A state representative’s vow to make the promotion of charter schools a priority is problematic since he owns and operates a company that provides employment services to businesses in the education industry, such as charter schools. Blake Fontenay, TCPalm. If Gov. DeSantis and groups like Moms for Liberty, which are challenging books by the dozens across the state, were seriously interested in parental control, they’d be pushing other counties to adopt Lake County’s system or a less-restrictive (but still parent-empowering) tool that lets Osceola County parents choose between unlimited access to educational material, limited access or no access. Orlando Sentinel.
