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Some laid-off teachers to be rehired (Miami Herald, 7/1/09)
Some of the 394 Broward teachers let go one week ago will soon find out that their layoffs were short-lived. Broward school district officials will know how many teachers they can offer jobs to -- for now -- by early Wednesday. Teachers will get word by certified mail and district e-mail, likely by Thursday. Read More
Florida school vouchers flunk test (TampaBay.com, 7/1/2009)
Florida's highly politicized experiment with private school vouchers has always been couched as an effort to give poor children a better educational option. Read More
Florida education head discusses school layoffs (WMNF, 6/25/09)
Last night in Fort Lauderdale, the Broward School Board voted unanimously to lay off almost 400 teachers. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that board members said they had little choice but to lay off the teachers, citing three years of state budget cuts and declining student enrollment. But they were angry and defiant, urging the audience to call and write state leaders to protest. Read More
Changes outlined for Florida's Bright Futures Scholarship program (TC Palm, 6/24/09)
Some Florida colleges notified parents of Bright Futures Scholarship recipients Wednesday about changes to the program to be implemented this fall. Read More
Florida's high school graduation rate debatable (Tampa Bay online, 6/14/09)
How well do Florida high schools graduate their students? The answer depends on where you look. The state's own calculation shows significant improvement over several years. The graduation rate increased 10 percentage points to 71 percent from 2000 to 2006. Read More
It's the student, not the school (St. Petersburg Times, 6/14/09)
In the increasingly competitive universe of K-12 education, reaching No. 1 can be an all-consuming pursuit. Principals, parents and students love being at the top of the numbers game - especially when admission to a good college is at stake. Read More
New law forces Florida schools to improve - or else (Orlando Sentinel, 6/12/09)
Thousands of Florida public schools will have to ramp up efforts to reach their weakest students this fall or face sanctions - including possibly replacing principals and teacher aides and paying teachers based on performance instead of experience. Read More
Legislature passed the tax-raising buck to Lee, other school districts (Naples News, 6/2/2009)
Legislative budgeting processes were finished weeks ago, but in the Lee County School District there is a sense that no one knows exactly what the coming year will hold until it is over. Read More
Reading, writing, recession. South Florida schools struggle to cope (South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 5/26/09)
Staff cuts. Supply shortages. Less money. More anxiety.
As the nation's economy attempts to recover from the recession, South Florida's classrooms are assessing the impact.
Read More
Community colleges face course crunch (Orlando Sentinel, 5/25/09)
Florida's community colleges have never been under so much pressure to do more with less. And that's bad news for students, some of whom will be shut out this fall. Read More
Price of teacher certification test could rise (St. Petersburg Times, 5/19/09)
The state Board of Education will consider increasing fees for taking teacher certification tests. Read More
Cash-poor school boards might raise property taxes (Orlando Sentinel , 5/18/09)
Though raising taxes is always politically unpopular and risky, school boards across Florida may have no choice as they watch their budgets slowly dissolving. Read More
The Harlem Miracle (New York Times, 5/7/09)
The fight against poverty produces great programs but disappointing results. You go visit an inner-city school, job-training program or community youth center and you meet incredible people doing wonderful things. Then you look at the results from the serious evaluations and you find that these inspiring places are only producing incremental gains. Read More
Florida schools get 1.8 billion dollar "band-aid" (Public News Service, 5/13/09)
The check is in the mail. The federal government has released $1.8 billion in stimulus money for Florida education. While the extra cash is expected to reduce staff layoffs and stay many program cuts, Mark Pudlow with the Florida Education Association says it still amounts to just a "Band-Aid" for the state's ailing school system. Read More
School funding not what it seems (Jacksonville.com, 4/26/09)
Director of the state's school boards warns Clay to look closely. At first, the update on state educational funding from Wayne Blanton, executive director of the Florida School Boards Association, seemed encouraging. Read More
Higher education officials warn of budget disaster (Tampa Bay online, 4/26/09)
State higher education officials urged university administrators, faculty and students this morning to call state lawmakers with the warning that proposed budget cuts could devastate Florida's colleges and universities. Read More
Broward elementaries facing severe cuts (The Miami Herald, 4/26/09)
A 4 percent budget cut may not sound like much, until it amounts to a school losing its only guidance counselor or arts teacher. It was the promise of job security -- that schools would always need someone to ease kids' troubles -- that lured Michelle Doriah into becoming a guidance counselor six years ago. Read More
Schedule changes up for vote (Jacksonville.com, 4/26/09)
The Duval County School Board will decide Monday whether to change the district's high school and middle school schedules, a move that would shorten the school day, save the district $13 million, and eliminate about 200 teaching positions. Read More
Education Professionals Go Back to School at Gulf Coast Community College (WMBB news 13, 4/25/09)
More than one hundred teachers, bus drivers, and superintendents from 10 Panhandle counties went back to class today at Gulf Coast Community College attending workshops learning how to be more effective in their jobs Read More