Sparking the evolution of education choice
The charter school that spurred creation of Academica did not hit the ground running. No, jokes Academica’s founder and president, Fernando Zulueta, in a new redefinED podcast, “We hit the ground falling.” A hurricane, an appendicitis, upset district officials, bad first-year test scores, an accommodating private school – all played[Read More…]
Editor’s note: During the holiday season, redefinED is reprising the “best of the best” from our 2020 archives. This post originally published March 26. About a decade ago, Fernando Zulueta was making a presentation to school district officials in Florida about why his charter school support company, Academica, needed to[Read More…]
About a decade ago, Fernando Zulueta was making a presentation to school district officials in Florida about why his charter school support company, Academica, needed to expand into online learning. For one thing, he told them, charter schools serviced by Academica must better serve students who need flexibility because of[Read More…]
Schools plan to reopen: Schools in the Florida Panhandle are announcing plans to reopen for students. Eight of the nine districts that have been closed since Hurricane Michael landed at Mexico Beach on Oct. 10 now have scheduled return dates. Gulf County employees are back in schools today, with students[Read More…]
DORAL – Senior Amanda Fernandez walks the halls of Doral Academy Prep in Miami in her neatly tucked red Doral polo, her long, wavy brown hair and tortoise shell glasses doing their best to hide her shy smile. But there is no hiding – even in a school of 1,700[Read More…]
School security: St. Petersburg officials reverse themselves and say they will not take 25 police officers off the streets to work as resource officers in the city’s elementary schools. City officials point to the cost, more than $3 million, and a reluctance to remove officers from their beats. The decision[Read More…]
Hope operators: Two charter school companies have been named the state’s first “Hope operators” in a unanimous vote by the Florida Board of Education. Somerset Academy, managed by Miami-based Academica, and IDEA Public Schools of Texas will now have access to low-cost loans for facilities, state grants, a streamlined application[Read More…]
Florida lawmakers have mounting concerns about the finances of a rural district that recently converted its long-struggling public schools into the state’s first all-charter system. In recent weeks, state House committees have heard multiple perspectives on Somerset Academy in Jefferson County. Community representatives said the charter network worked to earn[Read More…]
