Trump and choice: President Donald Trump called education "the civil rights issue of our time" during his speech to Congress Tuesday. He urged legislators to "pass an education bill that funds school choice for disadvantaged youth, including millions of African-American and Latino children. These families should be free to choose the public, private, charter, magnet, religious, or home school that is right for them." Education Week. Los Angeles Times. Florida's Denisha Merriweather is cited during Trump's speech as someone whose life was turned around because of school choice. redefinED. The 74. President Trump will visit Saint Andrew Catholic School in Orlando Friday, where he is expected to talk about school choice. Saint Andrew has 295 students who use the tax credit scholarship. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer the scholarship. Orlando Sentinel.
Testing debate: Standardized testing will again be a focus of the legislative session that begins Tuesday. Critics want to cut back on the exams, or give students the option of taking different tests. Others think the testing system in place is necessary and needs to be preserved in some form. News Service of Florida.
Voucher study: A new study finds little evidence that school voucher programs significantly improve student achievement or school district performance. The study, written by Martin Carnoy, a Stanford University professor and research associate at the Washington-based Economic Policy Institute, included evaluations of Florida programs. He wrote that the lack of evidence “suggests that an ideological preference for education markets over equity and public accountability is what is driving the push to expand voucher programs.” Washington Post.
Teachers honored: Evangeline Aguirre, who teaches in the English for Speakers of Other Languages program at Palm Beach Central High in Wellington, is named the Palm Beach County School District's teacher of the year. Palm Beach Post. Sun-Sentinel. Maria Torres-Crosby, a sixth-grade English teacher at Memorial Middle School. is named the Hillsborough County School District's teacher of the year. Tampa Bay Times. (more…)
Graduation rates: The U.S. graduation rate hit a record 82 percent in 2014, according to the U.S. Department of Education. That's up three points from 2011, when the department began calculating the rate by the number of students who graduated with a regular diploma within four years. Florida matched the national average with an 82 percent graduation rate. Minority and low-income students also show gains, but continue to lag behind the average. Education Week.
Retention issues: Sarasota School Superintendent Lori White says the problems with retention for third-graders this year is prompted by the difference in the ways parents are dealing with testing. Last year, she says, the parents complained about the state's standardized testing, and then their children took an alternate test, went to summer school or did more work to bolster a portfolio. This year, a few parents have rejected the options of further testing or submitting a portfolio. Gradebook.
Individualized learning: Patricia Levesque, head of the national Foundation for Excellence in Education and the state-focused Foundation for Florida’s Future, says Florida's leaders should alter education policies to accommodate individualized learning in schools. Her remarks came at an education summit in Orlando, hosted by the Florida Chamber of Commerce. Politico Florida. Also at the conference, hotel developer Harris Rosen encourages other philanthropists to offer free pre-K and college scholarships in low-income neighborhoods. He has financed such a plan in the Tangelo Park neighborhood for the past 22 years. Politico Florida.
AP computer science: Florida is below the national rate for students passing AP computer science passing the AP Computer Science exam, according to the College Board and the National Center for Education Statistics. Bridge to Tomorrow. (more…)
