FSBA Friday Five – August 2, 2019

Computational thinking is critical thinking and belongs in every subject How the choices we make can help children and the community as a whole become more resilient in the face of serious challenges Outschool called the Netflix of learning When will it stop? Cyberbullying continues to rise The perfect grilled cheese sandwich, explained by science

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Which Florida teachers are ‘content experts’?

Lawmakers set new rules in the spring for who could qualify for a “Best and Brightest” teacher bonus this year.  One of the categories it created was a “recruitment” award. It would be paid to newly hired teachers deemed “content experts” in mathematics, science, computer science, reading or civics.  The Legislature left it to the…

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Questions remain about Florida’s new school-based mental health effort

Florida is planning to reinvent school-based mental health awareness, but Florida International University (FIU) psychologists are raising questions about the plan’s implementation.  The goal is to help students identify the signs and symptoms of mental illnesses, how to get help for themselves and others and what to do or say to peers affected by a…

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FL’s Pre-K program has high participation but may not always prepare kids for kindergarten

Of the 50 states, Florida’s prekindergarten program has the highest percent of 4-year-olds enrolled in the early learning programs. Only Washington D.C. has a higher percentage.  Nearly 175,000 little students attended in 2017-18 — 77 percent of Florida’s 4-year-olds. That’s according to a 2018 analysis called “The State of Preschool 2018.” Read More Read the…

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‘Little bit vague’: Grand jury report on school safety puzzles North Florida school officials

Florida school district officials are on alert in the days after an interim grand jury report found that some districts in the state’s 67 counties “have failed — or refused — to accept their responsibility for school safety.”  The grand jury report is dated Friday, July 19, 2019 and found that “numerous school districts” in the state…

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Florida teachers: Did your school do well enough for you to get a bonus?

In part to settle a lawsuit contending the state’s Best and Brightest teacher bonus was discriminatory, Florida legislators in the spring changed the eligibility criteria for future awards.  Gone was the reliance on SAT and ACT scores. In its place came the use of a school’s improvement in the state accountability points system used to…

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Grand jury: Florida schools, police bickering over security

Some Florida school districts and law enforcement agencies have not fully complied with security measures enacted after a 2018 high school massacre because they are bickering over who is responsible, an interim report by a statewide grand jury says. Read More Read First Interim Grand Jury Report

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Teacher bonuses vs. salary increases: The debate continues over teacher pay

At Florida’s State Board of Education meeting this week, board member Michael Olenick talked about the realities of teacher pay in Florida.  You can’t use a teacher “bonus” to get a mortgage or an auto loan, he said. You need overall salary increases that boost annual teacher pay. “I’m using the word ‘raise,’ Olenick said. …

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