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Spending $2,159 Less Per Student, Online School Outscores Florida Campuses on AP Exams
January 23, 2012 By admin Leave a Comment
Online students at Florida Virtual School outperformed their traditional-school peers on Advanced Placement tests in 2011, and at less cost, new studies show.
Florida Virtual School reported scores that averaged 12 percentage points higher than conventional high schools on the 2011 AP exams. The Internet-based school offered 15 AP courses to 3,053 students, an 18 percent increase from the previous year.
Some 58 percent of FLVS test-takers achieved qualifying scores of 3, 4 or 5, compared with 46 percent at conventional campuses around Florida. The FLVS success rate matched the national average.
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School choice deadline nears
January 22, 2012 By admin Leave a Comment
MANATEE – Manatee County parents have until Feb. 3 to participate in school choice, an option that already is appealing to more than 30 percent of the district’s 45,000 students.
With magnet programs at 10 elementary and middle schools, 20 career academies among the county’s six high schools, and increased choices among charter schools, dual enrollment and virtual schools, district officials expect even more families to exercise their right of choice this coming year.
The Feb. 3 deadline is only for families participating in open enrollment, which allows parents to send their children to a school other than their assigned “go-to” school based on geography.
“It’s very important to Manatee County to empower families with choice,” says School Board Chair Harry Kinnan. “We’ve made marvelous strides with it.”
They also expect the myriad choices may be overwhelming to some parents.
“There really is a chance that parents may get a little confused because you’ve got so many magnet schools, schools operated by the school board, and charter schools that run more independently,” says Danny Lundeen, the district’s supervisor of student demographics, projections and assignment.
“The opportunities out there have expanded so greatly, I could see there could be some opportunity for confusion.”
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Pasco school district mulls a charter school
January 21, 2012 By admin Leave a Comment
State law allows school districts to start a charter school from scratch or convert an existing school into a charter school. Fiorentino said it’s too early in the planning stages for the district to decide which direction it would take.
A charter school is just one of the options the district is exploring to provide more choices for parents at a time when traditional public schools are drawing increasing competition from charter schools, private schools and virtual schools.
The school district also is considering creating magnet programs that would allow some elementary schools to focus on a specific academic area. Students zoned for other schools then could apply to attend.
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