Teacher wins a Tony: Melody Herzfeld, the one-person drama department at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School who saved 65 students during the shooting rampage at the school Feb. 14 by barricading them in a closet, wins a special Tony award for educators. The award is given annually to U.S. teachers who have "demonstrated monumental impact on the lives of students and who embodies the highest standards of the profession." She wins $10,000 and a pair of tickets to the Tony ceremony and gala. Sun-Sentinel. New York Times. Associated Press.
National spelling bee: Two Florida students spell their way into Thursday's finals at the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C, before being eliminated. Simone Kaplan, a 12-year-old 6th-grader from Davie who attends St. Bonaventure Catholic School in Broward County, was eliminated in the ninth round when she spelled the word carmagnole as carmagnol. Marisa Langley, a 14-year-old home-schooled 8th-grader from Tallahassee, was eliminated in the eighth round when she spelled the word hausen as housen. The champion is Karthik Nemmani of McKinney, Texas. The 519 spellers who started the competition included 31 students from Florida. Associated Press. Scripps Howard Spelling Bee. Miami Herald. Sun-Sentinel. Palm Beach Post. TCPalm. (more…)
Scholarship rules: The Florida Department of education proposes rules for two new state scholarships. A one-page set of rules is proposed to determine eligibility for bullied students to receive state scholarships to attend new schools. The Hope Scholarship would be available for students who report being bullied or attacked. If they win approval, students could take the scholarship money and enroll in a private school or use it for transportation to another public school. A requirement that families substantiate the incident for which they are seeking a voucher has been removed. The other scholarship provides tutoring help for struggling elementary school readers. The Florida Board of Education has a public workshop June 6 to discuss the rules. Gradebook. Politico Florida.
Special session polling: Early polling results show a lack of support among legislators to call a special session to deal with education funding, according to Department of State officials. As of late Monday afternoon, 27 Florida House members supported a special session, while 36 opposed. Seven senators back the move, and six do not. Three-fifths of each chamber must support the request, made by two Democratic representatives, in order for a special session to be called. That means 70 yes votes in the House and 23 in the Senate. Polling ends Thursday at noon. News Service of Florida.
Virtual teachers out: Twelve out-of-state Florida Virtual School (FLVS) teachers and support staff were dismissed Friday. FLVS officials announced earlier this month that they intended to bring all jobs back into Florida, and gave 33 out-of-state employees a few days to decide if they would relocate. FLVS spokeswoman Tania Clow says some employees “decided to relocate, others retired and others took positions with FLVS Global." WKMG. A technical glitch takes FLVS offline for hours on Monday. WKMG. (more…)
Budget problems: A tiny increase in financial support from the state and more unfunded mandates have Florida school districts scrambling to cope. To make ends meet, some districts are asking voters to approve property and sales tax hikes, while others consider larger class sizes, trimming teaching staffs and making cuts in educational programs and bus services. And raises are out of the question in most districts. "It has become increasingly difficult to provide the level of service with the dwindling resources," says Martin County Superintendent Laurie Gaylord. Tampa Bay Times.
Open enrollment: It's the time of year when students can transfer from school to school under the state's open enrollment law, which allows such transfers to schools that have available slots. But as students are discovering, not all that many schools are accepting transfers. In Orange County, only 36 of the 187 traditional public schools are accepting students from outside their zones. In Seminole, just 15 of the 58 schools are, and in Lake only 6 of the 19 elementary schools are. Last year, only about 1,200 students of the more than 311,000 enrolled in Lake, Orange and Seminole public schools transferred. Orlando Sentinel.
School threat responses: The number of Florida children involuntarily committed for psychiatric observation skyrocketed after the Feb. 14 shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. On Feb. 27, 195 children were taken for observation under the Baker Act, the highest single-day total in at least five years, according to records kept by the University of South Florida. Between 2011 and 2016, the number of children hospitalized under the Baker Act rose by almost 50 percent. Sun-Sentinel. Volusia County has arrested 27 students for making threats against school since the Feb. 14 shootings at Stoneman Douglas High in Broward County, while Lake has arrested five, Osceola and Orange three apiece and Seminole none. Orlando Sentinel.
