Florida School Boards Association
From schools to shelters, Florida is readying for an influx of people struggling for food, water and power in hurricane-damaged Puerto Rico. Gov. Rick Scott said Florida doesn’t know how many people will make the trip from Puerto Rico. Also, Scott said it is unknown how many will decide to remain permanently in Florida or…
As part of its ongoing work to aid hurricane relief efforts, today the Department of Education released new non-regulatory guidance to help Department grantees and program participants remove barriers to restoring teaching and learning environments and to expediting the recovery process for all those impacted by the recent hurricanes. Read More
Rhonda Combs had finished storing her photo albums and scrapbooks in big plastic bags. There was nothing left to do but go stir crazy, waiting for Hurricane Irma.So she drove to McKitrick Elementary School, where she teaches kindergarten, and saw volunteers escorting families to the classrooms where they would seek shelter. Combs found those assigned…
Hurricane Irma could delay some Florida taxpayers’ voices from being heard. It’s an unavoidable case of timing. The powerful hurricane bore down on the state as cities, counties, school boards and other taxing bodies were scheduling two public hearings required by law before they can set property tax rates for the new fiscal year. Read…
By 1 p.m. Monday, as Hurricane Irma’s ferocity weakened and the storm continued its northward march, just 50 people were left at the shelter inside Boca Raton High School. It was a dramatic change from just a day earlier, when 1,700 evacuees had sought shelter at the high school in the Palm Beach County school…
A makeshift sign hanging from a fence outside of New Renaissance Middle School warned residents seeking last minute shelter from Hurricane Irma that the school’s gym had reached its capacity and couldn’t accept any more people. Outside, nearly 160 cars filled the school’s main parking lot. Inside, hundreds of people had gathered. Read More
Schools in at least 20 counties across Florida have cancelled classes for Hurricane Irma.The Florida School Boards Association confirms that response plans from the school district have improved since previous storms, and students should be able to return to school shortly after the storm. Read More
If Florida schools let teenagers sleep in, the state would get a $9 billion economic boost over the next 15 years. That’s according to a new report from nonprofit research organization RAND Corporation, which found that moving school start times to 8:30 a.m. or later for middle and high schools would reduce the number of…
Deer Park Elementary had a problem. Its discipline referrals and warnings were on the rise, with 433 incidents last year for 574 students, which didn’t bode well for the school’s academic performance. “There is a direct correlation between disruptions in the classroom and how well students learn,” said principal Margie Polen, who pointed to the…
A new school year brings new challenges, and one of them is how to deal with students who may have a medical marijuana prescription. Ten months ago today, 71 percent of Florida’s voters said yes on Amendment 2. Governor Rick Scott signed the legislation June 23rd. Still, Florida’s 67 school districts haven’t decided how to…