Turnarounds. An elementary school fell from A to F over a period of several years. Now teachers and new administrators are determined to turn it around. Pensacola News-Journal. The Lakeland Ledger goes inside a turnaround school. The Polk County School Board has scheduled an update on school turnaround plans. Ledger.
Teacher certification. State lawmakers eye certification requirements as school districts grapple with teacher shortages. WUSF.
Crowding. District officials say Alachua County public schools are "bursting at the seems." A new elementary school may be in the works, but construction funds are scarce and a tax referendum is on the ballot. Gainesville Sun.
Campaigns. "Islamic charter schools" become a talking point in a Panhandle state House race. Panama City News Herald. In a contested bid for re-election, Rep. Manny Diaz, R-Hialeah, faces attacks over his charter school connections. Sun-Sentinel. State Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee, pledges to file a "couple of bills" related to standardized testing as he campaigns for re-election. Panama City News Herald. Bay County's superintendent faces a rematch with the candidate he unseated to win the post. Panama City News Herald. Both candidates go negative in a Manatee County school board race. Bradenton Herald. A Boy Scout leader squares off with an educator for a Palm Beach County School Board seat. Palm Beach Post. (more…)
Accountability. Florida officials prepare for the new federal law, which gives states more flexibility. Politico Florida. Palm Beach Post.
Charter schools. Audits of Florida charter schools show signs of financial stress. Florida Times-Union. A Bay County charter school may have to trim its budget. Panama City News Herald.
Funding. School districts are being advised to tighten their belts, since major K-12 funding increases likely won't be in the offing. Pensacola News-Journal.
NAACP. The civil rights organization should stop fighting a scholarship program in court, a parent argues in Capital Outlook. (Step Up For Students, which publishes this blog, helps administer the tax credit scholarship program.)
Credit recovery. Bay County emulates a Leon County program that allows students to earn out-of-state diplomas while bypassing Florida testing requirements. Panama City News Herald.
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School Board elections. Twelve candidates vie for four seats on the Duval County School Board. Florida Times-Union. Two incumbents there draw no challengers. Florida Politics. Former state board member and Gov. Rick Scott appointee John Colon will keep his Manatee County School Board seat after drawing no challengers. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. A Scott-appointed Broward school board member also wins re-election unchallenged, but two other board members draw opponents. South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Pinellas school board races see last-minute shakeups. Gradebook.
Superintendent races. Martin County's incumbent draws a last-minute challenger. TC Palm. Leon County races for schools chief and other local posts are now set. Tallahassee Democrat.
Charter schools. The Florida Times-Union compares district and charter school test scores in Duval County. A Manatee County charter school will run its own bus fleet, using district-donated buses, to end a simmering transportation dispute. Bradenton Herald.
District growth. The clock is ticking for Volusia schools to create more space, as they prepare for an influx of 1,000 more students next year. Daytona Beach News-Journal. The Lee County school board grapples with a land acquisition deal. Fort Myers News-Press.
Innovation. School systems need to be liberated from bureaucracy, an entrepreneurial educator writes in the Panama City News Herald.
Credit recovery. A former student explains how her district steered her into an online option outside the state's accountability system — and says she benefited. Tallahassee Democrat. (more…)
School assignments. Parents should have more say in where their kids go to school, rather than face felony charges for lying about their addresses, a Sun-Sentinel guest column argues. (The author works at Step Up For Students, which publishes this blog, and an earlier version of the piece ran here.) The Escambia school district starts implementing a digital school registration system. Pensacola News-Journal.
Elections. Florida's statewide teachers union is keeping a close eye on legislative races as they develop. Gradebook. Charter school operators make campaign contributions in school board races. Gradebook. The League of Women Voters weighs in here. Collier County School Board hopefuls debate. Naples Daily News. A Marion school board candidate drops out of her race, citing confusion over residency requirements. Ocala Star-Banner. A Leon County superintendent candidate may abandon his bid, and seek re-election to the Tallahassee City Commission instead. Tallahassee Democrat.
Collective bargaining. Hillsborough County schools look to rewrite teacher job categories after a Gates Foundation grant expires. A proposal would create three classes of teachers: Tenured teachers, one-year contract employees and probationary hires. Gradebook.
Charter schools. The St. Johns County School Board moves to take over a charter school plagued by financial problems. St. Augustine Record.
School boards. Alachua County's April Griffin is set to lead the Florida School Boards Association next year. Gainesville Sun. (more…)
Athletics. Does a Florida sports academy portend the future? New York Times.
Philanthropy. A collaboration with the Gates Foundation sees cost overruns in Hillsborough. Tampa Bay Times.
Budgets. The Hillsborough school board eyes cuts. Tampa Tribune. Tampa Bay Times columnist John Romano tees off on education funding proposals.
Digital learning. Bay discusses its digital classrooms plan. Panama City News Herald.
Boundaries. Orange County officials unveil zoning proposals and other changes. Orlando Sentinel.
Drones. Pasco students will have to keep them indoors. Gradebook.
Testing. State board members want a high bar. Orlando Sentinel. State officials release a guide for interpreting test results. Gradebook. What to make of Florida's cut scores? Bridge to Tomorrow. Frustration bubbles up a League of Women Voters forum. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Bradenton Herald. (more…)
Charter schools. Struggling charter schools present improvement plans to the Hillsborough County School Board to comply with a new requirement in state law. Tampa Tribune. Tampa Bay Times. An effort to create a new charter school for the City of West Palm Beach may be on hold, as a deadline passes. Palm Beach Post. Two new charters are proposed for Pasco. Gradebook. A group of Walton charter school students win an international award. Walton Sun.
Lawsuits. An ad aired during Florida's gubernatorial debate opposes the lawsuit challenging Florida's tax credit scholarship program. Saint Petersblog. redefinED.
Digital learning. It matters how teachers go about teaching courses, especially in areas like math and science. Bridge to Tomorrow. Treasure Cost districts ease their mobile device policies. Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers. Devices are becoming more common in Hillsborough schools. Tampa Bay Times.
Campaigns. PolitiFact checks a claim that 3,000 teachers lost their jobs when Charlie Crist was governor. The Tampa Bay Times profiles a Pinellas school board race.
Charter schools. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel investigates charter school operator Mavericks in Education.
Tax credit scholarships. In a Fox News guest column, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio says school choice programs increase options for disadvantaged children.
Career education. More students are being told they have options aside from a traditional four-year college. Northwest Florida Daily News.
Project-based learning. A Florida Times-Union exploration of recent curricular changes focuses on a Jacksonville private school.
Digital learning. Students who do not have home Internet access must rely on public libraries. Miami Herald.
Testing. The Polk County school board is poised to take up anti-testing resolutions approved by its counterparts elsewhere. Lakeland Ledger. The Florida Department of Education is preparing to take legal action over required testing for English language learners. Gradebook. An outgoing administrator criticizes the state's testing system. Gradebook. Tampa Tribune. Lake County schools plan to scale back some local assessments. Orlando Sentinel.
Campaigns. Gubernatorial challenger Charlie Crist campaigns with a national teachers union leader. WSVN. Miami Times. School board candidates spar over Common Core. Bradenton Herald.
Turnarounds. Pinellas schools rush to expand a pilot program aimed at helping struggling schools improve. Tampa Bay Times.
Budgets. Broward schools propose a five-year, $1.4 billion school improvement plan. Sun-Sentinel. The Brevard school district signs off on a budget with historically low tax rates. Florida Today.
Discipline. A Duval civil rights attorney argues too many Jacksonville students face criminal penalties for problems at school. Florida Times-Union.
Superintendents. Okaloosa's school chief spars with former superintedent and outgoing Senate President Don Gaetz. Northwest Florida Daily News.
Crowding. Enrollment falls in Hernando, but some schools are still short on space for students. Tampa Bay Times.
Nutrition. The Panama City News Herald looks at the quality of school lunches.
Employee conduct. A teacher of a child with autism who died as a result of child abuse faces faces professional sanctions for failing to report signs of neglect. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Teachers unions. United School Employees of Pasco complains employees are barred from gathering signatures for a grievance petition during their work day. Gradebook.
School boards. The Marion County School Board perpares to hire a staff attorney. Ocala Star-Banner.
Transportation. A Hillsborough bus driver takes a special needs student to the wrong school. Tampa Bay Times.
Textbooks. Books that did not arrive in time for the start of the school year show up in Hernando. Tampa Bay Times.
Lawsuits. Writers in the Tampa Tribune and National Review Online sharply criticize the lawsuit challenging Florida tax credit scholarships. A Tampa Bay Times columnist criticizes Gov. Rick Scott for opposing the lawsuit. State Sen. John Legg declines an award from one of the groups suing. Gradebook. redefinED.
Tax credit scholarships. My Fox Tampa Bay highlights a student attending a military-oriented private school his family feared would be out of reach.
Testing. The Lee County School Board may be poised to reverse its decision to "opt out" of standardized assessments. Fort Myers News-Press. More from the Orlando Sentinel and Miami Herald. The Palm Beach Post editorial board weighs in. The News-Press has live coverage of the school board's meeting this morning. New state tests will change the way students are asked to write. Florida Times-Union.
Campaigns. School choice, Common Core, and partisan politics converged in Indian River school board campaigns that ousted incumbents. Indian River Press Journal.
Private schools. A private school adds a STEM center with the help of some high-profile donors. Bradenton Herald.
Charter schools. Bay County charter schools are preparing to set up their own shared busing system. Panama City News Herald. A rare charter conversion comes to Manatee. Bradenton Herald.
Ousters. Both the president and presdent-elect of the Florida School Boards Association are ousted in elections in which school choice figures prominently. Indian River Press Journal. Central Florida News 13. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Charter schools. A pair of charter school supporters seek Collier school board seats. One prevails. Naples Daily News. A charter school administrator defeats a Walton incumbent. Northwest Florida Daily News.
Incumbents. Sitting school board members have good Election Nights in Alachua County, Tampa Bay and South Florida. Gradebook. Miami Herald. Sun-Sentinel. Palm Beach Post. Gainesville Sun. A Broward incumbent overcomes an N-word controversy. Miami Herald.
Runoffs. School board races aren't over in Hillsborough, Marion, Putnam and Manatee Counties. Tampa Bay Times. Ocala Star-Banner. Florida Times-Union. Bradenton Herald.
Gestures. Two Volusia school board candidates pledge to donate their salaries. Orlando Sentinel.
Budgets. School tax referenda pass in Orange and Volusia Counties Orlando Sentinel. WKMG.
Testing. A standardized testing critic wins a school board seat in Lee County. Fort Myers News-Press.
Labor. Meanwhile, Brevard approves a new teacher contract. Florida Today.
Security. The Manatee school board delays a vote on hiring a private security firm. Bradenton Herald.
Adult education. A 79-year-old woman earns a high school diploma. Panama City News Herald.
