Four Hernando schools to get new principals

BROOKSVILLE — Central High School will soon have its next principal – and so will three other Hernando schools.

Joe Clifford, currently principal at J.D Floyd K-8 in Spring Hill, will take the empty seat at Central left by Dennis McGeehan, interim superintendent Sonya Jackson announced in an e-mail to district staffers Tuesday.

Jackson last month tapped McGeehan to lead the new, yet-to-be named high school north of Weeki Wachee set to open next fall.

Clifford, 58, is a veteran Hernando schools employee who started as a teacher in 1979. His selection created a chain reaction of administrative moves, also announced by Jackson on Tuesday.

Ray Pinder, in his first year as principal at Explorer K-8 in Spring Hill, will head to Floyd. And John Stratton, in his first year at the STAR Education Center in Brooksville, takes the empty seat at Explorer.

Jackson didn’t announce who would take over at STAR and didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment Tuesday.

“I’m confident in the leadership abilities of these principals to ensure a smooth transition,” Jackson wrote in Tuesday’s e-mail.

Obama: 'What matters most is how badly you want a good education'

President Obama, in a speech to middle school students in Wisconsin today:

And the main message that I just wanted to deliver to you is, every single one of you could be doing the same kinds of things that Arne is doing or I'm doing or you could be running a company or you can be inventing a product or you could -- look, anything you can imagine, you can accomplish, but the only way you do it is if you're succeeding here in school.  And we are spending a lot of money to try to improve school buildings and put computers in and make sure that your teachers are well trained and that they are getting the support they need.

So we're working really hard to try to reform the schools, but ultimately what matters most is how badly you want a good education.  If you think that somehow somebody is just going to -- you can tilt your head and somebody is going to pour education in your ear, that's just not how it works.  The only way that you end up being in a position to achieve is if you want it, if inside you want it.

Obama also gave a more formal speech today about Race to the Top.

(Official White House photo by Chuck Kennedy.)

St. Petersburg schools are improving, FCAT scores show

Many St. Petersburg residents think the city’s schools have gotten worse over the past five years, as a St. Petersburg Times poll revealed this week. But a quickie Gradebook rundown of FCAT scores shows, on the whole, that St. Petersburg schools have actually gotten better over that time period.

There are 38 traditional public schools, including magnet schools and fundamental schools (but not counting charters and alternative schools), that are either within the city limits or count a majority of St. Petersburg kids as residents.

In reading, 27 of them have raised the percentage of students scoring at grade level or above since 2005, while nine have posted declines and two have stayed flat. Believe it or not, that includes five of six St. Petersburg middle schools, with only Bay Point Middle failing to make gains.

Attorney says Hernando School Board should fire teacher who smoked pot

BROOKSVILLE — The judge is wrong. Fire the teacher who smoked pot.

That’s the recommendation to the Hernando School Board from board attorney Paul Carland for how to handle Michael Provost, the Parrott Middle School health teacher who tested positive for marijuana in March after admitting to off-campus use of the drug.

An administrative law judge was incorrect in his interpretation of the law when he determined last month that the district did not have legal authority to fire Provost, Carland says. The ruling is not binding, so Carland and interim school superintendent Sonya Jackson are recommending that the Board fire Provost anyway.

“The superintendent feels strongly that based upon our current policy and application of law, under the circumstances it’s appropriate to terminate his employment,” Carland said Thursday.

Florida scores stall on national math test

After years of steady gains, Florida math scores stalled this year on a respected national test, according to results released this morning. But because scores in other states didn't budge much either, Florida's overall rankings actually improved.

The math component of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, better known as the "nation's report card," is periodically given to a statistically representative sample of fourth- and eighth-graders across the country.

This year, 86 percent of Florida’s fourth-graders scored at the basic level or above, the same percentage that did so when the test was last given in 2007. Back then, Florida's fourth-grade performance put it in a tie with one other state at No. 16. Now it's in a five-way tie at No. 12, with Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio and South Dakota.

National survey: Middle schools hostile to gay students

A new national survey suggests middle schools can be downright hellish for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender kids. Among its findings:

* 91 percent of LGBT middle school students said they often or frequently heard the term "gay" used in a derogatory way.

* 82 percent said they often or frequently heard homophobic epithets from other students.

* 63 percent said they heard the school staff make homophobic remarks.

Sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, the survey is billed as the "first national research to look specifically at the experiences of LGBT students in middle school."

The New York Times Magazine recently ran this cover story about "coming out" in middle school.

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Too much homework for gifted kids?

Nearly a third of the parents whose sixth graders are in the new gifted program at Thurgood Marshall Fundamental Middle School in St. Petersburg say yes, according to the results of this recent survey.

The parents were given the statement, "The amount of homework is appropriate for the level of work expected and is appropriate for the gifted students." Thirty-two percent agreed and 24 percent strongly agreed, but 31 percent either disagreed or strongly disagreed. Some parents expressed their frustration with the homework load at a meeting last week.

On other questions about the new program, overwhelming majorities of parents agreed things were going well. Seventy-seven percent, for example, agreed the new program "provides academic rigor appropriate to your child's learning needs," while only 6 percent disagreed.

Florida's new P.E. law: Please buy in

As Florida middle schoolers head back to classes this month, they face yet another requirement on their time. Fearing childhood obesity, lawmakers now want sixth- through eighth-graders taking daily physical education courses.

Families can opt out if their kids meet certain requirements. Rhonda F. Banks, president of the state's Physical Education Association, urges them not to do so.

In a piece for the Orlando Sentinel, Banks says children can benefit from the new rule, but schools and communities must take it seriously rather than trying to find ways around it. Among her suggestions:

• Have certified physical educators teach the classes.
• Keep the class sizes to 25 kids.
• Don't waive the requirement.

"Should physical education be mandatory?" she writes. "According to the U.S. government in its recently released set of guidelines, adolescents should participate daily in at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity. A better question is: How can we help our students grow into healthy, active adults who value physical activity."

Here's hoping the schools have figured out how to fit it in.

(Times file photo)

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Still wanted: One principal for West Hernando Middle School

BROOKSVILLE — After narrowing down a field to two finalists, the school district is once again accepting applications for the top spot at West Hernando Middle School.

The principal’s job had been re-posted on the district’s Web site by Monday afternoon. The application period closes Tuesday, Aug. 11.

School superintendent Wayne Alexander did not return a call seeking comment by deadline Monday evening.

Civics and justice for all!

Enough of legislators being called Congressman So-and-So, says Rep. Charles McBurney, R-Jacksonville. Let's teach Florida's youth about government and its history by requiring civics class for all middle school students.

McBurney's stalled efforts were resurrected Thursday when the requirement was tucked into two bills that passed the House. It would apply to all middle school students beginning with those entering grade 6 in the year 2011-12.

It's been a long road for McBurney, who has pushed the measure since shortly after 8 a.m. Nov. 19, 2008, the first day bills could be filed for the 2009 session.

After it was postponed at committee last month, he talked up the effort, got a timely endorsement from former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, renamed it the Sandra Day O’Connor Civic Education Act and reintroduced it Thursday as an amendment on two bills.
 
“I would have put it on a transportation bill if I thought it could help,” he said, expressing reasonable hope that the Senate would adopt the measure, too.

Senate education panels approve budgets

By unanimous votes, the Senate preK-12 and higher education appropriations committees approved proposed budgets for the 2009-10 school year today, with both panels touting little or no net reductions to funding.

In preK-12, per-student funding holds steady at the 2008-09 level of $6.860.36. This is achieved primarily by using federal stimulus funds and by including money from a proposed gaming compact. Outside of per-student funding, programs take a 15 percent cut.

"It's painful, it's difficult and it's not over," said committee chairman Stephen Wise, R-Jacksonville.

In higher education, the committee started by passing Sen. Ken Pruitt's bill to allow all state universities to raise tuition by as much as 15 percent every year until they reach the national average. Revenue from that measure, as well as an 8 percent hike in community college tuition, staves off some cuts.  

Members of both committees expressed concern over banking on stimulus money and an unapproved gaming compact, with Sen. Jim King, R-Jacksonville, asking his higher education colleagues whether there's a "fallback plan."

Panel chair Evelyn Lynn, R-Ormond Beach, said there are a variety of proposals floating around that could close such a gap, but admitted: "We would be in a huge hole if we didn't get those dollars."

In K-12, chair Wise said it "becomes problematic" without those extra dollars.

House panel touts increase in per-student funding

The House PreK-12 Appropriations Committee released details of its proposed budget this afternoon with an increase in per-student funding of $30.10, from $6,860.36 in 2008-09 to $6,890.46 proposed for 2009-10.

Chairman Anitere Flores, R-Miami, explained that the goal going in was to "protect per-student funding as much as possible," and they fully expected a reduction in the 3 to 5 percent range. Instead, Flores said they worked hard to present the "minor increase to per-student funding." (See also her talking points. And the Democrats' response.)

More than $800 million in stimulus funds was added to the K-12 budget allocation. And, the plan is to shift 0.25 from the capital millage to the discretionary operating millage, although districts would be able to opt out of the move. Flores said that shift will generate $380 million for student funding.

Committee members had lots of questions, including Rep. Gwyn Clarke-Reed, D-Deerfield Beach, who asked whether they had "just shifted stuff around" to make it look like per-student funding wasn't being reduced.

Aside from per-student funding categories, some $22 million in cuts are proposed to such programs as voluntary pre-K (2 percent), mentoring (30 percent) and teacher development (20 percent). A 30 percent reduction was called for based on the allocation ($177.3 million), but stimulus funds cut the gap.

A number of issues are addressed in a conforming bill, which was to be released soon. A lot of the proposals mirror some from the Senate, like lowering school board member salaries to match legislators' pay, changing the 180-day school year to an hourly equivalent to make room for four-day weeks and giving districts more flexibility for spending money.

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Making the grades: A means A, darn it (and F means F)

Here's a memo the Florida Department of Education shouldn't have had to send out:

"In the past few months, several instances have been brought to our attention that schools or districts are utilizing a grading scale at the middle school, high school or district level that does not comply with the grading scales specified in Florida Statute."

It seems a number of schools have been ignoring the part of our well-established law that says you get an F for a score of 0 to 59. Perhaps it has something to do with the philosophy in some places that the range for an F is too large to overcome.

Just for clarity, the scale looks like this:

• Grade A equals 90 to 100 percent
• Grade B equals 80 to 89 percent
• Grade C equals 70 to 79 percent
• Grade D equals 60 to 69 percent
• Grade F equals zero to 59 percent
• Grade I equals zero percent

Got it?

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Be them scholarships or vouchers, bill moves forward

Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, made an impassioned defense before the House PreK-12 Policy Committee today for HB453, his bill to expand a state school choice program that provides scholarships to children from low-income families.

Saying the Corporate Income Tax Credit Program has saved the state $40 million with nearly 24,000 students participating, Weatherford said, "I can't think of a better program in the state of Florida when it comes to education."

Plenty of people in attendance appeared to disagree with that sentiment, including Democratic committee members Martin Kiar of Davie and Dwight Bullard of Miami.

Sen. Wise scholarship plan plods along

With the state budget being cut and cut and cut again, good education programs are either being whacked or whittled (reading coaches), offered up for a delay (virtual schooling) or starting to look like those snowballs in hell (longer school day). But state Sen. Stephen Wise, R-Jacksonville, says he’s still going to give one of his pet ideas a shot during the upcoming legislative session.

As we reported last year, Wise, who chairs the education appropriations committee in the Senate, wants to set up an endowment that could provide scholarships to every low-income sixth-grader who stays in school, avoids trouble with the law and graduates.

He's looking at lottery, slot machine and Indian gaming money to do it, along with private contributions. He thinks if he can pull it off, the incentives for at-risk kids would change behavior enough to cut juvenile crime by 25 percent.

The budget situation will make it tough to get traction, and a committee staff analysis says as much. But "I'm just going to plod along," Wise told the Gradebook. He said he recently presented his idea to Gov. Charlie Crist and has talked to Stan Tate, founder and former chairman of the Florida Prepaid College Board.

Ron Matus, State Education Reporter

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Wednesday is...pull up your britches day?!?

His legislation went nowhere this past spring, but Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, is trying again.

The Senate's Pre K-12 committee tomorrow will consider his proposed bill that would force kids to pull up droopy, underwear-revealing britches or face penalties.

“This bill aids in the creation of a professional environment, eliminating one of the many distractions found in public schools,” Siplin said. “It puts the focus where it should be: on the blackboard, not the backside.”   

He proposes that students caught exposing their underwear be warned the first time, face a 3 day in-school suspension on the second offense, face 10 days of in-school suspension on the third offense, and be suspended out of school if caught for a fourth time.

Identical legislation is being sponsored in the House by Representative Ed Bullard (D-Miami).

A look at the education budget cuts

Lawmakers in Tallahassee have hammered out a proposed $71-billion budget, and will sit on it for three days as required by law before voting on it Friday.

Here's the basics of what the cuts look like for K-12 and higher education:

$268-million less in per-student funding for K-12 students, or about $100 less per child.

$930,000 less for private colleges and universities

$31-million less for community colleges

$84-million less for state universities

Dazed and confused

They don't call it the muddle in the middle for nothing. The vast majority of middle school students think they're destined to graduate from high school, but the vast majority also have no idea what classes they're supposed to take to get it done, according to a survey released this week by the National Association of Secondary School Principals and Phi Delta Kappa International. The poll found 93 percent believe there’s "no chance" they'll drop out, which is encouraging but also out of synch with stats that show only about 70 percent of students graduate nationally - and even fewer in Florida.

Other survey responses may shed light on some of the reasons why: 83 percent said they know little or nothing about the classes they need to graduate, and less than a third said they knew much about what classes they need for college. And here's where it gets disturbing: More than 70 percent said they only had 1 to 5 teachers - during their entire time in school - who were helpful. To see more results, click here.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Promises kept

   
Four years ago, the St. Petersburg-based Academy Prep private school bought a beat-up old grammar school in a rough patch of Ybor City and made big promises to the neighborhood: It would enroll a handful of local kids, free of charge, and help them open doors to a brighter future.

Tomorrow, the school will offer proof that it's making good on lofty goals. Its first group of eighth graders - 18 in all - will move on to high school. Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio is even on tap to give the commencement address. But here's the bigger news: 14 of the 18 earned scholarships to prep schools including Jesuit, Tampa Prep and Academy of the Holy Names. The other four have enrolled in public school magnet programs. Academy Prep has a reputation for churning out high-achievers with a regimen that includes a longer school day (11 hours every weekday) and a longer school year (5 hours daily through June.) School head Lincoln Tamayo isn't shy about describing the results: "What we have done," he told The Gradebook, "probably cannot be matched by any inner city middle school in … all of Tampa and St. Petersburg."

- Ron Matus, state education reporter
(Photo of grads courtesy of Academy Prep)

Today's news

NOT QUITE CANDID CAMERA: The kids reportedly were out of control on the school bus. The driver could lose his for not doing anything. It's becoming a war of words, though, as the security cameras installed on the bus did not work.

CHOOSE A NEW PATH: Calling Pinellas County's school choice plan a miserable failure, the editorial board offers some recommendations for fixing it. In the balance: neighborhoods and racial diversity.

SOME CANDIDATES REMAIN: Not everyone in the hunt to become Hernando County's superintendent has resume conflicts. The Times profiles two of the hopefuls, who will visit this week for interviews with the board. The editorial board, meanwhile, suggests slowing the process to make sure the candidates are who they say they are.

END STAR WARS: House and Senate bills for revamping teacher performance pay rules don't jibe yet. The Times editorial board backs the Senate version, saying chairman Don Gaetz has found a resolution that bridges the gap between the capital and the classroom. Broward County's interim superintendent, meanwhile, writes why he recommended deferral on the program in the Sun-Sentinel.

LOBBYING AGAINST CLASS SIZE: Lee and Collier counties are unlikely to meet the class-by-class requirements of the 2002 class-size amendment. That's why their leaders are pushing to keep the measure at the school level, the Naples Daily News reports. You can bet other counties are saying the same. But Gov. Charlie Crist has shown no intent to overturn the voter mandate.

FORGET THE RESEARCH PAPER: Sixth graders at a California middle school write rap songs based on their history lessons, the LA Times reports. The class is cutting its second single.

MOVING FROM MIDDLES: The Milwaukee Public School system is phasing out middle schools, favoring K-8 schools instead, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports. It's a trend gaining strength across the country, but there's a debate over which model is better.