Behind the graduation rates: The impressive high school graduation rates reported last month by the Florida Department of Education are bolstered by the subtraction of about 60,000 students who were recategorized as “withdrawing” from their schools. That’s about 22 percent of the number of students who began 9th grade four[Read More…]
Tag: Florida Coalition of School Board Members
Florida schools roundup: Hope Scholarship, Kavanaugh and more
Hope Scholarship delays: While the new state scholarship for bullied students technically begins when school resumes in August, funds for the Hope Scholarships won’t be available until after Oct. 1 and possibly not until later in November. The scholarships will be funded through voluntary donations of the $105 from the[Read More…]
Florida schools roundup: Test questions, exams weighting, security and more
Test investigation requested: Two members of Florida school districts and the Florida Coalition of School Board Members are calling for an investigation of significant decreases in the number of students from Duval, Manatee and Polk counties who took the state’s civics end-of-course exams. Polk had 3,736 fewer 7th-grade students take[Read More…]
Florida schools roundup: English-only tests, board’s agenda, finances and more
English-only tests: Florida is asking the U.S. Department of Education for a waiver from giving statewide assessments tests in any language other than English. The Every Student Succeeds Act requires states to make every effort to test students in their first language. About 12 percent of all K-12 students in[Read More…]
Florida schools roundup: Superintendent a finalist, religious banners and more
Superintendent honored: Barbara Jenkins, superintendent of the Orange County School District, is one of four finalists for the national superintendent of the year award given by the American Association of School Administrators. The winner will be announced March 2. Last month, Jenkins was named Florida’s superintendent of the year for 2017.[Read More…]
Florida schools roundup: More retention appeals, primary elections and more
More appeals: Seminole and Broward counties are joining the Florida Department of Education and Orange and Hernando counties in appealing a judge’s ruling last week against the state’s policy for retaining third-graders. All say that Leon County Judge Karen Gievers improperly ignored their requests for a change of venue from Tallahassee to local[Read More…]
Florida schools roundup: Charter company costs, teacher issues and more
High spending at charters: Troubling patterns emerge from a close look at spending at three charters in Pinellas County operated by Newpoint Education Partners. Invoices and other documents indicate the company was buying goods at often inflated prices from companies that were related to Newpoint and its founder, Marcus Nelson[Read More…]
New group courts Florida school board members who support choice
Frustrated with a lawsuit against Florida’s largest private school choice program, and dissatisfied with the leadership of the Florida School Boards Association, a group of school board members announced Monday that they are launching a new membership organization. The Florida Coalition of School Board Members plans to advocate for less bureaucracy,[Read More…]