FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, November 9, 2018 CONTACT BillieAnne Gay, gay@fsba.org, 850.528.9104 Historic Voter Turnout in Florida Demonstrates Strong Support for Public Schools Tallahassee, FL – Florida experienced historic voter turnout with over 7 million Floridians casting their vote in the 2018 General Election on November 6. The 2018 election cycle has illustrated the public’s…
The key to solving the wide array of policy challenges facing Florida starts with one thing: education. That was the takeaway from the final 2018 survey of the Florida Influencers, a group of 50 leaders from across the state. Asked to rank five issues by order of importance to Florida’s future — education, the environment,…
Jim Norton picked his way through the damp floor at Wewahitchka High School, where Hurricane Michael’s winds had spirited away part of the school’s roof, leaving behind exposed wires, a mushy mix of white ceiling tiles on the dark carpet, and a clear view of the sky above. Read More
Getting back to normal after a devastating hurricane is long, arduous, and expensive for schools. In Florida’s Panhandle, education leaders have started the strenuous work of cleaning up and repairing schools ravaged by Hurricane Michael earlier this month, but they are also running into a longer-term problem: steep cost estimates that could lead to mounting…
Within the first eight days of school this year, three students in a suburban district East of Los Angeles killed themselves. None of the deaths were related—the students had been from different schools, in different grades, and didn’t appear to know one another. But the quick succession of suicides left the community reeling. Read More
After saying last month that it was blocking a controversial education measure from the November ballot, the Florida Supreme Court has released details of the ruling that show sharp differences about a proposal that one justice said would have brought a “monumental” change to the state Constitution. Justices, in a 4-3 decision, said the proposed…
Florida Panhandle officials are trying to figure out how to resume classes after Hurricane Michael damaged or destroyed many schools last week. Schools in at least eight counties — Washington, Liberty, Jackson, Gulf, Gadsden, Franklin, Calhoun and Bay — will remain closed until further notice, the office of Gov. Rick Scott said Monday in a…
Parents: Can’t make heads or tails of the Every Student Succeeds Act? The U.S. Department of Education has put together a cheat sheet for you. U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos unveiled the “parents’ guide” at a roundtable in Mississippi, with parents, students, and educators, as part of her four-state “Rethink School” tour. Read More
Florida has finally gotten its federal education accountability plan accepted. U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos sent Florida commissioner Pam Stewart a formal letter acknowledging the approval on Wednesday. Florida had been the only state in the nation not to have an approved plan. It went through five revisions — including one submitted on Monday — before DeVos…
When new teachers get ongoing support from mentors, they’re better able to engage students and use assessment in instruction, and their students score higher on math assessments, according to a new study. The study, conducted by SRI Education, is an independent analysis of the New Teacher Center’s mentorship program, funded through a 2016 federal Investing…