Impending closures. Charter schools that received a string of F grades may face closure this summer, despite a suspension of school grading consequences during the 2014-15 school year. Gradebook.
District-charter merger? The Leon County School Board backs a plan to merge a district-created charter school with a traditional public school in Woodville. Tallahassee Democrat. WFSU.
Results. Florida's urban school districts outrank many of their national counterparts in demographic-adjusted NAEP results, according to a new analysis by the Urban Insititute.
Elections. An embattled former administrator dives into the Leon County Schools superintendent's race. Tallahassee Democrat. WFSU.
Charter schools. A Michigan liberal arts college backs a charter school in Palm Bay, Fla. Urban News Service.
Teacher evaluations. A union-backed challenge of a 2011 teacher merit pay law hits another legal snag. South Florida Sun-Sentinel. (more…)
Charter schools. Why do parents choose charter schools? Why do teachers choose to work in them? The Tampa Bay Times interviews a principal. Hillsborough school board candidates are divided on charter school issues. Tampa Bay Times. The Florida Times-Union looks at Duval charter schools' audits.
Magnet schools. The Miami Herald profiles a principal at Jose Marti MAST 6-12 Academy.
Opt-out. The Sun-Sentinel has the latest on the controversy over whether some third graders, whose parents opted them out of state assessments, may be retained.
STEM. A South Florida science teacher follows in her father's footsteps. Miami Herald. What would happen if former Gov. Jeb Bush took up the cause of STEM excellence? Bridge to Tomorrow.
Testing. Polk teachers examine district end-of-year exams. Lakeland Ledger.
Diversity. Collier County principals don't reflect the diversity of the district's students, the NAACP argues. Naples Daily News. (more…)
Failure Factories. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan calls his visit to South Pinellas County schools "the beginning, not the end." Tampa Bay Times.
Testing. The New York Times covers Florida's testing controversy. Parents will soon get the results from last spring's round of testing. Orlando Sentinel. A Miami Beach parent-teacher organization weighs in. Gradebook. An outmoded testing rule will be taken off the books. Gradebook.
Parental choice. The EdFly recaps parents' discussion of the impact of reform.
Philanthropy. The Tampa Bay Times looks at the hidden costs of a Gates Foundation grant in Hillsborough.
Class size. The Sun-Sentinel explores the complications of Florida's constitutional requirement.
Digital learning. The Palm Beach Post talks to an award-winning librarian. Collier parents get tech training. Naples Daily News.
STEM. A student's project to combat toxic algae wins awards. Stuart News. Students visit an agriculture extension to learn about science and farming. Ocala Star-Banner. (more…)
Accountability. A key House lawmaker sees no support for pausing grades. Gradebook.
Expulsions. The mother at the center of a controversial expulsion case is also a public-school teacher, and fears her job could be at risk. Pensacola News-Journal.
Discipline. Sarasota considers alternatives to suspensions and other major punishments. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
STEM. Schools seem to be diverting students from precalculus. Bridge to Tomorrow. A Palm Beach Post columnist inveighs against letting students sub computer science for foreign languages.
Technology. Volusia schools struggle to provide devices. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Testing. The Duval school board is the latest to call for a switch to national assessments. Florida Times-Union. Ohio may use Florida items next year. Gradebook.
Boundaries. Orange County parents protest a rezoning proposal. Orlando Sentinel.
Teacher quality. Lee schools feel a shortage. Fort Myers News-Press.
Testing. State Senators debate the state's testing validity study. Tampa Bay Times. Miami Herald. Sunshine State News. State education officials answer critics. Palm Beach Post. Gradebook. Proposed cut scores reveal a racial achievement gap. Tallahassee Democrat.
Charter schools. Some Palm Beach charters see their funding for students with special needs suddenly slashed. Palm Beach Post.
Budgets. Key lawmakers don't like the fact that a proposed school spending increase would rely on raising local property taxes. Tampa Bay Times.
Growth. Manatee needs a new high school, which may house a special program of some kind. Bradenton Herald.
Transportation. Palm Beach bus drivers say they're underpaid. Palm Beach Post.
STEM. State officials scope out Sarasota science programs. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Magnet schools. A Pasco magnet school principal tells students it's OK to fail, as long as they learn from it. Tampa Bay Times. A Palm Beach magnet school celebrates its 25th anniversary. Sun-Sentinel.
Charter schools. A successful conversion charter elementary may grow into the middle grades. Bradenton Herald.
School choice. Tax credit scholarship recipient-turned-grad-student Denisha Merriweather writes in the Tampa Tribune that she's living proof school choice can work. Step Up For Students, which co-hosts this blog and employs the author of this post, helps administer the program.
Failure factories. Pinellas schools officials are working to address problems in South St. Petersburg, and parental choice may be part of the answer, Superintendent Mike Grego writes in the Tampa Bay Times.
Weather. Hendry County closes schools Monday amid flooding concerns; other districts remain open. Fort Myers News-Press.
Testing. A testing validity study is expected this week, after a delay. Sentinel School Zone. Gradebook. Orlando Sentinel columnist Beth Kassab weighs in on lawmakers considering changes.
TFA. The organization's new Orange County operation brings 18 recruits to schools. Orlando Sentinel.
Back to school. A school with lots of low-income students gets help with supplies. Bay News 9. A Methodist church extends a helping hand in Brevard. Florida Today.
STEM. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune profiles a teenage science whiz.
Safety. A Tallahassee high school student works to improve relations between students and police. Tallahassee Democrat. A woman under the influence tries to pick children up from school. WKMG.
Charter schools. Plans for a Pasco charter are put on hold after it struggles to find a facility. Gradebook. An embattled charter school group will face questions from Bay district officials about a pending contract renewal. Panama City News Herald. A Sarasota military charter brings in interim leaders. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
STEM. Socio-economics don't always determine whether a district offers students key science courses. Bridge to Tomorrow.
Terminations. More teachers will be let go in Hillsborough over a lack of certification credentials. Gradebook.
Budgets. St. Johns school district officials criticize state spending decisions. Florida Today. Hillsborough schools won't hire elementary school security patrols. Tampa Tribune.
Contracts. Brevard's school board chair wants law enforcement to investigate a controversial contract. Florida Today.
Discipline. Hillsborough residents weigh in before a proposed school board vote. Tampa Tribune. (more…)
Special needs. The Hillsborough school district comes under scrutiny for its treatment of special needs students. Tampa Bay Times.
STEM. Just because students score well in science does not mean they'll enroll in physics. Bridge to Tomorrow. "There's always an opening" for key STEM teaching jobs in Miami-Dade. Miami Herald.
Budgets. Leon County Schools won't hike property taxes for the coming year. Tallahassee Democrat.
Teacher pay. Pasco considers raises for its teachers. Tampa Bay Times.
Campaigns. Volusia's school board chair will seek re-election. WNDB.
Summer. Pinellas sees an enrollment surge in its summer programs. WUSF.
Growth. Escambia officials grapple with where they're going to build new schools. Pensacola News-Journal.
Uniforms. School uniforms are approved for a Lake County elementary school. Daily Commercial. (more…)
Private schools. A St. Lucie Episcopal school plans to expand. St. Lucie News Tribune. An Episcopal school's leader steps down. Florida Today.
School choice. Duval considers expanding magnet and other choice programs. Florida Times-Union.
Dual enrollment. More high school students take classes for high school credit. Naples Daily News.
STEM. Some high-poverty and rural districts help students excel in science. Bridge to Tomorrow.
Wraparound services. Pasco plans to create a new community school. Gradebook.
Testing. Still no word on the state's investigation of a hacking of its testing systems. Gradebook. The Lee school board debates an investigation of GED test administration. Fort Myers News-Press. If schools relied on college entrance exams to measure older students' achievement, what would the results show? Bridge to Tomorrow.
Race. The Okaloosa NAACP plans a community forum after a military family reports instances of racial harassment. Northwest Florida Daily News.
Discipline. Duval plans to tighten its code of conduct after hearing from parents. Florida Times-Union.
Career education. Broward schools begin offering a new business class. Sun-Sentinel.
STEM. Students in Orlando's Pine Hills neighborhood experiment with growing bioluminescent mushrooms. Orlando Sentinel. These 20 public elementary schools excel in science instruction for disadvantaged students. Bridge to Tomorrow. Students at a Lakeland Christian school learn about robotics during a summer workshop. Lakeland Ledger.
Budgets. Miami-Dade school officials plan to lower the property tax rate slightly. Miami Herald. Local districts await state information on property tax revenues for schools. Tallahassee Democrat.
Private schools. A Bradenton Montessori school plans to expand into a new location. Bradenton Herald.
Charter schools. Palm Beach's new superintendent plans a forum for charter school parents. Sun-Sentinel.
Digital learning. Florida schools seem likely to to receive state digital classrooms funding despite uncertainty caused by a line-item veto. Tampa Bay Times. A parent writes an open letter to Palm Beach's superintendent on digital learning. Context Florida.
International Baccalaureate. A St. Petersburg student gets rare perfect scores on her college-credit exams. Tampa Bay Times. (more…)
