Florida School Boards Association
Last month, state economists predicted that the state would have a surplus of about $340 million after funding the state’s priorities and maintaining a healthy balance in state reserves in the 2015-2016 fiscal year. Those priorities include providing sufficient funding to maintain current funding levels for education after taking growth and inflation into account. Meanwhile,…
DetailsBack in August, the U.S. Department of Education criticized Florida’s approach to testing of students learning English, saying it would compromise the state’s ability to keep its waiver from federal No Child Left Behind requirements. State officials shot back angrily. Gov. Rick Scott held a press conference in Miami threatening legal action if the feds didn’t relent within…
DetailsLegally and arithmetically, municipal pension plans have nothing to do with the the Florida Retirement System. Politically, they mean a lot, though. The LeRoy Collins Institute recently issued a report, appropriately titled “Tough Choices,” evaluating 151 municipal pension plans across Florida. It was an update of a 2011 report, using more detailed measurements, and the…
DetailsEmily Sonni eyed the mushy green substance on her plate. The vegetable tasted salty, she said, and the texture was “not pleasing.” The Matanzas High School senior bypassed the baked zucchini during a recent lunch period, and she wasn’t alone. Forget mystery meat. Students are discovering mystery vegetables in their lunch line now, and they…
DetailsBOYNTON BEACH — A parade of parents and teachers held back tears Monday night as they described their frustrations — and worse, their children’s frustrations — with school and the stressful atmosphere they say is fueled by the push to prepare for the state’s new battery of standardized tests. About three dozen people and an…
DetailsTALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Tallahassee — During a 2008 soccer match at Riverdale High School in Fort Myers, Abel Limones Jr collapsed on the field and lost consciousness. Read the full article
DetailsBridget McKinney, principal at Miami’s Allapattah Middle School, says her students struggle to pass the state’s reading and writing tests. So when McKinney first read the Common Core math and language arts standards used in Florida schools this year, what jumped out was the emphasis on answering questions and making arguments using examples and evidence…
DetailsUtah students took their state’s new Common Core tests this spring, and they struggled so badly that a majority of Utah schools could end up graded D or F. Despite the more than 2,000 miles that separate the two states, what happened in Utah could resonate in Florida. This spring, Sunshine State students also will…
DetailsCommon Core politics indeed makes strange bedfellows. Some of the most conservative tea party members are on the same side of the issue as some of the most liberal voters, although not really for the same reasons. To put it simply, the Common Core movement is an attempt to implement a common set of educational…
DetailsHumza Ghori types on the computer “a lot.” He games. He answers his teacher’s online questions. But does the Pasco County fifth-grader feel skilled enough to write timed short responses on Florida’s new high-stakes test? “I don’t know,” said the 10-year-old, a two-finger hunt-and-peck typist. “I think I would need more time. … On paper…
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