Charter schools: N.E.W. Generation Preparatory High School of Performing Arts in Broward County has until March to find a secure space to house its 200 students or close down. Sun Sentinel. The Schools of McKeel Academy will likely begin searching for a new leader after the first of the year. The Ledger.
Private schools: English students at Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy in Brevard County take their Shakespeare discussion online with Twitter. Florida Today.
Common Core: Common standards are the best way to measure how well our students are ready to graduate and enter college, the military or the workforce, writes Tony Buntyn, a colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, for The Tampa Tribune. Florida won’t participate in PARCC’s field testing of its assessments come springtime. Tampa Bay Times. Yes, the Common Core State Standards are demanding, and they should be, writes Zachary Champagne for the Florida Times-Union. Florida is already headed in the right direction, but Common Core State Standards will continue to lead us to be the top academic state in the nation, writes Lucy Gosselin for Sunshine State News. Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) remain contenders for state testing. Sunshine State News.
Start times: Some of Florida’s superintendents are worried about the potential effects of a proposal that high schools statewide be prohibited from starting earlier than 8 a.m. Tampa Bay Times.
Teacher pay: Gov. Rick Scott again urges school districts to come through with the contract deals to make the raises reality. The Buzz. Twenty eight school districts have finalized teacher pay hikes, while another 15 have reached tentative agreements still awaiting a vote by school boards. Miami Herald.
PISA: Florida 15-year-olds who took international tests in math, reading and science last year did worse than other teens in the United States overall and far worse than teenagers in the world’s top-performing education systems in Asia, scores released this morning showed. Orlando Sentinel. More from the Florida Times-Union. Locally, the results on the Program for International Student Assessment show the average Florida student scored about the same as the average U.S. student in science and reading. StateImpact Florida.
School spending: Lake County school leaders look to revamp $21.1 million in spending over the next three years in hopes of improving education for its 41,000 students – especially those who are struggling. Orlando Sentinel.
School drama: Students in this Miami-Dade middle school drama class learn about focus, confidence, empathy, listening and trust. Miami Herald.
Athletics policy: Hillsborough County revisits transfer policy for athletes. Tampa Bay Times.
Field trips: The Salvador Dali Museum, the Morean Arts Center and the Armed Forces History Museum are among the places Pinellas County students visit for field trips. Then there’s the county dump. The Tampa Tribune.
Whiz kid: The most defining feature of this 16-year-old senior at Palm Harbor University High School in Pinellas County is that he is correct, always. Tampa Bay Times.
Conduct: Three Broward County teachers accused of misconduct hope to convince a state judge that they were unfairly disciplined. Sun Sentinel.
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