Dual enrollment: Florida school superintendents want to convince the Legislature to stop charging school districts tuition and other state college costs for dual-enrollment students. Tampa Bay Times.

Virtual school: Florida Virtual School's full-time high school was two points away from earning an A this year, netting a B the first time the online school qualified for a grade under Florida's annual A-to-F report card. Orlando Sentinel.

Charter schools: Hillsborough school officials meet to discuss options to head off a charter school on MacDill Air Force Base. The Tampa Tribune.

School grades: Schools superintendents for Escambia and Santa Rosa counties are among those weighing in on Florida’s current accountability system before the state’s education commissioner. Pensacola News-Journal.

School safety: Leon County teachers and district officials seek to end rumors about school violence. Tallahassee Democrat.

Teacher pay: The hearing that may resolve the impasse between the Orange County teachers union and district over raises gets off to a rocky start. Orlando Sentinel.

Class size: All Central Florida traditional public schools met the state's class-size rules this year. Orlando Sentinel.

After school: The Salvation Army of Naples acquires 3 acres on Airport-Pulling Road South for a new youth center and gymnasium to provide at-risk children with a safe after-school environment. Naples Daily News.

School calendar: The Pasco County School Board signs off on next school year's calendar, which includes the entire week off for Thanksgiving. The Tampa Tribune.

Lawsuit: The Lake County School Board faces a federal lawsuit again accusing the district of violating students' freedom of speech and federal rights by not allowing a middle-schooler to start a gay-straight club. Orlando Sentinel.

Conduct: A Tampa police school resource officer who had sex at least eight times over nearly two months with a teenage student is arrested and fired. Tampa Bay Times.

School grades: None of Broward County's high schools received poor grades, and all but three received A's or B's. Sun Sentinel. Fewer Palm Beach County schools got A's and B's this year and more got D's and F's. Sun Sentinel. Miami-Dade schools received many A's and no F's. Miami Herald. For the first time since Florida started grading schools in 1999, no Polk high schools got a grade of D or F. The Ledger. High schools across Central Florida and the rest of the state earned more A's and B's this year than ever before. Orlando Sentinel. Space Coast high schools earn A's and B's. Florida Today. Among the 44 high schools on the First Coast, 33 received an A or B. Florida Times-Union. More high schools than ever — 240, or 48 percent — earned A grades, while the number of F-graded schools rose from 3 to 8. Tampa Bay Times. All 16 Pinellas County public high schools got A's or B's. The Tampa Tribune. Fourteen of Hillsborough’s traditional high schools earned the top grade, nine received B’s and four received C’s. The Tampa Tribune.

Urban assessments: New testing data shows Hillsborough County schools beat the performance of other large urban school districts in math and reading. Miami-Dade fourth grade readers outscored other large urban districts, but were on par in eighth grade reading and fourth and eighth grade math. StateImpact Florida.

Charter schools: Supporters of a charter school for MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa plan to appeal the Hillsborough school board's decision to deny the proposal. redefinED.

Private schools: A Palm Beach Christian high school faces closure if organizers can't solve a financial dilemma. Palm Beach Post.

Magnet schools: JetBlue Foundation awards Polk schools, including the Central Aerospace Academy, with a $25,000 grant. The Ledger.

School spending: Lake County School Board members approve a plan to redirect $21 million of district cash over the next three years to help struggling students and improve teaching programs. Orlando Sentinel.

School safety: Hillsborough County School Board members approve having armed guards in elementary schools. Tampa Bay Times. More from The Tampa Tribune.

It’s the benchmark for long-term academic success - having every student reading at grade level or higher by the end of third grade. And it’s the lofty mission of a new reading program for Catholic school students developed by the University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education Academies.

ACE Readers is working with five Catholic schools in Arizona and Florida to beef up reading programs by purchasing hundreds of books for classrooms, sponsoring summer camps and giving teachers learning strategies that help target instruction. There also is a learning specialist assigned to each region to assist teachers and principals with training, and with implementation of tests and lesson plans.

The undertaking is funded by the big-box chain Target and orchestrated by ACE, an outreach program that trains future Catholic school teachers and administrators to strengthen the schools and the communities they serve. ACE Readers is an extension of that effort, with an eye on eliminating the achievement gaps that plague at-risk students.

“Literacy skills and reading ability are at the core of what kids need to know to do well at school,’’ said Christian Dallavis, senior director of leadership programs at ACE. “Our focus is on reading because we believe that without it, students don’t have the tools they need to succeed in high school, college and beyond. We want them to learn to read so they can read to learn.’’

Accomplishing that feat also helps with other goals – reviving Catholic schools and giving parents more high-quality options, Dallavis said.

“Having strong fundamentals like reading, math and other instruction has driven our enrollment up and provided more revenue to restore P.E., music and art – classes that had to be cut when the budget was to the bone,’’ he said. “It’s allowed us to be able to offer students and parents more.’’ (more…)

Charter schools: University Preparatory Academy in Pinellas County names a new principal, a public school transformation coach from North Carolina. Tampa Bay Times. The Lake Wales Charter Schools board of trustees approves a pay bump for more than 400 instructional and non-instructional personnel. The Ledger.

Magnet schools: Pinellas County School Board members explore reopening two shuttered schools, turning them into technology centers. The Tampa Tribune.

FCAT: Five standardized test makers formally apply to help create a replacement for the FCAT by 2015, and a sixth also wants to be considered for the job. Orlando Sentinel.

GED: StateImpact Florida looks at the growing alternatives to the GED.

Lobbyists: Contract extensions of two longtime lobbyists that the Palm Beach County School Board approved and then rescinded are back before the board. Palm Beach Post.

Outsourcing: The Broward County School Board will vote today on the first big piece of its construction outsourcing plan that already is generating controversy. Miami Herald.

Job switch: Hernando County's superintendent moves her assistant superintendent to the district's manager of warehouse and purchasing. Tampa Bay Times.

Wish lists: The Polk County School Board offers up its legislative priorities, with a "critical needs'' tax at the top of the list. The Ledger. (more…)

Common Core: The quick rollout of the new education standards in South Florida has some educators worried that students still trying to learn English could be left behind. Sun Sentinel. Catholic schools are quietly embracing the Common Core. The Tampa Tribune.  Religious schools are mindful of the new standards but some are also proceeding with caution. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

More on PISA: The stagnant results from the PISA test ought to be a warning that we are not getting the job done. And our kids deserve better, writes the Palm Beach Post.

School safety: Across the country, parents and educators are saying or thinking the same thing: How do we make schools and children safer? Florida Times-Union.

Funding: Hernando County  board members breathe new life into an effort to increase funding and challenge parts of the state's complex funding formula, the Florida Education Finance Program or FEFP. Tampa Bay Times.

Retention: The number of third-graders in Southwest Florida being held back a grade have decreased, yet, good cause exemptions are on the rise. Fort Myers News-Press.

Fine arts: Research shows the more arts courses Florida students enroll in, the more likely they are to take the SAT and score well on standardized tests. And conversely, students who appear to be struggling academically generally take fewer arts courses than their peers. StateImpact Florida.

AVID: The international program expects a lot from students, who take honors and Advanced Placement classes to prepare for college, a goal many of the students might not have considered otherwise. The Tampa Tribune.

Grad rates: While graduation rates at seven of the Treasure Coast’s 13 high schools worsened last year, the majority of schools have seen their rates rise since 2011. TC Palm. (more…)

Charter schools: The Orange County school district ties for 10th nationally for "highest growth" in charter school enrollment the past two years. Orlando Sentinel.

Career academies: The Clearwater Aeronautical Space Academy will allow Pinellas high school students to earn 30 college credits from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and complete Private Pilot Ground School. The Tampa Tribune.

FLVS: Florida Virtual School offers students flexibility when they need it. Florida Watchdog.org.

Private schools: St. John’s Episcopal Day School in Tampa donates 3,200 pounds of food to a local shelter. The Tampa Tribune.

Standardized tests: Creating an environment where students are expected to stretch their performance is the best way to assure that our nation will not be at risk, writes Michael A. MacDowell for the Fort Myers News-Press.

Achievement gaps: Florida has strong gains among White students and even stronger gains among Black students, proving once again that the Florida reform cocktail is as a highly beneficial beverage, writes Matthew Ladner for EdFly.

Finances 101: A coalition of Florida lawmakers says money matters and schools need to do a better job teaching students about finances. The Florida Current. "The Money Course" will require a half-credit, full semester financial literacy course starting next fall. Sun Sentinel. More from the Tallahassee Democrat.

Grad rates: Broward County's high school graduation rate dropped slightly in 2013, from 76.4 to 75.3. Sun Sentinel. Palm Beach County's overall graduation rate was 76.3 percent, compared to 77 percent the year before. Statewide, 75.6 percent of students graduated. Sun Sentinel. The slight drop in graduation rates for Palm Beach County is at least partly on the shoulders of the charter schools. Palm Beach Post. Polk graduated 69.4 percent of its seniors in school year 2012-13, a 2.6 percent increase over 2011-12's rate. The Ledger. More from the Orlando Sentinel, Florida Today, Florida Times-Union, Tallahassee Democrat and the Tampa Bay Times. (more…)

Charter schools: A proposed charter school for MacDill Air Force Base doesn't get the superintendent's approval, but the Hillsborough County School Board still could vote in favor of the project. redefinED. More from Tampa Bay Times and  The Tampa Tribune. Only about three months after opening its doors, west Boynton Beach charter school Franklin Academy is already on the hunt for a new principal. Palm Beach Post. The principal of Imagine Schools Lakewood Ranch in Manatee County returns to work after the State Attorney's Office determines she will not  face charges for failure to report suspected child abuse. Bradenton Herald.

Magnet schools: Pinellas County's superintendent proposes reopening two elementary schools, closed by the district just five years ago, as technology magnet schools. Tampa Bay Times.

Teacher evals: Count me among those skeptical that nearly 60 percent of Brevard teachers are “highly effective,” writes Matt Reed for Florida Today. Scholar Diploma and teacher evaluations are two state programs joining a long list of empty initiatives that accomplish nothing other than some politically appealing headlines for policymakers — some of whom might not be in office when the impacts hit, says the Naples Daily News. No evaluation system is perfect, but neither is every teacher. The public shouldn't stand for the kind of grade inflation for teachers that wouldn't be tolerated for students, says The Gainesville Sun.

School safety: More security guards are not needed in the Hillsborough public schools and could contribute to discrimination against minority students, says the American Civil Liberties Union. Tampa Bay Times.

Common Core: While the transition will be challenging, never before have our standards contained the coherence, rigor and depth of understanding the CCSS brings to us, writes teacher Peggy Brookins for the Ocala Star-Banner.

College prep: Survey results from the PISA show most of the nearly 2,000 Florida teenagers who took the test are “satisfied” with their schooling and feel they’ll be prepared for college as long as they put forth the necessary effort. On the other hand, Sunshine State students are more likely to skip school than their U.S. and international peers and nearly 30 percent say school “does little to prepare me for adult life.” Miami Herald. (more…)

Charter schools: Lee County administrators are putting greater scrutiny on charter applicants and state officials have tightened requirements to open schools. Naples Daily News.

School safety: The Broward school district has allowed police officers to live rent-free on some school grounds since the 1980s as a way to provide after-hours safety, but there's no proof the program is still effective. Sun Sentinel. A dozen educators from Pinellas and Hillsborough counties come to a martial arts studio to learn what they can do to stop a tragedy. The Tampa Tribune.

Teacher pay: It's time for the Palm Beach County school district and teachers union to sign an agreement for pay raises, writes Rick Christie for the Palm Beach Post.

Testing: Florida's next generation of standardized tests moves a step closer to adoption when the state gets a look at the players that want to create FCAT's replacement. Orlando Sentinel.  Are Florida high school students really as unprepared for the job market and college as recent PISA tests results suggest? Local and state civic and business leaders say yes, but educators are starting to address the problem. Tampa Bay Times. Changes to the GED are causing concerns. StateImpact Florida.

Teacher evals: Almost half of Polk County's classroom teachers receive a "highly effective" rating and the rest of evaluations that have been submitted so far are rated "effective.'' The Ledger. Rosy teacher evals contradict student progress. The Tampa Tribune.

After school: Pinellas County seeks college students to staff afterschool programs. Tampa Bay Times.

School spending: A group of community activists urges the Broward school district to reduce the costs of its in-house lawn mowing services by hiring an outside company. Sun Sentinel.

College prep: Too many students are arriving to college unprepared, writes Ed Moore, president and CEO of the Independent Colleges & Universities of Florida, for the Tampa Bay Times.
(more…)

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. (more…)

Charter schools: A former chairman of the Florida Board of Regents and a founder of the Lake Wales Charter School System speaks out about the success of charters. The Ledger.

Magnet schools: Students attending a Miami architectural magnet high school design homes for the homeless. Miami Herald. Increased competition for students, declining enrollment in the middle grades, and a need to offer more attractive options to families is leading Pinellas County Schools to open new magnet programs. Tampa Bay Times.

School choice: Parents and students tell Pasco school officials that the district needs to take into account student interests when preparing new academic offerings. Tampa Bay Times.

Academic gap: After years of struggling to close the achievement gap between black and white students, the newest round of SAT scores show signs of improvement. The Tampa Tribune.

GED: Starting Jan. 2, the new GED test will be offered only on the computer and will be nearly twice as expensive as the current one — $130 compared to $70. The Tampa Tribune. (more…)