Florida headed for testing turbulence

TALLAHASSEE—Florida is approaching a rough patch in its path to education reform, as the state prepares to release students’ scores on exams aligned to higher academic standards. In other states where public schools have begun testing using the Common Core standards, students’ double-digit drops in performance jump-started countermovements in which parents and teachers rejected the…

FSBA BoardDocs Goal Tracking Webinar

Many organizations expend considerable effort to develop strategic plans only to find that actual implementation can be challenging due to difficulties associated with bringing the strategic plan to the forefront of important discussions and organizational decisions. Recognizing this hurdle, FSBA Partner, BoardDocs, is hosting a webinar for current BoardDocs users titled Goal Tracking – Following…

Education task force tackles achievement gap in Sarasota

SARASOTA – Members of a task force formed to bridge the achievement gap between low-income students and their more affluent peers presented preliminary recommendations to Sarasota County School Board members Tuesday. The task force suggested the school district work to increase parental involvement, reform discipline practices, increase attendance loss and prevent summer learning loss, among…

Florida school districts get more advice on Best and Brightest bonus

The Florida Department of Education continues to issue more guidelines on the controversial Best and Brightest teacher bonus program, as the Oct. 1 application deadline approaches. Its latest round of information seeks to answer questions raised by superintendents charged with determining teacher eligibility. Among the highlights, the department has explained that only classroom teachers are…