The ice bucket challenge had a life of its own, going viral and raising more money for ALS than the organization knew how to handle. This is not that kind of challenge. The Florida Citizen’s Alliance got a win by allowing any resident (parent or not) to challenge books used in classrooms, if they find […]
Broward Wins For More Career, Technical and Adult Ed Teachers!
Broward County Public Schools was recently named one of 5 schools to receive a $750,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The dollars will allow BCPS to attract and retain more high school teachers in career and technical education. This aligns with Superintendent Runcie’s BESTT (Broward Education Superior Technology Teachers) program, intended to grow […]
What The Iraq War And These Jax Charter Schools Have In Common
Lane Wright is a father of three in Tallahassee, former press secretary for Governor Rick Scott, and current editor for Education Post, a national education nonprofit focused on creating better conversations around improving our schools. Reach him on Twitter @lanewrightme Crosspost from The Capitolist. To say Arrealious Preston struggled in school would be an understatement. He […]
Parents Helping Parents- BRILLIANT!
Los Angeles schools have over 500 parent centers inside schools, staffed by paid parents! All the usual stuff we know about parent engagement is happening, but there are a few unexpected uses also. Parents sampling new standardized tests and rolling out the new online school dashboard are among the cool ways the district is sharing […]
When Legends Support Innovative Teachers
John Legend says half his freshman class made it 4 years to graduation. He not only graduated second in that class, but went on to college on a scholarship. Now as a successful songwriter, he attributes his success to teachers who believed in him. Now, he’s cofounded LRNG Innovators to fund great teachers leading exciting […]
“Voices4Ed” Is A Different Conversation ((PodCast Alert!!))
When smart people bring their vision to life to illuminate the voices of students, parents and teachers. Ikhlas Saleem and Lane Wright launch Voices4Ed to talk about what’s really happening in our public education. This episode features Sharif El-Mekki, co-founder of The Fellowship: Black Male Educators for Social Justice Vincent Cob II at the Inaugural […]
Trick or Treat! Oh, Sorry…These Reading Scores Are Actually NOT A Halloween Prank.
Great story in the Tennessean from my friend Vesia Hawkins. She puts a very real face to the crisis of literacy in her home town of Tennessee, where only a THIRD of kids in 3rd-8th grade are reading proficient. I had to share this story for so many reasons: Broward has been addressing this very […]
Suit Filed!
It’s done. Broward filed the lawsuit against Florida’s HB 7069 on Monday, 10/16. Twelve districts joined Broward in calling out the new law for unconstitutionally increasing the authority of charter “Schools of Hope,” while lowering their accountability and threatening school funding. But, supporters of HB 7069 say it’s about time low performing traditional public schools […]
The Education Aftershock As SoFlo Accepts Students From Puerto Rico
The Florida Department of Education (FDOE) just said “they ain’t payin”, so go figure it out SoFlo!” An October 6th announcement from the FDOE says only schools that hit high enrollment of Puerto Rican students displaced by Hurricane Maria will get state help. Hialeah Republican Rep. Manny Diaz Jr., the House Pre-K-12 education budget chairman, […]
Teacher Tug-O-War!: Palm Beach Lures From Broward & Martin County
Is the teacher shortages crisis getting so real that counties are stealing from each other?? YUP! Palm Beach County Schools direct-mailed teachers in Broward and Martin counties. “… at the end of the year luncheon at Embassy Creek [Broward], all the teachers were asking if I gave their names to Palm Beach County,” Hilton said. […]