Constitution revisions. The education committee of the Florida Constitution Revision Commission approves a quartet of school choice-friendly proposals. redefinED. The state’s school district superintendents oppose three of them. Gradebook. Among the ideas they don’t oppose: A proposal to give entire districts charter-like freedoms.Times/Herald.
Legislation. Bills advancing in Tallahassee would increase oversight of private school choice programs while creating new scholarship options. Orlando Sentinel. A parent writes that a special needs scholarship saved her child from bullying — and a proposed program could save more kids. Daytona Beach News-Journal. (Step Up For Students, which publishes this blog, helps administer the Gardiner Scholarship program and would help administer Hope Scholarships if lawmakers create them.)
Alternative charter schools. A charter school in Palm Beach isn’t bothered by its low graduation rate. It says the low rate is a product of its mission. It’s an alternative campus for students who have already fallen behind in high school. Palm Beach Post.
Private school shutters. Parents at a Jacksonville private school are blindsided when the school informs them it’s abruptly shutting down. Arlington Country Day School had struggled with see-sawing enrollment for years, in part because its vaunted athletic programs were hamstrung by NCAA scrutiny of its academics. Florida Times-Union.
Equal access? An elite, district-run college preparatory school in Jacksonville comes under NAACP scrutiny for declining black enrollment. Florida Times-Union.Top teachers. Districts around the state name Teachers of the Year. Tampa Bay Times. Pensacola News-Journal. TC Palm. St. Augustine Record.
Influenza. A Flu outbreak shuts down an entire Christian school. Gradebook. Gulf County schools closed en masse, and took the opportunity to sanitize. WJHG. The flu won’t foil finals in Pinellas schools. Gradebook.
Superintendents. The Tallahassee Democrat lays out the case for why they should be appointed, not elected.
Unions. A controversial union bill in the Legislature would be especially onerous for teachers associations. Tallahassee Democrat.
Typo. A teacher inadvertently includes a racial slur on a first-grade spelling list. Orlando Sentinel.
Teacher and administrator conduct. Accused of using female students as a “future dating pool,” a Lee County high school teacher is pulled from the classroom. Fort Myers News-Press. A former Pinellas principal faces a child abuse charge. She is accused of grabbing a student by the hair. Tampa Bay Times.
Elections. A former principal announces a bid for a Collier County School Board seat. Naples Daily News.
Complaints. Public records advocates raise questions about a plan to shield school district employees’ unsubstantiated personnel complaints from scrutiny. Daily Commercial.
No-show. An Orlando Sentinel columnist calls on a persistently absent school board member to resign.
Student-athletes. A Mount Dora High School program helps students get noticed for college athletic scholarships. Daily Commercial.
