by Lane Wright, editor at Education Post, a nonprofit fostering better conversation for better education. Not that I expect a lot from the TV news media, ever, but the first paragraph of a recent WCTV story struck a nerve: A controversial new bill was signed by Gov. Rick Scott last week. The bill, HB 7069, […]
Before We Hate On All Charter Schools Here’s An Example Why They Are Not The Enemy
I never really understood the charter school vs. district school debate. My goal as a parent was to send my kids to the very best school I could find or afford (district, charter, private, you name it), and work hard to make sure they didn’t become anyone’s educational statistic. Fight mode Today, the hottest news in […]
Letter From Broward Superintendent: All-Call To Governor Rick Scott
In a conversation with Superintendent Runcie a few weeks ago, he said Tallahassee is where the real action happens, not the federal level. He was right in the fact that the decisions made in our state capital are the ones that hit us hardest… and the latest one is a doozy! A letter from the Superintendent hit every […]
Do You Have Hope For Today? Florida’s Big Budget Day
Today, lawmakers in our state capital have to finalize the $83 billion state budget. Of that $20.4 billion goes to education, up from $20.2 billion last year. This is a major disappointment to districts and the senate who worked hard convince legislators to increase per pupil funding. Florida is about half of the national average, and this year’s $24 increase […]
Florida’s Vanishing Students and the Graduation Rate Scam
Last Wednesday, the Florida commissioner of education announced a statewide investigation. Some schools are allegedly manipulating their graduation rates by pushing struggling students, many in their senior year, to switch to alternative schools so they don’t drag down the school’s graduation statistics. If you don’t know, alternative schools exist to help students with behavioral issues, […]
I’m Headed Out On a Mission to Find Who’s Really Educating Poor Kids in Florida
I’m tired of hearing about the achievement gap and the expectation gap, and the brown-kids and poor-kids left behind gap. Seriously. All I hear about are public schools failing our kids, especially kids of color and poor kids (which strongly correlates). It just can’t be that simple. After all, I’ve seen some pretty bad private and charter […]