Private schools: Pinellas County school leaders want private schools that accept tax credit scholarships to participate in Florida’s accountability system and use certified teachers. They also want the new education funding formula to go back to the way it was last year. Tampa Bay Times. St. Anthony Catholic School in Pasco plans a $3 million expansion. The Tampa Tribune. A Boca Raton Catholic schoolteacher is tapped to teach a professional development course to teachers all over the world. Sun Sentinel.
Charter schools: A new Palm Beach County charter school is planned for a county “learning cluster” among two biotech giants and a state university and community college. Sun Sentinel. An independent investigation finds complaints about McKeel charter schools’ superintendent are generally valid. The Ledger.
District teachers: New research shows dozens of struggling Miami-Dade schools benefited in recent years from the forced transfers of hundreds of teachers. Miami Herald. The Pinellas County school district still needs to hire about 300 more substitute teachers this school year. The Tampa Tribune.
New tracks: A handful of niche programs at Duval County high schools are axed to make room for new programs in culinary arts, information technology and health sciences. Florida Times-Union.
Achievement gap: The Hillsborough County School Board plans to discuss the disparities in achievement and discipline between white and minority students. Tampa Bay Times.
School arrests: Broward County’s superintendent says new procedures limiting the number of campus arrests are a common- sense approach that will give students the benefit of the doubt. StateImpact Florida.
NAEP: Florida is not doing nearly well enough in educating its children, and sugar-coating that reality is a mistake, writes FSU physics professor Paul Cottle on his blog, Bridge to Tomorrow.
School traffic: The 3 p.m. snarls would ease if more parents let their children walk to school or ride the bus, writes Beth Kassab for the Orlando Sentinel.
Textbook worries: A world history book controversy in Volusia County schools that stems from claims of a favorable view of Islam is likely to continue. Orlando Sentinel.
Crowdfunding: A new Jacksonville Public Education Fund matches local donors and dollars to innovative projects or one-time special needs, classroom by classroom, in Duval’s public schools. Florida Times-Union.
