Learning

Background

Stories about students and the initiatives designed to improve performance. Are the many education reforms Florida has adopted having an impact?

Latest Posts

Follow this topic

October 7, 2011

So You Want To Send Your Kid To A Charter School…

So you think you want to make the switch and send your kid to a charter school, but you don’t know where to start. As a part of our ongoing series on charter schools, we’ve identified the best places you can turn to to help you decide which Florida charter school is best for your child. Find […]

October 4, 2011

Inside Florida Charter School Contracts

Yesterday we looked at some of the misconceptions about how Florida charter schools must operate. Today we’ll take a look at a couple of charter contracts to see the different requests school districts make of charter applicants. Seminole County asked Galileo School for Gifted Learning to abide by the class size limits for district schools, […]

October 3, 2011

Five Misconceptions About Charter Schools

If Michele Gill learned anything from helping open a Seminole County charter school this fall it’s this: Charter schools cannot do anything they want. Despite some public perceptions, Gill said opening Galileo School for Gifted Learning has meant navigating a complicated network of state and federal regulations. Then school leaders have to make sure the […]

September 30, 2011

The Connection Between Handwriting and Reading

Sometimes it’s best to do things old school. That’s a conclusion one could draw from an Indiana University study on the importance of teaching handwriting over keyboard skills, according to a story from our friends at StateImpact Indiana. IU psychology professor Karin James says research shows letter writing activates portions of the brain critical to […]

Feedback Loop: What You Want to Know About Charter Schools

Our ongoing series on charter schools prompted some reader questions this week. Keep the questions coming — we’ll answer them in future posts. SheilaY wanted to know more about how charter schools select their students: Do the requirements differ from school to school? When comparing charter schools to public schools, these questions need to be […]

September 28, 2011

From Minnesota to Miami: The History of Florida Charter Schools

Charter schools are an idea dreamed up by an obscure education professor in the 1970s which have grown into a primary alternative to traditional public schools. One in 17 Florida students attended a charter school last year, a number that has increased almost six-fold in a decade. But where did charter schools come from? Like […]

September 27, 2011

The Three Types of Florida Charter Schools

More than 500 charter schools were scheduled to open this fall in Florida and all of them fit into one of three categories. Experts say no particular type of charter school is more successful than another, but each kind of school has particular strengths and weaknesses. The original charter school model focused on local leaders […]

September 26, 2011

A StateImpact Florida Series: Do Charter Schools Work?

For 15 years Florida has conducted an experiment in public education. The goal was to improve the entire education system by granting charter schools more leeway to innovate. Welcome to StateImpact Florida’s Charter Schools 101 series examining the effect those schools have had on students, teachers, parents and communities — and what comes next. One […]

September 23, 2011

What New ‘No Child Left Behind’ Rules Mean For You

Waiving No Child Left Behind rules will put less emphasis on testing, according to a release from the federal education department. The agency breaks down the impact on the three major parties in the education system. For teachers: ESEA flexibility will move accountability systems toward decisions that are based on student growth and progress. They […]

Feedback Loop: Broward Gets Low Marks for School Supply Extra Credit

Sarah Gonzalez‘ story about Broward County students earning extra credit for purchasing school supplies elicited strong reactions on the StateImpact Florida blog this week. Bombeck strongly disagreed with the extra credit, which is not a district policy: So now they’re teaching students how to buy grades. Very nice. I can see offering some small extra […]

About StateImpact

StateImpact seeks to inform and engage local communities with broadcast and online news focused on how state government decisions affect your lives.
Learn More »

Economy

Oklahoma