State Board of Education member Kathleen Shanahan.
A Florida Senate budget proposal includes money for teacher raises, but the State Board of Education is worried the spending plan does not set aside enough money to expand Internet access at state schools.
The Florida Department of Education says 263 schools lack broadband access while 1,600 schools don’t have the high-speed wireless Internet needed for digital classrooms.
The agency asked for $390.1 million in its budget request to offer schools grants to upgrade their wireless Internet access. The agency requested another $51.7 million to obtain 304,000 computers, tablets or other devices needed for testing.
Board members are worried they haven’t adequately explained why the money is needed — and that they are running out of time as lawmakers begin debating the budget. Legislators are working on a spending plan for the last full budget year before new education standards — known as Common Core State Standards — and accompanying test are scheduled to take effect in the fall of 2014.
Internet access will be important as Florida schools switch to Common Core and replace the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test with online exams. In addition, a state law requires Florida schools deliver half of their instruction digitally beginning in the fall of 2015.
“They’re not there at all,” board member Kathleen Shanahan said at Tuesday’s meeting. “We have our responsibilities to be ready for Common Core…we haven’t made our case.
A screenshot of the Florida Virtual Academy website. The schools are affiliated with K12, Inc.
A network of online charter schools tied to education firm K12, Inc. will not seek to open schools in Marion, Orange and Seminole counties next year, The Orlando Sentinel reports.
A lawyer representing Florida Virtual Academy said the schools would not be able to open by next fall if the local school districts continued to oppose the schools. The charter schools plan to apply again in those districts.
Lissette Marquez (C) who said she was laid off in February from her nursing job and Amiel Ali who said he has been out of work since October 2012, look for job opportunities with the help of South Florida Workforce customer service representative, Nelson Munoz (L) February 1, 2013 in Miami, Florida.
It’s a statistic that’s not lost on University of South Florida President Judy Genshaft.
“I would like to add another “M” to the STEM because it’s science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medical degrees,” Genshaft said. “The job markets are there. We have many new companies looking for the workforce in STEM degrees.”
Both the House and Senate have set aside less for education in their budgets than Gov. Rick Scott. Rep. Erik Fresen says the House budget will include a teacher raise, but would not say how much teachers would get.
Florida House and Senate leaders have set aside less money for education in their initial budget outlines than did Gov. Rick Scott.
Both House and Senate leaders have expressed doubts about Scott’s $480 million plan to give teachers a $2,500 across-the-board raise. Scott’s budget would have spent $14.3 billion on education.
“The Florida College System — which last year awarded almost 106,000 degrees and certificates – was built, in part, to bolster the economic foundation of our state,” said St. Johns River State College President Joe Pickens at a Capitol news conference.
He said a new study shows how well the system is living up to its mission.
The system’s Council of Presidents hired Economic Modeling Specialists International to conduct an economic impact study.
The findings show the Florida colleges pump nearly $27 billion a year into the state’s economy.
“They do this by producing well-educated graduates who are better prepared to become high-income earners,” Pickens said.
School media specialists will play an increasingly important role as schools focus more on high-quality texts due to Common Core standards.
Pasco County media specialists are rallying Tuesday to oppose a proposal that would restructure their job duties and shift many from library and technology support roles to the classroom.
The school district is facing a $23 million shortfall in the 2013-2014 school year.
In the old days media specialists were known as librarians. They still manage the library, but they’re also teaching students how to use PowerPoint and other software essential for school and business.
Media specialists also keep school technology running smoothly.
“Who’s going to take care of the iPads and the iPods…and run to the classroom when teachers have the iPads and none of them are seeing the network and they can’t get online?” asked Marilyn Shafer, a media specialist at Gulf Middle School in New Port Richey. “[A teacher’s] whole lesson has fallen apart unless somebody can respond immediately.”
School district spokeswoman Linda Cobbe said the district is reorganizing its media specialists, rewriting the position requirements. If the school board accepts Browning’s budget proposal, the district would still have 30 media specialists working regionally among schools. The district currently has 58 media specialists.
A Georgetown report found "that STEM talent winds up outside of STEM occupations because STEM jobs often do not fully satisfy individual social and entrepreneurial interests."
Curtis Nyarko is putting in a lot of late nights followed by early mornings at the lab – hoping to snare a high wage job in a high-tech field.
Nyarko is a junior at Florida State University majoring in biology. He wants to stay in Florida and pursue a career in medicine.
Nyarko says his STEM degree — science, technology, engineering and math — will be worth it.
“This degree is not an easy degree at all. But at the end of it all when you have your career – and it’s a good career – it is worth it,” Nyarko said. “You know, nothing great comes without great sacrifice.”
Jacqueline Arbelez also hopes to attend medical school in-state. She’s studying animal biology at the University of South Florida.
“I’ve heard that having a major in the STEM field guarantees you a spot in the industries after you graduate. You’ll have a stable job. That’s what I look forward to,” Arbelez said. “I can enjoy my major as well as look forward to finding something stable after I graduate, even if I don’t get into medical school.”
Rep. Dennis Baxley says opponents of the charter school bill may have an underlying bias against alternative forms of education.
The fact that the House budget committee approved a charter school bill Thursday isn’t nearly as interesting as the debate that took place.
Rep. George Moraitis, R-Fort Lauderdale, said his bill is designed to increase accountability for charter schools – since they are using public dollars – and increase flexibility and growth.
Rep. Mia Jones, D-Jacksonville, suggested a small change to an amendment that would require districts to turn former classrooms over to a charter school if requested. Jones wanted district schools to be able to continue using the buildings — if they were storing textbooks there, for instance — even if it was for a purpose other than teaching students.
The great debate over Jones’ proposal epitomizes the perceived rift between Democrat and Republican views of education.
Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, started it with this sentence: “There’s an underlying bias here that really concerns me.”
But the group is a little less secretive Friday after posting hundreds of pieces of “model legislation” online. The bills are templates lawmakers can adapt in order to pass legislation in their home states.
“At its core, democracy is a participatory process where ideas are shared and the best ideas are advanced,” Ron Scheberle, ALEC’s executive director said in a press release. “The Council and its task forces provide a unique opportunity for legislators to learn from their counterparts from around the country.”
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