IN THE ZONE: Pinellas created a "success zone" of 20 struggling schools targeted for special assistance. The results have been mixed at best. (Times photo, Douglas Clifford)
MAKE IT BETTER: Fourth- and fifth-graders from Potter Elementary tour their East Tampa neighborhood, then midtown St. Petersburg, in hopes of finding ways to improve their own community.
SUPPORTING CHANGE: The Largo/Mid-Pinellas Chamber of Commerce joins a growing chorus calling for decentralized operations in the school system.
GROWING STRONG: Enrollment in Florida's for-profit colleges has increased 23 percent as the number of institutions also rises, mainly serving older adults seeking additional skills, the Sun-Sentinel reports.
LET THE VOTERS DECIDE: A candidate for Miami-Dade School Board says the nation's fifth-largest school district should have an elected superintendent. Sitting board members say they want to explore the idea, the Miami Herald reports.
ON PROBATION: A troubled Maitland charter school, which faced huge debt amid accusations of financial mismanagement, could win a reprieve and stay open, the Orlando Sentinel reports.
OOPS: The Manatee school district admits it made a mistake in saying it had no knowledge that a star high school football player, who now faces murder charges, had been arrested in 2007, the Bradenton Herald reports.
NO CYBERBULLYING ALLOWED: Leon superintendent Jackie Pons takes a strong stance against online bullying, which played a role in the dismissal of several high school softball coaches, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.
COLLABORATION IN CRESTVIEW: University of West Florida officials seek to work with FAMU as it looks to open a pharmacy school in the north Florida town, the Northwest Florida Daily News reports.
BUDGET ROUNDUP: Flagler will close the day care centers it has operated for employees' children, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reports. FSU gives its employees passes to ride the public bus system for free, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.
AROUND THE NATION: School districts look at more factors than race in the latest wave of integration, the NY Times Magazine reports. The Texas Board of Education allows schools to teach Bible classes, the AP reports.
Visit the Gradebook at noon for an interview with Sami Leigh Scott, the new president of the Pinellas School Advisory Councils Association.
Get inside the world of Florida education with St. Petersburg Times staff writer Jeffrey S. Solochek and the rest of the Times education reporting team. We'll bring you up-to-date information about the latest education trends, fads and news and dig deep into Tampa Bay area school issues.
it comes as no surprise the Pinellas "Success Zone" didn't do much (if anything) to improve student test scores a minority schools.
Superintendent Rudy Crew's Miami-Dade School Improvement Zone had the same results (little to no improvement in FCAT scores) after three years and $107 million down the drain.
Ten years of attempting to "close the achievement gap" has resulted in dismal failure.
Do you think these chuckleheads might come up with some new ideas rather than the same old recycled garbage?
Posted by: terminator | July 19, 2008 at 11:49 AM