Two Denver-based non-profits are working to expand learning experiences outside classroom walls. ReSchool Colorado is partnering with the Donnell-Kay Foundation on a state ballot initiative that would establish a state-funded out-of-school learning program for low-income students. Initial plans call for $300 million in state funding over six years to serve[Read More…]
Author: Geoff Fox
Siblings find safety, inspiration and second family at charter school
Editor’s note: Throughout July, redefinED is revisiting stories that shine a light on extraordinary schools. Today’s spotlight, first published in August 2018, relates how a third-grader who experienced bullying was able to thrive after enrolling in Renaissance Charter School at Tradition in Port St. Lucie. Dylan Stanton was routinely bullied at his[Read More…]
Charter schools outperform traditional public schools in 2018-19
More than half of Florida’s charter schools earned an A grade in 2018-19 compared to 32 percent of traditional public schools based on school grades released this morning by the Florida Department of Education. Seventy-four percent of Florida’s 658 charter schools, which serve more than 313,000 students, earned an A[Read More…]
Charter school grad, aspiring singer hits academic high notes
She impatiently waits for the day she can spread herself thin For the day when her momma says, “You can do anything you want to if you sacrifice a bit” — “I.O.U.” by Mercedes Ferreira-Dias Notes bounced from an upright bass as Mercedes Ferreira-Dias strode to center stage at[Read More…]
DOE’s Adam Miller takes job with IDEA Public Schools
Adam Miller, who has led the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Independent Education and Parental Choice for nearly six years, is leaving the agency for a job with IDEA Public Schools, a Texas-based non-profit charter school operator looking to expand into Florida. Miller, 48, who started at the DOE[Read More…]
Charter school grad thrives at FSU despite horrific past
NEW PORT RICHEY, Florida – Warrior. That’s the word inscribed on a shaft of arrows Zoe Jenkins recently had tattooed on the inside of her left arm. It perfectly describes the 19-year-old Florida State University student. “She designed it herself; it reflects the struggles she’s been through and how she’s[Read More…]
DeSantis budget cuts to impact Florida charter schools
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has vetoed just over $1.35 million in funding that would have gone to several charter schools around the state, including Academy at the Farm in Pasco County and Somerset Academy in Jefferson County. The cuts were part of the $131 million in appropriations the governor excised[Read More…]
‘Historic’ private school conference kicks off in Lakeland
Lakeland, Fla. – More than 850 private school educators packed Victory Christian Academy this morning for a two-day conference featuring national speakers and workshops on teaching, learning and student assessment in Florida. The conference, organized by the state’s largest scholarship funding organization, draws its audience from educators whose schools participate[Read More…]