Blog Title: The Gradebook

Happy Independence Day!

Hope you enjoy your holiday and remember why it's special.

Poll: School vouchers

A new report shows that Florida students who use vouchers perform no better than those who don't. Should Florida continue the program? Yes, the vouchers cost less than public school No, the vouchers don't lead to better results (Photo from...

Pasco gets name suggestions for virtual school: Are any of them worthy?

The Pasco school district wants to give its new, state-mandated virtual school a name that makes clear it's a real school and not just some Internet portal somewhere. It received 10 suggestions — way fewer than the number it usually...

Poor student performance on FCAT leads to teacher, principal removal

As the drumbeat for evaluating educators' performance based on student outcomes grows louder (L.A. Times), two Florida school districts have already gone there this week. Orange has removed 38 teachers from low-performing schools, saying their students didn't see enough gains...

Florida education news: Summer camp, Catholic schools, community colleges and more

RAINED OUT: Tampa area summer camps head indoors as the skies open up. Kids are still learning and having a good time, though. (Times photo, Chris Zuppa) FIRED AGAIN: A PHCC police academy instructor let got for inappropriate behavior loses...

It's official: Pasco's property values sink below state estimates

In setting the Pasco school district's 2009-10 budget target, the Florida Legislature projected that the county would see its local taxable value dip by 11 percent. District officials didn't believe it for a second. The numbers, they argued, would look...

More federal stimulus funding on the way to Florida schools

Acknowledging growing budget pressures that states face, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has announced the release of an added $2.7 billion in stimulus funds for states to spend on schools around the country. Florida's share: $162,179,566. (Want to know what...

Thanks, but no thanks: Palm Beach schools might not take stimulus funds

Palm Beach school officials really would like to have $68 million more for construction projects. The problem is, the only way they can access the federal stimulus money is to sell some bonds, and those bonds would create debt the...

Florida education news: Textbooks, grades, magnet schools and more

SEND IN THE NUNS: Academy of Holy Names in Tampa replaces its trustees with nuns. No explanation is offered DO YOUR BEST: Hernando schools would send the wrong message by inflating students' failing grades, the Times editorializes. LABOR NEWS: Polk...

How much do we really spend per student in Florida?

Is it really about $7,000, as the St. Petersburg Times and every other Florida newspaper says? Or is it more in the $12,000 range? In a recent email to the Gradebook, relentless voucher die-hard Andrew J. Coulson of the Cato...

FAMU law school may be getting good news

A key American Bar Association committee is recommending full accreditation, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

Good luck keeping up with college names...

Today Manatee Community College officials announced that their institution is now "State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota." Forgive the Gradebook for seeming snarky, but these name changes are just getting confusing. And are they even necessary, beyond the community colleges' desire...

To tax or not to tax? That's the question for the Pasco School Board

As they near their budget deadlines, school boards across Florida have started taking sides in the debate over whether they should increase their local property tax rate by up to 25 cents per $1,000 of taxable value. Pinellas has given...

Jeb Bush: Transform Florida's schools using technology

He might not be Florida governor any more, but Jeb Bush certainly remains out there pushing his views on education for the state. This time, he's got a piece in the Miami Herald promoting increased use of technology to improve...

Florida education news: African education, vouchers, hands-on math and more

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOOK: Woodlawn Elementary turns to more hands-on lessons to improve students' math performance, boosting its school grade from D to B in the process. (Times photo, Dirk Shadd) ADMINISTRATIVE MOVES: Ray Gadd spends his last day as...

Pasco employees, district agree to delay step increases

Citing too many unanswered questions about the district's finances, the United School Employees of Pasco has agreed to the school district administration's request to postpone payment of workers' step increases for years of service. But the association insisted on bringing...

Hernando stays in-house for assistant superintendent

BROOKSVILLE - The Hernando school district didn't have to look far for its new second-in-command. Sonya Jackson, who until today had been serving as the district's school services director, has been tapped to fill the newly created assistant superintendent post....

Want a better way to get rid of bad teachers?

Or make them better, quick? Get good teachers involved. This Washington Post story looks at peer review. Any districts in Florida doing this? Ron Matus, State Education Reporter *

Don't rush to judgment on vouchers, researcher says

Education researcher Jay Greene was briefly quoted in today’s St. Petersburg Times voucher story, but he expounds at length on his blog. “The problem is that the standard for success when it comes to school choice is that it has...

Feds set to make it easier to apply for college financial aid

It won't help all the freshmen starting classes this summer and fall, but the Obama administration's plans to streamline the application process for financial aid could be in place by the time they have to seek aid for next year....