Florida School Boards Association
Changing the way the Volusia County school district pays for health insurance could save more than $12 million, freeing up money to give salary increases to employees, district officials say. But while the Volusia Teachers Organization has been lobbying for a pay raise, the union isn’t happy with the proposal. That’s because teachers would have to pick…
A majority of Florida’s school districts have no policy on the use of social media by teachers and other employees, increasing the potential for misuse and inappropriate teacher-student relationships online, according to an analysis conducted by a University of Florida educational leadership scholar. Doctoral candidate Jesse Gates found that only 32 of the state’s 68…
Most of the students at Royal Palm Elementary in Miami have Spanish-speaking families. But those families also want their kids to speak – and read and write – more Spanish in school. So teacher Alexandra Martin is leading her 1st grade class through “Vamos Papa,” with each child reading a passage from the Spanish language…
The Florida Education Association and local teacher unions are investigating the legality of the Best and Brightest teacher scholarship program, in which individual bonuses of $10,000 would be awarded based upon teachers’ past ACT or SAT scores. The $44 million program has drawn the ire of teacher unions since its inception, after it was quietly…
Florida Gov. Rick Scott is seeking money to create a paid summer residency program for teachers in science, technology, engineering and math. Scott is expected on Monday to ask for $1 million in proposed funding for the program. The governor asked the Florida Legislature for the money earlier this year but legislators did not grant…
Over the summer, the Florida Legislature agreed to spend $44 million to fund a scholarship program that will award big bonuses to teachers who got high SAT and ACT scores before entering college — even if they took the test decades ago and can somehow locate their scores. The proposal was so, well, kooky, that…
After breaking up nine years ago, the state reconciled with insurance giant Gallagher & Co. and is now offering $2 million professional liability insurance coverage for educators and instructional staff. Education Commissioner Pam Stewart says that the program offers full-time instructional personnel – which, under state statutes, includes teachers, learning resource specialists, education paraprofessionals and…
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…
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…
A new teacher-bonus program slipped into the state budget at the 11th hour is prompting criticism, and even outrage, among educators. Under the Best and Brightest Teacher Scholarships, as many as 4,402 teachers statewide can get an individual $10,000 bonus if their ACT or SAT scores are in the top 20th percentile. Teachers must also…