A bill creating new requirements for Florida's single-gender school programs is headed to Gov. Rick Scott.

The first piece of standalone school choice legislation to pass this session cleared both houses of the Legislature with overwhelming support.

The bill itself would not expand single-gender programs, which are already authorized under state law. But sponsor Rep. Manny Diaz, R-Hialeah, who sponsored the legislation in the House, said it could help them receive a boost in the state budget and create a framework allowing them to grow.

The bill would require school systems offering single-gender classes to make them open to all children in their districts. It would also require them to provide training for their faculty and report comparisons of their students' performance to the state Department of Education.

The House has proposed spending $300,000 on gender-specific programs in Duval and Broward counties in its version of the state budget, which has yet to be settled in negotiations with the Senate.

Diaz said the money would help fund professional development for teachers and administrators at the schools. As public schools gain more experience with separate male and female classes and the state studies their results, he said, the quality of the programs will improve and they will be more likely to expand into other school districts.

Eventually, he said he hopes more public school students to participate in programs like those in place at Academy Prep Center. At the Tampa private school, which recently received a visit from Congressman Eric Cantor, R-Va., students are separated by gender for core subject classes to help them focus, but the genders are mixed during other parts of the day.

“These programs will be seen as another option for parents who may not have the resources to send those kids to a private school,” Diaz said.

The Senate sponsor, Anitere Flores, R-Miami, said she attended an all-girls high school and wanted more families to have that option.

The bill was never really controversial. The closest thing to opposition it received during debate on the Senate floor was a quip from Sen. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth.

"I can’t imagine going to school without women,” he said, before supporting the measure.

School choice. "There has always been school choice," Palm Beach Post columnist Frank Cerabino claims in a column railing against charter schools and private-school scholarship programs.

Single-gender classes. Half a dozen single-gender schools are preparing to open in Jacksonville. Florida Times-Union.

Common Core. The latest tactic for opponents of the standards is a long shot. They are seeking a special legislative session in Florida. StateImpact.

Pay raises. Orange County teachers will vote on a re-worked pay raise plan approved by the school board. Orlando Sentinel. More from the Sentinel. WKMG. News 13.

Testing. It's bring-your-own computer mouse for some Pasco County teachers as their schools administer more statewide standardized exams on computers. Gradebook. For some schools, FCAT preparation includes pep rallies. Tampa Bay Times. StateImpact profiles the new SAT. Lee County teachers oppose high-stakes testing. Naples Daily News.

Arts. A new music program comes with better academic results for a Miami middle school. Miami Herald.

School closures. An Orlando college student produces a documentary arguing against the closure of an elementary school, which could come as a result of a new inner-city school opening nearby. Orlando Sentinel.

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Private schools. What happens to private school records when private schools close? Sometimes, they disappear. Palm Beach Post.

Charter schools. The Broward school district is taking a closer look at how much it charges charter schools for bus transportation after a citizens task force complains the district is losing money on the deal and subsidizing the competition. Miami Herald. (The district is considering other ways to reduce busing costs, too, reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel.) A K-8 charter school that teaches boys and girls separately is proposed for Palm Beach Gardens, reports the Palm Beach Post.

School choice. The Palm Beach district gets 17,500 applications for about 9,000 district choice seats. Palm Beach Post.

Digital education. Florida's mandates on digital offerings brings opportunities and challenges, editorializes the Palm Beach Post.

Privatization. The Volusia school district is right to consider outsourcing custodial services to save money, editorializes the Daytona Beach News Journal. The move could save about $5 million a year, the News Journal reports.

Florida's progress. Matt Di Carlo at the Shanker Blog: "Again, Governor Bush and supporters of his reforms have some solid evidence to draw upon when advocating for the Florida reforms, particularly the grade-based accountability system. The modest estimated effects in these high-quality analyses are not as good a talking point as the “we quadrupled the number of A-rated schools in six years” argument, but they are far preferable to claiming credit for what’s on the scoreboard after having changed the rules of the game."

Pace of change. Sweeping changes to teacher evaluations, academic standards and testing have district officials on edge and lawmakers considering changes. Tallahassee Democrat. (more…)

Ryan Wallace left his big, cliquish high school last spring for The Foundation Academy, a non-denominational Christian school with vegetable gardens and an aquaponic farm. “I wanted a chance to try something new,’’ said Ryan, now a 17-year-old junior planning a dodge-ball fundraiser for his class president campaign.

Twelve-year-old Marc’Anthony Acevedo came to the academy as a second-grader after being bullied at his old school.  This year, he’s part of a single-gendered class of fifth- and sixth-grade boys. “Sometimes we have arguments, but we get over it,” he said. “We’re all friends.’’

For Cori Hudson, the Foundation was his last shot at a diploma. He messed up at the school district’s option of last resort. “I come to school every day now,’’ said the 16-year-old. “I feel like school is the most important thing to me.’’

These transformations are exactly what principal Nadia Hionides hoped for when she started the academy near Jacksonville Beach, Fla. nearly 25 years ago.

With a style that’s part Montessori, part Waldorf, the Foundation offers hands-on, project-based learning with a college-preparatory curriculum based on the philosophy that everyone learns differently.

The school has 280 students in kindergarten through 12^th grade; 100 are in high school. They share a 23-acre campus that Hionides and her husband, a ship deck builder and painter, bought in 2008 for $600,000. The couple spent another $5 million for eight, prefabricated steel structures, which include a front-office foyer where the floor is made from vinyl records.

Tuition starts at $6,000 a year. But 81 students receive tuition assistance from Step Up For Students, the nonprofit that administers Florida’s tax-credit scholarship program for low-income kids and co-hosts this blog.

The academy separates students into groups of two grade levels - kindergarten and first-graders, second- and third-graders, etc.

“Because that’s real life,’’ Hionides said. Also, “they push each other to shine.’’

It seems to work in the fifth- and sixth-grade boys’ class – for the students and their teacher.

“It’s fantastic,’’ said Aaron Unthank, a longtime private school music teacher and baseball coach. “There’s a different kind of camaraderie as a class and there’s a lot more freedom I have as a teacher to talk about guy things.’’

The younger boys learn from the older boys, and the older boys gain confidence, Unthank said. He paraphrased Einstein:  “You don’t know a thing well enough unless you can talk about it.” (more…)