Florida schools are in the midst of switching to new, tougher education standards adopted by 45 states and the District of Columbia. Known as Common Core State Standards, educators say the new requirements will not only ask students what they know but require them to demonstrate how they know it. Wednesday night, St. Petersburg College […]
Gov. Rick Scott wants teachers to get a $2,500 raise in next year’s state budget. But Scott’s proposal will cause some problems for state budget writers facing down other big-ticket education requests. Chief among them is the $441.8 million the state Department of Education has requested to upgrade school technology. The upgrades are needed as […]
Driver Gwendolyn Tillman doesn’t usually get between students fighting on the school bus. “Usually if there are some other guys on the bus and the guys have respect for the bus drivers, the other young men on the bus will pull them apart,” Tillman said. If nobody pulls the kids apart, bus drivers are instructed […]
Florida’s new education commissioner made his debut before the House Education Appropriations Subcommittee this morning. Tony Bennett clearly knows how to schmooze the folks responsible for funding his office. Bennett began by telling the 13-member committee he has been an admirer from afar. “I was taught at a very young age that you can always […]
Two Florida Senate committees will discuss ideas to improve school safety and security in Tallahassee this week. It’s an issue that is suddenly considered a priority for lawmakers. Districts have been reviewing their security procedures since 26 people were killed – most of them students – inside Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. last […]
Reinforced entry gates. School resource officers in elementary schools. Teachers with guns. Politicians, pundits and school officials have tossed around ideas how to beef up security since the horrific school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut last month. The Florida Legislature will be asked to increase security funding for school districts when it convenes in March. Dr. […]
Kiplinger is starting 2013 with a list of “Best Values in Public Colleges.” The personal finance magazine put six Florida institutions in its Top 100 list. The Florida Board of Governors is touting the list, saying “access to an affordable higher education leads to brighter futures for hundreds of thousands of students. As they graduate […]
We’re wrapping up 2012, which means it’s time to peer into the crystal ball for what’s coming up in 2013. Florida’s new education commissioner is likely to be the big story, but Common Core is on the horizon as well. Here’s what we’ll be watching for in the next year. Tony Bennett – Florida’s education […]
In a rare show of unanimity, Florida’s university presidents say they won’t pursue a tuition increase this year if the state will give them more funding. The presidents came together at the Capitol Wednesday to announce the Aim Higher Campaign. “Fundamentally, the system is underfunded…compared to the rest of the country,” University of North Florida […]
The new members of a House education budget panel got a lesson today in how to do their jobs. It’s information the Florida House Education Appropriations Subcommittee will need before starting the work of crafting a massive education budget for 2013-14. The state’s education budget this year is $20.3-billion. That’s 29 percent of Florida’s $70-billion […]
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