Parents Fight New Charter School

list-428312_1280This proposed charter  for 1100 students is not needed, Avalon parents say.  Our schools are ‘A’ rated.  Why bring in competing charters?  Kathleen Oropeza posted a petition that parents have created to stop the for-profit Charter USA school from being built.  Over 1100 parents have already signed it.

If the parents are successful in blocking the new charter in their district, they may have to face the approval process by the State Board of Education.  As currently construed, SBE members tend to approve charters even if they are not needed.  The message needs to go beyond local school boards.

When parents get this organized, the legislature might even listen.

 

 

Why The Arts Matter in Schools

rawlings kidsThe arts change how students learn.  Remember when I posted the description of Rawlings Is Singing, and Dancing and Acting and Creating Art?  This school has been one of the lowest achieving in the district.  It was transformed, but the children are still there. Reread the post. Then, watch this video of the school’s first performance.

Rawlings is a traditional public school making a difference in children’s lives and their perceptions of themselves.  The arts focus on the joy in learning. The arts teachers and core curriculum faculty are working together to build students’ academic and behavioral skills in ways that might seem invisible to children, but you can definitely see how it is done.  The teachers describe the process.  It is fun to see.

I do not care what school grade Rawlings has had in the past.  Those grades have little to do with the excellence demonstrated by the teachers and students.  The State must give credit where credit is due.

Florida Gets an ‘F’ Again

FAILED1Which states get it right?  Not Florida.  It was one of eight states that received an overall grade of ‘F’ when its grades were averaged across the categories studied.   The Network for Public Education rated states based on six criteria.

For each category, I combined the percentages of A, B and C grades received across states.  I was surprised at the results.  Relatively few states (11) use test scores to punish students and teachers, but Florida is one of those that do.  You can see the combined percentages (think of them as passing scores) at the end of each of the criteria.

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Academica: For Profit Charter Firm Awards Worthless College Credit

money-40603_1280Academica, the largest charter for profit management firm, strikes again.  This is one of those stories that has sequels.  Last year, I posted a story from the Miami Herald about Doral Academy high school.  It ‘loaned’ $400,000 of public money to Doral College to launch an online dual enrollment program.  Doral College was unaccredited and had no students.  Both the charter high school and the college are operated by Academica. The auditor took exception…again.

 

 

 

 

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2016 Education Budget Battles:

dollar-163473_1280Money talks.  This budget battle speaks volumes about what is important in the legislature this year.  Everyone promises more money to education–sort of.  The biggest issue is over how much of the increase local property taxes must pick up.  Governor Scott allocates 85% of the increase to local communities.  Senator Gaetz has expressed concern about the tax burden on local property taxes.  He is suggesting a 50-50 split between the State budget and the local effort.   There is likely to be about a $175 increase per student which will at least equal the 2007 funding.

This is how the money wars break down:

 

Governor Scott:  $500 million increase with $75 million each for charters and public school facilities

House:                $601 million increase with $90 million for charters and $50 million for public school facilities

Senate:               $650 million increase with $ 50 million only for public schools

There is another battle brewing over funding for school facilities.  As long as so many charters are run by for-profit companies, it is hard to be sympathetic to charter claims that they deserve more public money for their privately owned school buildings.  Representative Fresen is leading the charge for facilities funding for charters this year.  He is trying to discredit public school construction projects.  He argues that the 650 charter schools should receive $90 million for facilities while the nearly 4,000 traditional public schools would receive only $50 million. 

The fact that Representative Fresen’s wife and brother-in-law run Academica, the largest for-profit charter management firm with 100 schools, would not factor into his thinking, of course.  You do remember that these large management firms have their own real estate companies that buy and/or lease facilities to the charter boards.  Some of these leases are over a million dollars per year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

ACTION ALERT: Oppose Bills to Gut School Districts

const amendIt is time to say ‘No’ to constitutional amendments that strip local control of schools.

The League of Women Voters has issued an ACTION ALERT.  Two bills have been filed to amend the Florida Constitution:

HJR 7059 would strip local school district authority to approve charter schools and place the authority in a state controlled charter institute.

HJR 530 would allow cities to withdraw from county school districts and form their own.

We need to OPPOSE these bills.  CLICK HERE to see how.

 

More Money, but Who Pays?

dollar-726881_1280Everyone wants more money for education this year, but where will it come from?  Governor Scott’s plan includes $507 million more, but 85% comes from local property taxes.  The House plan calls for $601 million with 84% from local property taxes.  The Senate plan has a larger increase $650 million, and for now a similar percentage for local effort.  Senator Gaetz, however, will roll out alternative funding formulas that could increase the state share.

 

 

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Collier County Fights Over Textbook Bill

by Judy Palay, Collier County

legislation1Is it OK to read Harry Potter in school?  Collier County has a fight on its school board over the review of instructional materials in schools. Parents on both sides have organized.

There is a bill in the legislature that removes district control of instructional materials.  Judy Palay reports on the conflict and the reasons why many parents oppose SB 1018/HB 899 and others support it.

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