Miami-Dade: A Black student who recently graduated from MAST Academy in Key Biscayne has accused two faculty members of discrimination and filed a complaint with Miami-Dade Public Schools. In the complaint, Aniyah Upshaw claimed a teacher and assistant principal allegedly used racially discriminating comments toward her during separate incidents. The school district has confirmed receipt of the complaint and is investigating. South Florida Times.
Broward: A brawl that occurred recently between two Dillard High teachers was caught on camera. Now, the Broward County School district says an investigation has been opened into the fight. Fort Lauderdale police say no charges were filed because no one wanted to prosecute. Miami Herald. The prosecutors who oversaw a grand jury review that led to the removal of Broward School Board members are once again investigating the school. South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Meanwhile, officials are tightening the rules on secret meetings. South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Palm Beach: This district's finance officer said that the district will spend $469 million over the next decade on construction projects at charter schools. Meanwhile, officials expect voucher use to double to about 16,398 students next year since income caps were removed by state law. Palm Beach Post.
Hillsborough: The school district here has designated $34 million to fight summer learning loss, also known as summer slide. The district is offering reading programs, summer learning academies, tutors and summer schools, among other options. “We have learning opportunities for our students, from elementary, middle, and high school,” said Hillsborough County School District Superintendent Addison Davis. ABC Action News.
Polk: The Polk County Public Schools' annual LBGTQ Pride Month proclamation, which is issued each June, was put on hold this year as Superintendent Frederick Heid seeks guidance regarding the creation of an "equitable and consistent" process for proclamation. Members of the public request proclamations, which are routinely issued at School Board meetings each month. lkldnow.
Collier: No decision was made late last week during the hearing of Naples grocer Alfie Oakes' lawsuit against the Collier County School Board. Oakes claims the school board and its search firm violated the Sunshine Law in its superintendent search. Naples Daily News.
Flagler: Wadsworth Elementary Principal Paul Peacock was relieved from his post. He had been on paid administrative leave since early May and barred from accessing any Flagler County school campuses. He was under investigation by a law firm the school hired following complaints filed by employees about Peacock. Flagler Live. Meanwhile, the school district is auditing the Flagler Youth Orchestra's account after a decades-long "oversight." A four-year transactional audit of the account is already in motion and expected to be done between the end of June and the start of July, officials said. The Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Black history: A two-day summer seminar aimed at helping teachers infuse Black history material into everyday classes was postponed. The move has upset long-standing members of the state's African American History task force. The decision to postpone the annual summer institute, which is a virtual teacher training event where more than 300 people registered to attend, came at a task force meeting. Tampa Bay Times. Orlando Sentinel.
Artificial intelligence: As artificial intelligence becomes a high-profile topic in higher education, state universities are holding discussions about how to harness the power of the technology. WUFT.
Principals meeting: A group of principals who have dealt with school shooting tragedies on their campuses met with leaders in Washington, D.C., this week to push for more communication and legislation to protect students and staff members, in addition to addressing mental health issues. The Principal Recovery Network is a group of former and current school leaders who have experienced gun violence at their schools. WPTV.
Summer hunger: Summer is the hungriest time of the year for central Florida kids. Officials from Second Harvest Food Bank said one if five central Florida kids is at risk of going hungry. WMFE.
Bus driver shortage: There are more than 200 open bus driver positions that need to be filled across Central Florida before the school year begins. Brevard County, for example, needs 30 bus drivers. Orange needs 100, Volusia is hiring for 35 and Seminole is hiring 40 drivers. “We've got upwards of 300 buses on the road," said Kevin Christian of Marion County Schools. "So that's 300 drivers every day. And any given day, probably 10% are out for sickness or for other reasons. So that's 30 drivers right there that we need on a moment's notice.” Christian said drivers start at $18.65 per hour, with six hours guaranteed daily. WMFE.
Social media label: U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy voiced support for adding a warning on social media platforms regarding the danger they pose to children, similar to warnings on cigarette labels. The 74th.
University and college news: A lab at USF will be the first in the state to create a human trafficking database. The hope from researchers is to understand trafficking trends. A bill recently signed into law aims to create the lab in downtown St. Petersburg. The lab, called the USF Trafficking in Persons (TiP) Risk to Resilience Lab, will collect and analyze data statewide. Tampa Bay Times. Meanwhile, USF announced on Friday it would name its Center for Entrepreneurship after alumnus James "Jay" Nault, who donated $10 million to the school. Nault donated to “assist with the goal of creating a living learning community and support potential new degree options for executives,” a news release said. Tampa Bay Times. Jacksonville University's law school is entering its second year with the creation of a multimillion-dollar endowment from a Jacksonville investment firm's founder. Water Street Capital principal Gilchrist Berg endowed the Randall C. Berg Jr. College of Law Dean’s post in honor of his late brother, an attorney. The Florida Times-Union.
Around the state: The Florida Department of Education released school grades statewide, Hillsborough officials face hurdles in building new schools, free meals in Charlotte and crowdfunding for teacher wish lists in Seminole. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
School grades: The Florida Department of Education released school grades for the 2021-22 academic year. Schools statewide exceeded expectations, with the 2021-22 grades marking the first full school grade data released since 2019. Some highlights: Fifty-three schools exited the school improvement support list in 2022, all schools graded 'F' in 2019 improved their grades in 2022 and 84% of schools graded 'D' and 'F' in 2019 improved grades in 2022. Statewide, the biggest gains were seen in elementary schools, where 1 in 5 schools improved by at least one letter, according to the Department of Education. News4Jax. Politico. Tampa Bay Times. Meanwhile, fewer schools earned 'A' and 'B' grades than they did in 2019. In Central Florida, for example, Seminole County Public Schools remained the top performer, earning an 'A' grade. Orange County Public Schools earned a 'B,' as did Lake and Osceola school systems. The state canceled school testing in 2020 when the pandemic closed schools, so no grades were issued that year. Last year, grades were optional because students were studying remotely, so this year marked the return of the grading system for schools and districts, based mostly on standardized test performance. Orlando Sentinel. Despite COVID-19 challenges, Lake County received a 'B' grade. Some families had trouble getting children to school during quarantines, but school officials say teachers, staff and administrators attentive to the needs of students, which was reflective in grades. WESH. In Sarasota and Manatee counties, Sarasota maintained its 'A' grade and Manatee its 'B' rating. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. In Collier County, the school district received an 'A' rating. Lee County received a 'B,' with 27 Lee County schools increasing their overall grade average since 2019. Ft. Myers News-Press. Fox4Now. Volusia and Flagler schools each earned 'B' grades, while St. Johns County district kept its straight 'A' performance. The Daytona Beach News-Journal. And of the seven largest school districts in Florida, only Palm Beach and Miami-Dade achieved 'A's' while Broward, Duval, Hillsborough, Orange and Pinellas earned 'B's.' Palm Beach Post.
Seminole: With teachers reaching into their pockets to pay for school supplies as inflation continues to soar, a few teachers here turned to social media to receive assistance by posting their classroom wish lists. A Facebook page started more than a decade ago by a realtor named Emma Reichert has been encouraging the community to lend a hand to teachers and students in need. WKMG.
Building hurdles: Hillsborough school officials are facing hurdles in their quest to make sure every student has a seat to learn while its population continues to grow. Capacity issues plagued Hillsborough at nearly 60 schools. While the district waited for funding to build new schools, construction costs have skyrocketed, officials say. The construction of schools is up 43% in the last three months, and 90% in the last year. ABC Action News. Meanwhile, Flagler County schools, county government and Palm Coast are at odds over how to bill builders for new schools. A meeting will be held today with representatives from the school board, county, Palm Coast, Flagler Beach and Bunnell to hash things out. Flagler Live.
Free meals: Students in the Charlotte County Public Schools system can get free breakfast and lunch daily during the 2022-23 school year, according to officials. The meals are made available through the federal Community Eligibility Program that allows schools to qualify as a "community" when the percentage of directly certified students reaches a certain threshold at a particular school. Port Charlotte Sun.
Artwork competition: A Martin County High School student's art is up for consideration in a national artwork competition called Doodle for Google. Sophie Araque-Liu won Florida's nomination, where students submit artwork to be featured for a day on the search engine's homepage. This year's theme was "I care for myself by..." Araque-Liu's artwork depicts her hugging her mother. Voting to select national finalists began Thursday. TC Palm.
Suspension inequality: Despite a decline in suspension as students moved to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, Black children and those in special education were disciplined far more than white students and those in general education, a new study shows. The study also indicates that the behavior of students may have worsened this past academic year. The 74th.
Educator concerns: The president of the state's largest teachers union says educators are concerned about state legislation and recent education training that could threaten the bond between educators and their students, in addition to the separation between church and state. WINK.
University and college news: A state appeals court this month will delve into a dispute about whether the University of Florida should refund fees to students who were forced to switch to remote learning in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic began. A panel of the 1st District Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments on July 20 after an Alachua County circuit judge last year refused to dismiss the potential class-action lawsuit. Two other state appellate courts have taken on similar cases from other schools. A key issue in the cases: whether schools breached contracts by not providing on-campus services in 2020 after students paid fees. WUFT. The board of trustees of the College of Central Florida on Wednesday approved renaming its Citrus County campus in honor of Sen. Wilton Simpson. The new name: CF Wilton Simpson Citrus Campus. Simpson served as a member of the Florida Senate since 2012 and is currently Senate president, representing the 10th district that includes Citrus, Hernando and part of Pasco counties. Citrus County Chronicle.
Opinions on schools: West Virginia's State Treasurer Riley Moore, who serves as chairman of the Hope Scholarship Board, issued a statement after Kanawha County Circuit Judge Joanna Tabit permanently enjoined the state's Hope Scholarship Program. In the statement, Moore says, "I am deeply disappointed that a judge has decided to halt this program which would help so many families in West Virginia. More than 3,100 West Virginia students were relying on having this funding in the fall, and now — at the last minute — they may not be able to get the educational services they want and need." reimaginED.
Across the state: Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a financial literacy bill, the school board in Escambia is meeting about weapons policies, reading level disparities in Alachua and funding woes in Leon. Here are details about those stories and other developments from the state's districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Brevard: The Brevard chapter of Moms for Liberty sent Brevard Public Schools a second list of books that the group deemed pornographic. The chapter has been reading books from high school and middle school libraries to find materials that members think violate pornography laws. Florida Today.
Pasco: Kirkland Ranch Academy of Innovation will be opening this fall in Wesley Chapel. Students at the school will have the chance to get certified in one of 10 programs. They can then continue on to college or into the workforce. The $70 million campus will be state of the art. ABC Action News.
Escambia: County school board members are meeting about changing a policy that allows 18-year-old students to legally have a gun in their vehicle on school campuses. The school district is calling the policy a "loophole." WEAR TV.
Leon: Leon County Schools will miss out on millions in education funding due to an increase in students taking advantage of new state laws that allow district funds to go to private schools. The district will finish the 2021-22 budget year with a $11.5 million deficit. Tallahassee Democrat. A beloved former Leon High School teacher named Sara Lamar passed away, leaving behind a legacy of literacy. Tallahassee Democrat.
Alachua: The public school system here has the largest disparity of reading levels between Black and white students in the state, according to data from the Florida Department of Education. The data shows a gap of 47 percentage points between reading levels of white and Black students in Alachua, which are 72 % and 25%, respectively. The reading gap here is larger than the statewide average of 29 percentage points. WUFT. Meanwhile, school officials at Littlewood Elementary School want faculty members to complete online security training to combat online security risks. WUFT.
St. Johns: Schools in this district teamed up for hands-on activities to learn about the ecosystem and how to be better stewards of the environment by doing activities like planting their own vegetables. CBS 47.
Citrus: The Citrus High School concert band is preparing to compete at the state level for the second time in about 30 years. In April, they will travel to the University of Florida's Phillips Center for the State Concert Music Performance Assessment (MPA). Citrus County Chronicle.
Flagler: The Flagler County Commission is considering ending a long-standing smart-growth rule that there would no longer have to be sufficient school capacity for new developments to move forward. The change involves a proposed revision of the county's Comprehensive Plan, eliminating the "school concurrency" requirement. Flagler Live. The Flagler County Commission also voted 5-0 this week to approve the first increase in school impact fees in 17 years. The move ended a seven-month confrontation between the commission and the school board as the commission refused to approved the board's initial request for an increase and pushed for concessions favoring home builders that the school board was not willing to make. Flagler Live.
Monroe: A Catholic high school will return to Key West in 2023, answering the requests of local parents and families who wanted their child's Catholic-school education at The Basilica School of St. Mary's Star of the Sea to continue beyond eighth grade. Keys Weekly.
Financial literacy: Gov. DeSantis signed a bill Tuesday that would require high schools students to know financial literacy. He announced the signing of the bill during a news conference Tuesday with Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran and Senate President Wilton Simpson at the Innovation Preparatory Academy in Wesley Chapel. The bill would require all Florida high school students to meet a financial literacy one half credit requirement in order to graduate. The requirement would begin sometime between the 2023 and 2024 school year. WXTL. WESH. Fox 13. WPLG.
Education degrees: Colleges of education say enrollment has been steadily declining for the past decade as teacher dissatisfaction rates rise and concerns about teacher shortages intensify. The pandemic has likely made things even worse. Education Week.
Supreme Court news: Ketanji Brown Jackson is making history as the first Black woman to be nominated to the nation's highest court, changing the way some students see themselves. WLRN.
University and college news: University of South Florida has chosen Rhea Law as their new president. Law will become the eighth person to hold the job. The nomination is pending approval by the state Board of Governors next week. Law is an attorney who has been interim president since August after former President Steven Currall stepped down. Tampa Bay Times. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Theater and engineering students at the University of West Florida recently joined forces to design and fabricate a giant mechanical lion to be used on stage in the upcoming performance of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." Pensacola News Journal.
Opinions on schools: Opponents of school choice such as the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers argue that vouchers, education savings accounts and other parent-centered reforms would "drain resources" from public schools. But this reasoning should finally be put to bed. Dan Lips, reimaginED. Chronic absenteeism skyrocketed during the pandemic. Even when absences are for "excused" reasons, like health or transportation issues, families can experience a lack of support that feels like pain in addition to punishment. Joanna Smith-Griffin, The 74th.
Charter schools. Parents at the now-defunct Ben Gamla charter school tell Pinellas Superintendent Mike Grego that they're unhappy with its closing. Gradebook. Gainesville's oldest charter school goes to a year-round schedule. Gainesville Sun. A new charter in Hillsborough will serve high school students with disabilities. Tampa Tribune.
Tax credit scholarships. SchoolZone writes up the state report that shows rapid growth in the tax credit scholarship program (which is administered by Step Up For Students, which co-hosts this blog).
Virtual schools. WGCU: " 'What the state has done is actually made a cut to education and disguised is as an operating protocol for virtual students.' ”
Standards. In 2011, Florida's proficiency bars in reading and math, relative to NAEP, don't stand out as particularly high, according to a new analysis. Education Next.
Mentors. Can boost FCAT scores, and groups like 100 Black Men of Orlando are heeding the call. Onyx.
School spending. Once again, the Palm Beach County School District's audit committee wants to know why so many schools have "money handling problems." Palm Beach Post. A new Orange County principal was demoted from his former job in Palm Beach County because he used a school credit card for $6,400 in questionable charges, including a $200 dinner with his wife at a Ruth's Chris Steak House. Orlando Sentinel. Flagler cuts its budget by another $1.1 million because "staff budgeted too high for this year." Daytona Beach News Journal. (more…)
