This year, the nation watched as teachers in numerous states began to walk out of schools and storm state capitals demanding better working conditions for themselves and better learning conditions for their students. Many of these states offered no collective bargaining rights yet educators were organized and angry. West Virginia teachers ended their strike after…
This election cycle, Florida voters will choose a new governor, half of the state senate and the entire state house. The winners of these races will shape the future of Florida’s public schools determining school funding, teacher evaluations and pay scales, testing policies, graduation requirements and more. The new governor will choose a Commissioner of…
From WLRN: Under House Budget Plan, No Public School Funding Without Corcoran Education Bill By JESSICA BAKEMAN • JAN 31, 2018 A budget proposal that is advancing in the Legislature would make next year’s funding for Florida’s public schools contingent on the passage of Republican House Speaker Richard Corcoran’s chief education priority: a new voucher directing taxpayer dollars…
My experience with Parent Teacher Home Visit Project was truly eye-opening. I have always known that there is so much more to teaching than simply what goes on in the classroom. We all know the old adage “it all starts at home” but the child’s home life is a very important part of their school…
As the new school year begins, many counties are looking at ways to keep students in class and out of jail by employing the use of civil citations instead of arrests for minor, non-violent offenses. Orange County is one central Florida district pledging to increase their use of civil citations in an intentional effort to…
You advocated for funding for a nurse in every Pinellas County Public School and they listened! This week the Pinellas Board of County Commissioners unanimously voted to provide funding for a school nurse in every public school. The Board acknowledged that the state should pay the costs but agreed to fund the program while still…
In addition to HB 7069, the sweeping 278 page education bill, a few other education related bills were passed this session. According to the National Center for Science Education, HB 989 has the potential to greatly impact science education in the state. Florida’s House Bill 989, aimed at empowering Floridians to object to the use of…
Kids Count 2017, the annual study by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, found that Florida’s children experienced an overall decline in economic well-being. According to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Florida children are falling behind in economic well-being, but enjoyed gains in health, maintaining the state’s rank of 40th out of the 50 states in the latest…
The 2018 election season is already shaping up to be a momentous one for Florida’s public schools. The governor’s office and cabinet positions will be on the ballot along with other seats including the U.S. Senate, House and a slew of State House and Senate races. Every 20 years the Constitution Revision Commission meets and…
Governor Scott signed HB 7069 into law at a private, voucher school in Orlando. It was a fitting setting for a bill that funnels billions of taxpayer dollars into private voucher and charter entities with little to no public oversight. This bill was created by jamming 55 different education bills into one unwieldy, 278 page…