So far, the site of the proposed USF Polytechnic campus is little more than a cow pasture. But USF Poly Chancellor Marshall Goodman compares his proposed new school to its neighbor a ways down Interstate 4.
“Now think for a minute about a visionary decades ago,” Goodman told the state Board of Governors. “He came to Florida from another state and what he saw was swampland, mosquitoes and gators. And he bought all of it that it could. And he dreamed of something better in that space: a mouse…Obviously, as a distinctive university, we would be able to develop and grow programs with greater flexibility that we can as a complex organization that has a number of competing interests,” he said.”
A marine science class at South Broward High. Kevius Morgan, center, and Taylor Drake, right.
With budgets for classroom supplies shrinking, some teachers in a South Florida school are promising students an irresistible incentive if they help stock the classroom: better grades.
“The teacher was like, ‘Okay, I’m running out of paper towels and I don’t know how you’re going to dry your hands after you clean them,” said South Broward High School senior Kevius Morgan.
“So if you bring in paper towels you get a letter grade up.”
Morgan ultimately got an A in art class for bringing them in.
At the same school, an Algebra II student said her teacher gave the class a list of supplies like rulers, markers and scrap paper to bring in. “She was like, ‘a letter grade up if you bring in whatever is on that list,” senior Taylor Drake said. She said her final grade went from a C to a B.
Teachers rally in March to protest budget cuts, including requiring teachers to take a three percent pay cut to pay for pensions.
Florida’s teacher union will challenge a law ending long-term contracts and requiring merit pay in court, according to the Associated Press.
The law, known as the Student Success Act or S. 736, was passed this spring. School districts are just starting to design systems to evaluate teachers and pay the highest-rated teachers more.
For more on why the legislature approved the law and what it requires, read this.
What do you think of the new requirements? What do you think of the lawsuit?
Gov. Rick Scott listens at a Miami business roundtable meeting in August. Scott has been circulating a Texas plan designed to quantify college and faculty performance.
Is it possible to evaluate a college professor the same way NFL scouts measure the speed, strength and quickness of college athletes?
The Texas model has sparked a Lone Star backlash from schools concerned the plan forces them to adopt a one-size-fits-all template, undermines research and damages the value of a degree. An organization of the nation’s top research universities has warned members about adopting the Texas reforms.
Supporters say the plan was meant to start a conversation. They believe they achieved that goal.
President Barack Obama unveils his jobs plan Monday at the White House.
President Barack Obama’s jobs bill would pump $1.7 billion dollars into Florida to preserve teacher and first responder jobs, according to details released this week.
Florida would also receive $1.3 billion to modernize and upgrade school facilities. The White House estimates the projects would support 16,600 jobs.
Republican presidential candidates at last week's debate in California. CNN and the Tea Party Express host a debate in Tampa tonight.
If you had to guess, how many of 2012 Republican presidential candidates appearing at this evening’s Tampa debate list education as an issue on their campaign web sites?
Just one: Radio host and former pizza executive Herman Cain.
If past performance is any guide, don’t expect education to be a major issue in this evening’s CNN/Tea Party Express debate. (Particularly with so much recent focus on Social Security).
Textbooks at South Broward High School in Hollywood, Fla. are stacked on the ground, instead of on bookshelves, in order to save money. Broward County school’s $141 million budget deficit is the largest in the state. South Broward High lost six teachers this summer, while other schools, like Cypress Bay High in Weston, Fla. lost up to 40 teachers this summer alone.
The Broward County Public School District instituted a new barcode system to keep better track of textbooks and make sure students return them after the school year. South Borward High’s textbook coordinator estimates the new system has saved the school up to $50,000 in unreturned textbooks.
The video production equipment in the MTV classroom at South Broward High was replaced by stacks and stacks of textbooks after the video production program was cut last school year because of shrinking budgets. Some of the equipment, like the stage lights, were left behind.
Debra Hixon has taught at South Broward High for the past 17 years as a marine science teacher. But before and after school, and during the lunch period, Hixon also works as the school textbook coordinator in order to earn extra income. Broward County teachers are the lowest paid teachers in the state.
A marine science class at South Broward High. Kevius Morgan, center, and Taylor Drake, right.
Taylor Drake, Kevius Morgan and Cristinne Paneit, seniors at South Broward High, say some teachers give them extra credit for bringing in items like markers, rulers, paper and tissues. All three say their final grades increased by a full letter in at least one class. “A lot of teachers do it,” Drake said, whose C grade increased to a B after she brought in classroom materials. “If they see that you’re trying and you’re still struggling and you bring in those items, it will boost you a lot.” Paneit says “its like a raise” for working hard in class.
Kayla Kervin and Elinor Taieb are seniors at Cypress Bay High School in Weston, Fla. where 40 teachers were cut this school year. Taieb says, “some teachers actually request if you can bring some paper in for them because they are limited,” but she says students don’t get any credit for it.
Every school district in Florida is dealing with layoffs and budget cuts. But Broward County in South Florida is facing the largest budget deficit in the state—more than $140 million. And its forced teachers and students in the nation’s 6th largest school district to get creative about spending money.
Students at South Broward High in Hollywood waited in the rain during the first week of school to get inside what used to be the video production classroom. Only, the video production program was cut last school year.
President Barack Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan talk about "Race to the Top" during a stop at a Virginia elementary school last year.
Lawmakers gave a delayed go-ahead this week to compete in the latest round of federal Race to the Top education grants — this time for early childhood education projects. Here’s what to know about the latest version of the federal program to spur education innovation.
1. Another Race to the Top grant?
The federal education department announced in May they would award a $500 million pot of grants to improve education programs for children who have yet to enter kindergarten.The agency is specifically seeking programs which target children in low-income families.
Federal officials believe research proves children who enter school better prepared will be more likely to graduate high school and college. The program also emphasizes workforce development and the ability to measure progress.
Broward County parents need to arrange child care the week of Thanksgiving because schools will be closed.
Got plans for Thanksgiving? If you live in Broward County you might need to reschedule.
Broward County will close schools and furlough teachers on Monday and Tuesday of Thanksgiving week in addition to the traditional Wednesday through Friday holiday.
Parents told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that they will have to scramble to arrange child care. Some cities said they were working on day camps that week.
The Texas Observer story also notes that Pearson products have spread their way throughout the education ecosystem, from science course materials to remedial programs for students who fail to score well on Pearson’s standardized tests.
Pearson, according to the Observer story, is just one high-profile beneficiary of the privatization of public schooling. The story pins blame on the federal No Child Left Behind law, which mandated standardized testing to measure student performance.
The upside, supporters say, is that testing is still the best way for parents to gauge their child’s progress and the quality of their schools.
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