The toll of school threats: False school threats have become so commonplace that the lockdowns they provoke often can get overlooked by most people in a community. But for those students who go through the lockdowns, the threats are very real and can cause fear and anxiety lasting for hours, days or longer. “If you’re in a moment when you think this is the last few seconds of your life,” said Nicholas Cutro, a school psychologist in Orange County, “that’s a traumatic event. The truth is, I don’t think any of us really know what the consequences are.” During the 2017-2018 school year, according to an analysis by the Washington Post, more than 4 million U.S. students went through at least one lockdown. Tampa Bay Times.
Addressing school violence: Lawmakers and educators are responding to recently published reports of threats to schools from emotionally unstable students with a variety of possible solutions. Among them: revising laws that protect disabled students but also restrict the ability of school officials to deal with threats they pose, improving mental services in schools and integrating them with family counseling, training teachers on ways to better handle special-needs students, improving tracking of violent students and boosting spending to support disruptive students and provide the therapy they need. Sun Sentinel. The number of student assaults against Polk County school employees jumped from fewer than 15 two school years ago to 64 in 2018-2019. In the first four months of this school year, through Dec. 9, 26 incidents have been reported. Lakeland Ledger. Seven people died and 43 were wounded in 24 shootings at U.S. schools or during school-sponsored events in 2019, according to records kept by the publication Education Week. Education Week.
Politics and teacher raises: Gov. Ron DeSantis has called 2020 the year of the teacher in Florida, is proposing to raise pay for starting teachers and wants a new bonus program. Florida is buzzing about the moves, and they're attracting attention nationally. But what can actually get done? Legislators are pointing at the sheer cost -- more than $900 million -- and equity issues as serious obstacles to DeSantis' plans. The legislative session begins Jan. 14. Tampa Bay Times. Miami Herald.
Educator honored: Jae Glass, a 7th-grade language arts teacher at Port St. Joe Jr./Sr. High School, has been named the Gulf County School District teacher of the year. Port St. Joe Star.
IG's power may be cut: Palm Beach County school officials are proposing ways to limit the authority of the school board's inspector general. The initiative was prompted last spring, after an IG investigation disclosed that the principal and assistant principal at Palm Beach Central High improperly raised the grades of at least 11 students between 2016 and 2018. Both were removed, though the principal has since returned, and the school administrators' association complained that the release of the report before the district had a chance to review it “created a high degree of uncertainty regarding the support and trust” given to school administrators. Palm Beach Post.
Keeping cadets together: Marion County School Board members meet today in an emergency session to see if there's a way to keep the 185 cadets from the Marion Military Academy together. MMA closed Monday for financial reasons. On Wednesday, district Superintendent Heidi Maier gave students four choices for new schools. Since then, MMA officials have met with Maier and other district officials about possible options to place the cadets at the same school. Ocala Star-Banner.
Medical marijuana in schools: The Monroe County School Board approves a policy that will allow students to receive medical marijuana treatment at schools. A caregiver or parent will have to bring the drug to school, administer it, and then take it out from the school. No school worker is permitted to touch the medication. Key West Citizen.
New schools planned: The First Baptist Academy in Jacksonville has announced plans to build a new K-12 college prep school on the grounds of the Florida Baptist Children’s Homes campus on the city's south side. Construction begins early next year, and officials hope to have the school open for its 360 students by the fall. Florida Times-Union. The Naples Classical Academy, a charter school that will focus on a traditional liberal arts and science curriculum, is preparing to open next fall in north Naples for K-6 students. No specific location has been announced. School officials have applied to Hillsdale College to be a part of the Barney Charter School Initiative. Naples Daily News.
Changing a school name: Many residents of Orange County want to change the name of Stonewall Jackson Middle School, and the Orange County School Board is expected to consider it early in 2020. Earlier this year a school advisory committee proposed simply dropping the word Stonewall from the name to rid the school of the Confederate association, but many in the community are pushing for a new name. Orlando Sentinel.
Top bus driver named: Jo-Ann Donovan, a bus driver for the Charlotte County School District, has been named the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s bus driver of the year. Donovan helped authorities find a developmentally challenged student who had run away from home. Charlotte Sun.
School fundraising site: A Manatee County man has developed a website that he says will make it easier for schools to raise money. Frank DiGiovanni, an entrepreneur and financial adviser, started "Schoolvite," which partners with local vendors that can be hired for birthday parties and other special events as a school fund-raiser. Businesses agree to pay back 7.5 percent of the total cost of the event, with 5 percent going to the chosen school and 2.5 percent to Schoolvite. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Teachers and the law: A teacher at a Miami-Dade County charter school has been arrested and accused of having a sexual relationship with a student. Police say Desiree Cartin Rodriguez, 27, a teacher at Doral Academy Preparatory High School, is charged with lewd and lascivious battery on a 15-year-old boy. Miami Herald.
Arrest in shooting at school: A 50-year-old Naples man has been arrested and charged with shooting and killing his ex-girlfriend at Lely High School in Naples last Thursday night. The woman was attending night English classes for adults at the school. Naples Daily News.
Students and the law: A 12-year-old Lee County student has been arrested for having a loaded gun in his backpack at Harns Marsh Middle School in Lehigh Acres, according to sheriff's deputies. Officials found the gun after other students tipped off administrators. Fort Myers News-Press.
Opinions on schools: School choice is no longer an educational aberration; it’s now the norm. To criticize the Polk County superintendent for recognizing that and trying to learn more about it at a conference is unfortunate. Lakeland Ledger. If we want to provide a quality education to every student in our public school system, testing methods to determine eligibility for gifted programs need to be revised and implemented across the country sooner rather than later. Sabina Valery, Sarasota Herald-Tribune. The Guadalupe Center’s E.G. Salisbury Tutor Corps Summer Academy bridges the gap between high school and college with guidance, tutoring and teaching skills needed to succeed in college, like time management and priority-setting. Robert Spano, Naples Daily News. What if we were to envision a a K-12 schooling system that benefits from disorder, or is anti-fragile under the concept developed by Nassim Nicholas Taleb? Matthew Ladner, redefinED.
Student enrichment: Morning Star School, a K-12 school in Jacksonville for students with learning and intellectual disabilities, attention deficit disorders and autism spectrum disorders, has received a gift of $250,000 from Delores Barr Weaver. The money will go toward building a new high school. WJXT. The lobbying firm Ballard Partners has donated $50,000 to the Foundation for Leon County Schools to help needy students and their families. Tallahassee Democrat. Stephen Simpson, the owner of the asset management company S2 Groups, has paid off the $2,564.47 debt that students owed the Escambia County School District for unpaid school lunches. Pensacola News Journal.
Pregame prayers: Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran is asking the Florida High School Athletics Association to reconsider its ban on pregame prayers over stadium loudspeakers. The organization denied a request by Cambridge Christian School of Tampa to broadcast a prayer before the 2015 state championship football game against Jacksonville’s University Christian School, saying such a prayer would be considered "government speech." The school sued, claiming the denial was a violation of its First Amendment rights. A lower court dismissed the case, but an appeals court overturned the ruling in November and sent it back to the lower court. “I expect this to be heard, addressed and updated at the next available FHSAA Board of Directors meeting,” Corcoran wrote in a letter to FHSAA executive director George Tomyn. “Policies that are overbroad or restrictive may deny students their constitutional right to private religious expression. Such policies must be immediately repealed and replaced with policies that are consistent with the religious freedoms guaranteed under the Constitution.” News Service of Florida.
Teacher discipline control: Florida's education commissioner would have greater control of the commission that disciplines Florida's teachers under a provision in a bill filed by state Sen. Manny Diaz, R-Hialeah. The bill calls for the education commissioner to select, manage and potentially remove the executive director of the Education Practices Commission. The EPC is a 25-member, now autonomous agency that hears complaints about teacher misconduct and decides on punishments, up to the revokation of state certification. Members are appointed by the state Board of Education and make judgments based on investigations that are conducted by the commissioner's office. Gradebook.
Charter school closes: The only charter high school in Marion County, the Marion Military Academy, closed Monday for financial reasons. “The truth of the matter is funding was just not enough to sustain the number of teachers and staff required to continue,” school board chairman and financial backer Charles deMenzes wrote in an email to parents. School district officials say they are working to place the 185 students into district schools. Ocala Star-Banner.
Educators honored: Four finalists are chosen for the Manatee County School District teacher of the year award. They are: Faith Bench, math, Braden River Middle School; Amanda English, science, Bayshore High; Susan Nickerson, 4th grade, Palmetto Elementary; and Jennifer Santora, 3rd grade, Gullett Elementary. Four finalists were also chosen for the support employee of the year award: Christal Cashmore, paraprofessional, Myakka City Elementary; Alison Cooper, clerical assistant, Williams Elementary; Amie Golden, registrar, Witt Elementary; and Martha Stroup, senior school secretary, Freedom Elementary. Winners will be announced Feb. 5. Bradenton Herald.
Charter company cancels jet: A Texas-based charter schools company that has plans to expand into Florida in 2021 agreed to lease an eight-passenger private jet to fly its officials between schools, but reversed the decision after questions were raised about it by a teachers union and a newspaper. IDEA Public Schools, which educates about 53,000 students in Texas and Louisiana, backed out of the eight-year lease on the 2016 Cessna Citation CJ4 jet that would have cost about $15 million. “Opponents of education reform have falsely attacked a prudent management decision, creating a distraction from our core work,” said IDEA founder and CEO Tom Torkelson. “Though at no time public funds would have been used for the aircraft, IDEA has decided not to move forward with the lease.” Houston Chronicle.
Security in schools: The Miami-Dade County School District Police Department swears in 78 officers, bringing the total to 460 for the nation's largest school district police force. Still, some schools continue to be covered by officers from other agencies to meet the state mandate of an armed officer in every school. “Hopefully, by next school year we will have one of our own in each and every school,” said Chief Edwin Lopez. WFOR.
New leader's first meeting: In his first school board meeting, new Volusia County Superintendent Scott Fritz was given the authority to hire a deputy superintendent for teaching, leading and learning. The district hasn't had a deputy superintendent for the past four years. The board also approved an arrangement with the health department to give 6th-graders the opportunity to get the vaccinations they need for 7th grade at schools, and will consider consolidating Osceola and Ortona elementary schools in 2021 or establishing a K-8 school in that area. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Superintendent's job: Clay County Superintendent Addison Davis is among the 51 people who have applied for the top job with the Hillsborough County School District. Davis has been in the Clay County job, an elected position, since 2016 and has announced he is running again in 2020. He said a search firm encouraged him to apply to replace the retiring Jeff Eakins, and he felt “I could not pass on the possibility to use my skill set to impact more than 220,000 students in Hillsborough County." WJXT.
School rezoning protests: Parents in east Hillsborough County are organizing against a rezoning proposal that would move students from eight neighborhoods to different schools. They say they are worried about transportation, traffic and safety issues, and question whether this is simply the first of a series of disruptive moves. The changes are intended to ease overcrowding at Barrington and Randall middle schools. Gradebook. WTSP.
School programs: More than 100 students are enrolled in the first fulltime year of the dance academy at Leesburg High School in Lake County. The class got its own studio this year, and is fund-raising to upgrade it. Daily Commercial. Crestview High School in Okaloosa County is home to a new fishing club. The Bass Master's Club members will practice fishing skills and techniques and attend safety seminars. Northwest Florida Daily News.
Former student honored: A 2019 graduate of Lakewood High School in St. Petersburg who was gunned down at Naval Air Station Pensacola on Dec. 6 was honored in a memorial service at the school on Monday, which would have been his 20th birthday. Sailor Mohammed “Mo” Haitham died trying to stop the shooter. Hundreds of family and friends gathered at the school's track and took two laps to honor the former track star. Tampa Bay Times. WFLA.
Bathroom privacy concerns: The Hernando County School District has removed the main doors in bathrooms at Frank W. Springstead High School to dissuade vaping, fighting and bullying. “Each stall has a door, but the hand washing takes place in the more open space,” according to a district official. Springstead is the only district school affected. WFTS.
Crimes in Brevard schools: Here are the Brevard County school-by-school crimes during the 2017-2018 school year, as reported to the Florida Department of Education. Brevard Times.
Employees and the law: Charges of failure to report child abuse against Shalimar Elementary School guidance counselor Sharen Burt will be dismissed if she completes the terms of a p[retrial intervention program. According to arrest records, Burt notified the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Emerald Coast instead of police after learning of sexual abuse allegations were made by a 5-year-old. Northwest Florida Daily News. A Polk County school bus attendant and her husband have been arrested and charged with possession of cocaine and marijuana. Deputies say the drugs were found in the home of Mary Whitehead, 36, and her husband, Antonio Whitehead, 41, after a tip. School officials say Mary Whitehead won't be working while the district investigates. Lakeland Ledger. WFTV.
Opinions on schools: Because of the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the Broward County School District has an acute awareness of safety in all of our schools. We are also, understandably, perceived as “ground zero” by districts around the state and country for how we are making our schools and our educational environment safer. Here is how the district is addressing safety issues noted in the report. Broward Superintendent Robert Runcie, Sun Sentinel. Can parents trust that the number of crimes in schools reported by districts to the Florida Department of Education is accurate? Gil Smart, TCPalm. To improve education in Alachua County, children should be given more opportunities by giving their parents more choices on where their kids are educated. Len Cabrera, Gainesville Sun. We should not view an ideal school system as a forever war over finite seats in desirable schools. Rather, we should aim to create a liberal system of education giving educators the freedom to create education opportunities and families the flexibility to select between them based upon the interests and needs of the students – with meaningful levels of assistance for disadvantaged students. Matthew Ladner, redefinED.
Student enrichment: Verizon has donated $100,000, iPads, speakers and other technology to the Bay Education Foundation to benefit students in public schools. Panama City News Herald. The William G. and Marie Selby Foundation has donated more than $75,000 to the Florida Center for Early Childhood to improve building security and playground safety at Starfish Academy preschools in Sarasota and North Port. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Return to Stoneman Douglas: The first day of school at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland was bittersweet for students who lived through the massacre Feb. 14, with student emotions mixed with hope for the future but weighted by the grief of the past. “That’s something I’ve been wrestling with,” said 14-year-old sophomore Alexa Goel, who saw her first body on that dark day and had to run for her life. “Not wanting to let it go, but also moving forward with my life.” Security was tight, but even that wasn't reassuring for some students. “There’s literally no place that I am every day that I feel 100 percent safe and the thought doesn’t go through my head that someone could come in with a gun,” said 15-year-old Samantha Deitsch. Sun-Sentinel. Miami Herald. WLRN. Palm Beach Post. Associated Press.
School security problems: The Florida Legislature shortchanged the state's school districts by not providing enough money to pay for the security measures it mandated, says Damien Kelly, executive director of the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Safe Schools. “All 67 sheriffs are on the same page. They don’t think the funding is where it needs to be,” says Kelly. Orlando Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale police officers filled in to guard schools in the city on opening day Wednesday, just a day after the Broward County School District informed the city it was short of armed guards for 13 schools. Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis calls the district's last-minute plea for help "disappointing.” Sun-Sentinel. Despite the focus on school security, Broward County summer schools had no security presence. Miami Herald. Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs and Sheriff Jerry Demings trade accusations about who's at fault for a shortage of deputies to cover county schools on opening day. Orlando Sentinel. Safe Schools director Damien Kelly says the new app FortifyFL will be available in two weeks. It will allow people to anonymously report suspicious activities in schools. Associated Press. News Service of Florida. (more…)
Scholarships review: Florida’s most disadvantaged students continue to make solid academic gains through use of the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program, according to the latest annual evaluation of standardized test results released by the Florida Department of Education. Students on scholarships were "relatively more disadvantaged and lower-performing prior to entering the ... program," concluded the researchers from the Learning Systems Institute at Florida State University, yet once on the scholarship, the students “maintain his or her relative position in comparison with all students nationally in both reading and math.” Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer the tax credit program, which is the largest in the country, as well as Gardiner, Hope and reading scholarship programs. redefinED.
Video ordered released: An appeals court rules that a surveillance video showing how law enforcement officers responded during the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14 is a public record and should be released by the Broward County Sheriff's Office in the next 48 hours. News organizations argued for the release, while the Broward state attorney's office argued against it because it's part of an ongoing criminal investigation. “Parents have such a high stake in the ultimate decisions that they must have access to camera video footage here at issue and not blindly rely on school board experts to make decisions for them,” the 4th District Court of Appeal judges wrote. Associated Press. Sun-Sentinel. (more…)
