Florida School Boards Association
New data from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Homeless Education finds that the number of homeless students in Florida schools has reached a record high. The nearly 59,000 homeless students identified in the report for the 2012-2013 school year represents a 10 percent increase over the previous year and outpaces the national…
DetailsTAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The state board that oversees Florida’s schools wants a boost in school funding for 2015. The State Board of Education voted Monday to ask state legislators to approve a $19.6 billion budget for Florida’s public schools. The increase includes a $232 increase in per-pupil funding to match what Gov. Rick Scott…
DetailsTAMPA — Florida school districts are ill-prepared to administer state tests this spring and should get a one-year respite from school grades, Hillsborough County school superintendent MaryEllen Elia told the State Board of Education on Monday. Her comments reflect what other Florida superintendents have been saying for months, and they echoed mounting public concern over…
DetailsMost educators don’t pursue their profession for the money. That’s a no-brainer these days. But that also doesn’t justify low pay, especially for a profession that makes such a profound difference in young people’s lives. And the sad reality is this: Many teachers are shortchanged with salaries that fail to keep up with inflation. Meanwhile,…
DetailsA front-page article in Tuesday’s newspaper contained a stunning number: 1,000. That was the approximate number of new standardized tests Orange County is debuting this year to keep up with all the demands of Florida’s education mandates. We’re talking about standardized tests for P.E. and band. For kindergartners and brain-damaged children. For cooking classes, debate…
DetailsTogether, those parents cobbled together about 200 students, earning the faith of locals wanting to keep their kids closer to home. “We had no academic record at that point, and the finances were like hand-to-mouth,” said George Abounader, the school’s current and founding principal. Today, about 450 students attend the school, one of Florida’s best.…
DetailsWelcome to Florida’s new era of charter schools. It’s brought to you by some of the same folks who inflicted on Florida a scandal-ridden voucher system and initiated the mania for high-stakes testing that has done so much damage. One of the architects of this new era is Jim Horne, chairman of the Florida Charter…
DetailsNAPLES, Fla. — On the verge of seeing his charter school shut down because of academic failures, Archbishop Clarence Davis resorted to bargaining. In three out of four years, Davis’ Imagine Charter School in St. Petersburg received an “F” grade for academic performance from the state, results so poor they warranted closing the school. With…
DetailsNAPLES, Fla. — At the end of his tour of Cambridge Christian School, a private academy in northwest Tampa, first-grader Giovanni Scanio had a question. “How long will the school be open?” Giovanni asked, according to his mother, Lisa. Giovanni wanted to know because a few weeks earlier, in July 2012, the charter school he…
DetailsNAPLES, Fla. – Seven times since 2006, Richard Milburn Academy of Florida has failed at running a charter school. In Lee County, two RMA schools closed after administrators manipulated student grades. In the Tampa Bay-area, two RMA schools shut down due to poor academic performance. In Manatee County, one RMA school was shuttered after half…
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