Early learning. St. Johns County expands its full-day pre-K programs. St. Augustine Record.
Discipline. A student advocacy group plans a federal civil rights complaint against the Bay County school system, alleging discipline disparities that disproportionately affect African-Americans. Panama City News Herald.
Support services. Funding is in limbo for a Leon County center that provides after-school and juvenile-diversion programs. Tallahassee Democrat.
Elections. A teacher-turned-Hernando school board candidate bows out of the race after accepting a job in Pinellas County. Tampa Bay Times.
Information. Duval County announces a new online student information portal. Florida Times-Union.
State board. The Florida Board of Education meets next week in South Florida. Palm Beach Post. Charter school capital funding changes won't be on the agenda. Gradebook. (more…)
Magnet schools. Pasco seeks parent input on new programs. Gradebook.
Legislation. Key Florida lawmakers on education issues also have jobs in the field, but that doesn't always mean they have conflicts of interest. Politico Florida.
Special needs. A second-grade student with special needs is left on a school bus for hours. Sun-Sentinel. Palm Beach Post.
Partnerships. UCF stages "takeover week" at Central Florida's Evans Community School. Orlando Sentinel. The Orange County school district might partner with university on a new lab school. Orlando Sentinel.
STEM. Institutions in the Panhandle come together to address a shortage of qualified teachers. Pensacola News-Journal. A bill would make computer science mandatory for students who want Bright Futures scholarships. Bridge to Tomorrow.
Email. Collier students could soon get school-sponsored addresses. Naples Daily News.
Integration. Decades later, students at the center of a racial integration effort get diplomas. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Charter schools. A charter school for children with autism opens to cheers at a new location. Palm Beach Post. Neighbors push back against a developer's proposed charter school, citing zoning issues. WFTV.
Failure factories. Officials respond to a Tampa Bay Times investigation of resegregated schools in Pinellas County. Another Times columnist weighs in. More from PBS, NPR and Slate. Numbers can point to the truth, but change is tough in a complex organization. Bridge to Tomorrow.
Home education. Its popularity rises in Flagler and Volusia. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Back to school. It's time. Naples Daily News. Tallahassee Democrat. Northwest Florida Daily News. Fort Myers News-Press. Pensacola News-Journal. Florida Times-Union.
Facilities. There's empty space in some Hillsborough schools, and construction at others. Tampa Bay Times. The Lake County School Board backs away from a deal to sell a historic school building. Orlando Sentinel.
Technology. Computer games become curriculum. Miami Herald.
Transportation. Palm Beach buses have problems on the first day of school. Palm Beach Post. Sun-Sentinel. (more…)
Charter schools. A charter school founder steered contracts to companies he controlled. Palm Beach Post.
Vouchers. The Orlando Sentinel hosts dueling guest columns on private school choice programs. Pro here, and con here.
Testing. The Sun-Sentinel breaks down the frequent closures of Palm Beach school libraries to accommodate testing.
Early learning. What did the state budget do for preschool and school readiness programs? News Service of Florida.
Budgets. Pasco schools are on a hiring spree. Gradebook.
Summer. Duval considers adding summer classes for its youngest elementary students, to keep them from falling behind. Florida Times-Union. (more…)
Charter schools. Florida's model charter school application will require new schools to disclose their operating histories before they can be approved. Tampa Bay Times. Sun-Sentinel. Florida Times-Union. A Duval charter school is accused of trying to charge an improper fee. Florida Times-Union.
Facilities. School district construction funds are tight, Pinellas' school superintendent tells the state Board of Education. Gradebook.
Transformation. Duval's superintendent tries to win community support for changes at a troubled high school. Florida Times-Union.
STEM. A state board member worries about declining science test scores. Orlando Sentinel.
Testing. Lee schools reverse an earlier decision and decide to count end of course exams toward students' grades. Fort Myers News-Press.
Reading. A summer reading camp focuses on elementary students. Florida Times-Union. (more…)
Special needs. A program unique to the Volusia school district helps parents identify their children's autism early. Daytona Beach News Journal.
Virtual schools. A study shows they do not harm students' academic progress. Gradebook.
Testing. Parents at an emotionally charged meeting on testing and Common Core are told that opting out is not an option. Palm Beach Post. More from Extra Credit. Central Florida school board officials air complaints about state testing requirements. Orlando Sentinel. Marion teachers plan to rally against testing. Ocala Star-Banner.
Growth. Enrollment is rebounding in Tampa Bay-area public schools after languishing during the recession. Tampa Bay Times.
Campaigns and referenda. A political consulting group alleges the Broward school district created a "sham" political action committee to promote a tax referendum and skirt election laws. Sun-Sentinel. Brevard schools will soon name the schools slated for closure if a tax referendum fails. Florida Today. School board candidates debate in Collier County. Naples Daily News.
Charter schools. The state Board of Education denies waivers that would have allowed three struggling charter schools to remain open. Miami Herald. redefinED. Some Hillsborough charters boast significant improvements in their school grades. Gradebook. Pinellas schools officials say they don't know which schools a some students affected by a charter snafu have chosen. Gradebook. The incident inspires a critical editorial in the Tampa Bay Times. A mother says her child was kicked out of a South Florida charter for failing to complete volunteer hours. WTVJ. West Palm Beach's proposed municipal charter clears an early hurdle. Palm Beach Post.
Facilities. A Herando charter school starts the new year in its own building. Tampa Bay Times. An Okaloosa charter finds a new home. Northwest Florida Daily News.
Growth. Orange County could lead the state's school districts in enrollment gains. Sentinel School Zone. Charters account for most of the public school enrollment growth in Pasco. Gradebook.
Textbooks. Some Hernando students start the new year without textbooks. Tampa Bay Times.
Back to school. The first day goes off without a hitch. Palm Beach Post. A Context Florida column uses the start of classes as an occasion to bash the state's education policies.
Discipline. Civil citations help students avoid legal trouble. Tampa Tribune.
Charter schools. The Tampa Bay Times follows up on a simmering dispute between Charter Schools USA and the Hillsborough County school district. More from redefinED. The Palm Beach County School Board chairman comes out against a proposed municipal charter. Palm Beach Post.
Private schools. Title I services for Palm Beach County private schools hit a snag. Palm Beach Post.
Virtual schools. Florida Virtual School's new rule relaxing must-pass end-of-course exam requirements irks some school district officials in Pasco County, home to one of its largest district-run competitors. Tampa Bay Times.
Teacher quality. The Florida Times-Union takes a deep dive on Duval County's efforts to lure top-rated teachers and administrators to schools where they are most needed. Perhaps the program will get more districts to take pay incentives seriously for teachers in sought-after math and science fields, Paul Cottle writes at Bridge to Tomorrow.
Tenure. The Panama City News Herald takes a critical look at Florida's switch to annual contracts for teachers. More here.
Campaigns. A Pinellas school board candidate is behind on her property taxes. Tampa Bay Times. Eight candidates are running for three Orange County school board seats. Orlando Sentinel. The Palm Beach Post makes its school board endorsements. Collier candidates discuss concealed weapons in schools. Naples Daily News. Common Core is an issue in a Sarasota race. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. A teacher is challenging a longtime incumbent in Leon County. Tallahassee Democrat.
Charter schools. In the first ruling of its kind, an administrative law judge rules the Miami-Dade school district unlawfully retaliated against administrators who backed a charter conversion. Miami Herald. A Gainesville charter school will close after learning it will likely receive another F. Gainesville Sun. A Palm Beach Post guest columnist questions a proposal to let charters share in tax revenue earmarked for arts programs.
Facilities. Leon County Schools spent more than the state average on recent additions to district schools, which, statewide, frequently exceed the statutory threshold for projects funded through the Public Education Capital Outlay. Tallahassee Democrat. An engineering report finds a Hernando middle school needs its roof fixed. Tampa Bay Times.
Tax Credit Scholarships. Catholic school principal Todd DeClemente explains the benefits of the program in a St. Augustine Record guest column. The author of a column to which he was responding is back with another item that flubs basic facts, confuses the First and Second Amendments, and makes false allegations about Step Up For Students, which helps administer the program and co-hosts this blog.
Growth. Pasco schools prepare for new construction to accommodate growing enrollment. Gradebook. Walton district officials expect to build two more schools. Northwest Florida Daily News.
Private schools. A Tampa private school listens to residents' concerns as it looks to add a performing arts center. Tampa Bay Times. A Montessori school in the Keys faces opposition to a planned new location. Keynoter.
Homelessness. A Central Florida teacher pledges to live on the streets for a month. Orlando Sentinel.
Teacher conduct. A Broward teacher is set to be fired after 15 years of problems. Sun-Sentinel. A teacher is suspended for failing to report child abuse. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Nutrition. Some school districts offer free breakfast and lunch in schools with a high density of low-income students; others do not. Orlando Sentinel.
Special needs. Financial difficulties continue for a Polk County private school for children with autism. Lakeland Ledger.
Career academies. A Palm Beach student attending a charter school's medical academy travels to Sweden for a symposium on the human brain. Palm Beach Post.
Pushback. An Orange County teacher gets national attention for deriding a "toxic culture" in public schools and casting "private education companies" as "the supervillain." Orlando Sentinel.
Testing. Pinellas officials seek a review of FCAT scores. Gradebook.
Closures. The Orange school board faces parents irate over a potential school closure. Orlando Sentinel.
Student behavior. Palm Beach students engage in more risky behavior than their peers in other districts. Sun-Sentinel. Yet teen smoking is down there, and also in Broward. Sun-Sentinel.
Facilities. The Pinellas school district looks to sell or lease idle school buildings. Tampa Bay Times. Polk County prepares to revamp its high school cafeterias. Lakeland Ledger.
School choice. It's apparently among the hot topics at public forums throughout the Lee County school district, though the Naples Daily News does not elaborate much on that point.
