Florida School Boards Association
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…
No one likes to see the end of summer, but the sun will soon set on vacations and journeys, and you know what that means — back to school. Fortunately, there are apps to ease a student back into the classroom. Here are my top 5 free recommendations: #1 – Quizlet (free, iPhone and Android)…
For the first time in decades, the majority of U.S. school children come from low-income families. Florida has one of the highest rates in the country — federal data shows just seven states have a higher percentage of low-income students. That means more students qualify for — and depend on — free meals provided by…
Pam Ingram graduated from Robinson High School in Tampa 23 years ago. She remembers her grade-point average (3.75). She recalls her class rank (26). The English teacher at Wesley Chapel High doesn’t recollect her SAT score, though. And she’s not about to look it up to apply for Florida’s controversial new teaching bonus, although she’s…
TALLAHASSEE — Among Gov. Rick Scott’s legacies after two terms in office will be the role he plays in the next remake of the state constitution. The Florida Constitution allows for a “revision commission” to meet every two decades to “examine the constitution, hold public hearings and … file its proposal, if any, of a…
The push to overhaul Florida’s testing system is regaining momentum with a proposal to replace the new Florida Standards Assessments with tried and true national exams. Seminole County school district leaders, who launched the effort this summer, suggest the national tests would be less time-consuming and easier to implement. The FSAs can take up to…
TALLAHASSEE—Students in some Florida districts are already back in school, but their administrators and teachers still don’t have the results from last school year’s state exams. After technical problems disrupted this spring’s computer-based state exams, the first administration of tests based on Florida’s version of the Common Core standards, Gov. Rick Scott and the state…
Did you know that switching to paperless board meetings could help your organization save money, time and become more effective for as little as $2,900 per year? FSBA proudly endorses BoardDocs board management solutions. As the pioneer of eGovernance, BoardDocs has helped over 1,300 organizations dramatically lower costs, increase transparency and reduce the time spent…
This past spring, 5 million students from third grade through high school took new, end-of-year tests in math and English that were developed by a consortium of states known as PARCC. It’s a big deal because these tests are aligned to the Common Core learning standards, and they’re considered harder than many of the tests…
Florida school districts will have a new way to track the financial and academic records of charter school operators. For the first time, a new database is connecting charter schools to who runs them. The goal is to reduce the number of charter schools that close. The National Association of Charter School Authorizers wants to…