Test scores: The Florida Standards Assessments (FSA), six end-of-course exams and a statewide science test scores are released by the Department of Education. Scores were up slightly in the math portion of the FSA, while English scores remained steady. Orlando Sentinel. Tampa Bay Times. Sun-Sentinel. Palm Beach Post. Palm Beach Post. Florida Times-Union. Pensacola News-Journal. Fort Myers News-Press. Lakeland Ledger. TCPalm. TCPalm. TCPalm. Bradenton Herald. Naples Daily News. Tallahassee Democrat. Gainesville Sun. Panama City News Herald. St. Augustine Record. Daily Commercial. Sunshine State News. Highlands Today. Three of the five lowest-performing elementary schools in St. Petersburg show significant improvement in test scores. The other two reported mixed results. Tampa Bay Times.

Gates report: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's effort to reform education has had mixed results, according to a report by the Rand Corp. and the American Institutes for Research. More high-performing teachers are working in low-income schools, but even there they tend to teach wealthier white students. Teachers are getting more training, but they're unhappy with their job evaluation process. And while math and reading scores improved for grades 3 and 8, reading scores dipped for poor and minority high school students, and the dropout rate rose. The Hillsborough County School District took part in the Gates initiative. Tampa Bay Times.

Charter issue in court: The 4th District Court of Appeal is being asked to decide what makes a charter school innovative and who should pass judgment on charter school applications. In 2014, the Palm Beach County School Board has turned down a charter application, saying the school didn't offer anything more than the district already had. The Florida Board of Education ruled that the district had no reason to reject the application. Palm Beach board members say they alone have the right to oversee charters. Sun-Sentinel.

Paying for grades: A biology teacher at West Boca High boosted the grades of students who donated money for him to buy things for his classroom. The donating students received a "free pass" that allowed them to turn in assignments late and improve test scores or their overall class grade. Palm Beach Post. (more…)

Nonexistent loans: Two charters schools in Jacksonville have been paying interest to Newpoint Education Partners for loans that do not exist, according to a lawyer for the schools. San Jose Academy and San Jose Preparatory High School list loans totaling $235,000 made by Newpoint in 2014 and 2015. Gary Wheeler, the schools' attorney, says the boards never approved any loans. In Pinellas County, schools were paying back $1.8 million in loans that did not exist to Newpoint. And in Escambia County, Newpoint was indicted for grand theft, money laundering and aggravated white collar crime. WFLA. The Pinellas County School District is considering absorbing two Newpoint Education Partners charter schools. The schools, Windsor Preparatory Academy and East Windsor Middle Academy, would become a "project-based learning lab environment" if the schools agree to terminate their charters. Both schools were given termination notices in May. Gradebook. WFLA.

Daily recess: The Seminole County School Board is expected to approve a mandatory 20-minute daily recess for all elementary students, starting next fall. The Seminole and Osceola districts are the only ones in Florida to do so, according to Heather Mellet, a Winter Park mother who is part of the Recess for All Florida Students group. Orlando Sentinel. State Sen. Anitere Flores, R-Miami, is asking for a state review from the nonpartisan Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability of school districts’ recess policies. “Recess in our schools has been diminishing and students have been suffering,” she says. “This is detrimental to the development of our children.” A bill to make recess mandatory failed in the Legislature this year. Politico Florida.

One-room school closes: Florida's last one-room school has closed. Manatee County's Duette Elementary began in 1930. The district hopes to keep the school open as a destination for field trips. Bradenton Herald. (more…)

Chronic absenteeism: Florida has the lowest rate in the United States of students who were chronically absent from school in the 2013-2014 school year, according to an analysis of U.S. Education Department statistics. Florida's rate was 4.5 percent, well under the 13 percent national average. Associated Press.

Scholarships for disabled: A study shows that parents with disabled children are eager to apply for scholarships or vouchers, even when it means spending more for their child's education and giving up some rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The Council for Parent Attorneys and Advocates did a review of the 11 states that offer such options for the disabled, including Florida. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administers the Florida program known as the Gardiner Scholarships. Education Week.

Mentoring program: The Obama administration's mentoring program, My Brother's Keeper Success Mentors Initiative, is expanding to Orlando. The program matches chronically absent students with mentors three times a week to try to keep students in school. Orlando Sentinel.

Shared sick leave: More than 1,200 sick days were transferred to Pasco County School District employees whose health problems extended beyond their own leave time. Gradebook.

More resume problems: Newly hired Pittsburgh school superintendent Anthony Hamlet, formerly an administrator in the Palm Beach County School District, appears to have plagiarized his educational philosophy from the Washington Post and included it in his resume, according to published reports. Earlier this week, he acknowledged errors on his resume but defended his record. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Palm Beach Post. (more…)

Plumbers praised: Two plumbers are credited with saving a student's life at Royal Palm Beach High School last month. Aaron Glover and Jimmy Johnson were working in a girls bathroom when they heard a commotion in a boys bathroom. They investigated and found one student stabbing another. The attacker saw Glover with a 9-inch pipe wrench, dropped the knife, and was detained by Johnson. Palm Beach Post.

Opting out: Parents of two Duval County students allege the school district is retaliating against them for opting out of the state's standardized testing. A third-grader may be retained, and an eighth-grader is reportedly being kept out of an early college program. Sandy Stenoff, a founder of the Opt Out Florida Network, says cases like these are happening all over the state. Duval School Superintendent Nikolai Vitti says the rules on testing are a “state policy, not district policy. Arguing with the district regarding the alternatives is futile.” Florida Times-Union.

Bathroom fight: The Sarasota County School Board remains deadlocked over the issue of which bathrooms transgender students should use. Supporters from both sides of the issue spoke and protested at Tuesday's meeting. Until the board acts, the district will continue to make decisions on a case-by-case basis. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. The fight over bathroom rights for transgender students is raging in the state's K-12 schools, but not at colleges. Politico Florida.

Dress codes: The Alachua County School Board will consider ending its policy requiring school uniforms. The board meets tonight to discuss the recommendation from the district's discipline committee. Gainesville Sun.

Resume-padding: Just-hired Pittsburgh School Superintendent Anthony Hamlet, formerly an administrator in the Palm Beach County School District, acknowledges errors on his resume but defends his record in a news conference. “It is unfortunate that we have begun this way but I believe today I have answered these questions,” he said. Palm Beach Post. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
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Desegregation case: The plaintiffs in a 50-year-old Pinellas County desegregation case are asking a federal court for help in enforcing the settlement. They allege the district is not fulfilling its commitment to provide safe schools for black students, isn't treating them fairly in discipline cases, isn't hiring and retaining black teachers, and is failing to increase the number of black students in magnets and special programs. The legal move sets into motion a process that includes negotiations between the sides, mediation and, if necessary, the appointment of a special overseer to report to the court. Tampa Bay Times.

Resume-padding: Anthony Hamlet, who was recently named to lead the Pittsburgh school district, embellished his achievements as Palm Beach County school administrator. His resume is at odds with the facts on lifting a school's grade from an F to a C, on raising a school's graduation rate by 13 percentage points, and on his district responsibilities. Hamlet called questions about his resume “a few percentage-point discrepancies” and of little consequence in the full context of his career. A Pittsburgh official says Hamlet “set himself far apart from the pool” in several ways beyond his resume. Palm Beach Post. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Supplemental pay scheme: Eastside High School paid almost $15,000 in supplemental pay over three and a half years to four staff members who did nothing to earn it and who simply passed it along to football coach Jeffrey Parker. Principal Jeff Charbonnet told a committee investigating the payments that he approved the payments after the district rejected it, and knew the money was going to Parker. Gainesville Sun.

Retention confusion: Parents and school districts in central Florida are battling over the insistence of the districts that third-grade students have test results to be promoted. One, Rhonda Nickerson, says her 9-year-old daughter got straight A's, but is being retained. Some parents say the retention threat should apply only to students with reading problems, not youngsters with no Florida Standards Assessments score but with good grades and reading skills. State official disagree, saying the retention law applies to everyone. Orlando Sentinel. Four third-graders in Palm Beach County with great grades are being retained because they didn't take the FSA, and their parents refused the district's portfolio option because it's made up of a series of tests. “If the teacher has taught the standards and the report card grades the standards, why can’t they use the report card?" asks Cindy Hamilton, an Orange County mom who cofounded the Opt Out Florida Network with Sandy Stenoff. Palm Beach Post. (more…)