Florida School Boards Association
It has been a high-stakes year for high-stakes standardized tests. The debate over renewing the big federal education law turned, in part, on whether annual testing would remain a federal mandate. Republicans initially said no, Democrats said yes. Ultimately the overhaul passed with tests still in place. On the other hand, this fall President Obama…
A billion dollars. That’s a lot of money. That’s Gov. Rick Scott’s goal for cutting taxes in 2016. But with each passing day, it looks more obvious that Scott is headed for defeat because the Legislature is not sold on the idea. It all comes down to one word: recurring. Simply put, Scott wants most…
In public classrooms across the country, the corporate name that is fast becoming as common as pencils and erasers is Google. More than half of K-12 laptops or tablets purchased by U.S. schools in the third quarter were Chromebooks, cheap laptops that run Google software. Beyond its famed Web search, the company freely offers word…
As Florida’s 2016 legislative session fast approaches, lawmakers keep filing education-related bills even during the holiday lull. The latest: Rep. Reggie Fullwood’s proposal to create a social services oriented pilot program for the state’s poorest, most academically struggling schools. One highly anticipated measure, though, remains conspicuously absent. On the heels of spring testing troubles, and amid calls to…
Florida Board of Education vice chairman John Padget, long a vocal proponent of tougher academic standards, on Monday expressed his disappointment with commissioner Pam Stewart’s proposed school grading rules in a letter to his colleagues. Stewart’s grading simulation, released earlier in December, would allow schools with less than 50 percent of points in the grading…
For the 700,000 students in Miami-Dade and Broward public schools, it was just another day in class. For school leaders, it was a day of decisions and vigilance. South Florida schools opened their doors Thursday morning despite threats — deemed “less than credible” — that had been sent in emails similar to ones sent to…
Final numbers for high schools reflect improvements for minorities High-school graduation rates hit a new high of 82.3% in the U.S. in the 2013-14 academic year, according to the… Read full article
Don’t look for any major education bills in the Florida Legislature’s 2016 session that starts next month, Senate Education chairman John Legg says. After a 2015 session where testing legislation ended up as one of a tiny number of substantive measures to make it across the finish line, Legg said, the subject isn’t generating much…
The Rowlett Academy for Arts and Communication presents a solid case study of success in the operation of a charter school. With parents deeply involved in the education of their children and in the performance of the converted district school, Rowlett stands in sharp contrast to the failures of many charters. These tuition-free public schools,…
Charlotte County in southwest Florida just became the 13th Florida county where the total number of registered voters rejecting both major parties now exceeds one of the two major parties. Figures posted on Supervisor of Elections Paul Stamoulis’ website show that “other” voters (mostly those with no party affiliation and a small number belonging to…