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Legislature aiming to regulate FHSAA

March 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment

“This will turn eligibility and fair play and teaching kids the right way to win upside-down. We’re hoping that the Senate and Governor will look into the issues that are included in these bills, and common sense and what all of the practitioners in public and private schools who coach these kids, who help raise these kids, who help serve as examples for these kids about sportsmanship and integrity … the state (association members) is unified against both of these bills and we hope that the Senate and the Governor heed the wisdom of all those people that work with our young student-athletes day in and day out.”

SB 1704, sponsored by Sen. Stephen R. Wise (R), District 5. would have forced private school members of the FHSAA to join the fledgling Sunshine Independent Athletic Association, which has 30 members according to its web site. Some of those schools have been banned from FHSAA membership for major recruiting violations.

The wording of the bill has been changed to give public and private schools the option of joining either association but was amended to allow any private high school in Florida, including a virtual school, a home-education cooperative or a charter school, to become a member of the FHSAA or the SIAA and participate in the activities of that organization. However, a public high school, other than a charter school, may not join the SIAA.

The two bills are considered companion bills and the Senate is expected to address the issue Monday, the beginning of the final week of the legislative session.

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Mother of homeless student struggles to enroll him

February 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment

HUDSON, Fla. — Can you imagine what it’s like to get up and go to school when you don’t have a place to sleep, take a shower, or even eat a hot meal? Well, that’s the reality for thousands of students in the Tampa Bay Area.

Education means a lot to Kimberly Parsons, a mother of two. Her daughter, Hope, is only 4 years old, but Parsons has a 17-year-old son too. They all live together in a homeless shelter in Hudson right now.

Parsons says enrolling him in virtual school probably wouldn’t have happened without help from the woman who runs the shelter where they’re living. She says she’s the one who put her in contact with the program called Students in Transition, which is run through the Pasco County School District. They have a Homeless Liaison, too.

For the rest of the article, go to Mother of homeless student struggles to enroll him

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Juan Bautista de Anza Online Charter School Opens Student Resource Center in Desert Shores

February 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Juan Bautista de Anza Online Charter School, a tuition-free public school, announced today that it has opened a third student resource center in Desert Shores, Calif., to serve students from Palm Springs south to the Mexican border. Juan Bautista de Anza offers a blended educational model that combines the best of 21st century online learning with one-on-one teacher support from on-site instructors. In addition to an online curriculum, which is provided by online leader Advanced Academics, students have the opportunity to participate in monthly field trips, service learning projects and an equine leadership program.

The Desert Shores Resource Center, located off Highway 86 between Coachella Valley and El Centro at 228 Desert Shores Rd. in Desert Shores, opened in January 2012. Students can complete coursework in the state-of-the-art computer lab or receive individualized tutoring at the center, which is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For the rest of the article, go to Juan Bautista de Anza Online Charter School Opens Student Resource Center in Desert Shores

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Parents raise concerns over four-day school week

February 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment

DADE CITY — Elizabeth Beagle came to Pasco Middle School on Thursday evening with one thought in mind: Her opposition to a four-day school week.

“I’m against it,” said Beagle, who has children in Zephyrhills High and Woodland Elementary schools. “I have a junior in AP classes. She does virtual school, she’s in athletics. Her day is long enough.”

A forum on the subject drew about 70 residents, most of whom shared their reservations with the idea of having children attend school for fewer, longer days. The concept is in play because School Board member Steve Luikart pressed for a task force to explore it as a way to cut expenses as the district’s revenue shrinks.

District finance officials have projected a loss of $22 million in state funding for 2012-13, not including $7 million of added costs to meet class size plus a fine of at least $1 million for failing to meet class size requirements this year.

“Please keep in mind it’s only one option,” Luikart told the audience as he opened the 90-minute forum.

Another possibility could be to cut 465 noninstructional positions and move on, he said. “That’s not acceptable. … We have to look at every dime and how we use it.”

One by one, speakers rose to offer their views.

Carlos Saenz of Land O’Lakes, whose child attends Oakstead Elementary, said the School Board would do better to explore privatization of nonessential, noninstructional services to effect real savings, rather than tinker around the edges with a four-day plan.

Debbie Smith, a grandmother and a Pasco High food services manager, questioned what would happen to the growing number of poor students who rely on schools for their daily meals if the schools closed an additional day each week. Kim Cicanese, whose daughter attends Pasco Middle, worried about leaving children at home unattended.

For the rest of the article, go to Parents raise concerns over four-day school week

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The 4 Keys to a Successful Online School

January 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment

For Broward Virtual School’s Evelyn Weaver, building a successful virtual learning environment begins with four key components.

  1. The acquisition of mission-critical tools that foster collaboration and enable effective communication;
  2. The implementation of a flexible, focused curriculum that can be tailored to the individual student;
  3. The relevant, timely, and in-depth training of all stakeholders, including administrators, teachers, and parents; and,
  4. The development of an immediate, effective technical and academic support system.

Ultimately, Weaver told attendees at the FETC 2012 National Conference Wednesday, true success requires “a partnership between the curriculum provider and the local virtual school,” focused on delivering high-quality, individualized learning.

For the rest of the article, go to The 4 Keys to a Successful Online School

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School choice deadline nears

January 22, 2012 By 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.”

For the rest of the article, go to School choice deadline nears

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Pasco school district mulls a charter school

January 21, 2012 By 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.

For the rest of the article, go to Pasco school district mulls a charter school

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Success of Florida Virtual School is difficult to measure

January 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The fastest growing public school district in Florida doesn’t have football, school lunches or busing. It doesn’t get a grade from the state, and it operates free of the rules and scrutiny that dog most public schools. • Students in this district conduct frog dissections without ever stepping in a science lab, take PE without ever going into a gym and learn how to drive without ever getting in a car. • They do all of it online.

In less than 15 years, Florida Virtual School has become the largest state-funded online K-12 school in the nation, an enterprise with a $166.3 million budget and close to 1,500 employees and 130,000 students. It offers more than 110 courses, from core subjects like algebra to electives such as Chinese and guitar.

Florida education leaders have turned to Florida Virtual as a solution to overcrowded classes, limited course offerings and budget cuts. It is the darling of politicians enamored of its price tag; Florida Virtual bills itself as a bargain, educating for $2,100 less per pupil than traditional schools.

And it makes millions. How many public schools can say that?

“I think we have already made a huge impact in Florida, and that’s only going to continue to grow,” says Florida Virtual board chairman Bob Muni.

But in a state that puts a premium on standardized testing, there is no clear, across-the-board measure to compare the performance of Florida Virtual students to those in brick-and-mortar schools.

For the rest of the article, go to Success of Florida Virtual School is difficult to measure

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Broward School District faces $66 million penalty for overloaded classes

December 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The Broward School District is the state’s worst offender for class-size compliance and could face a whopping $66.1 million penalty, state officials said Thursday.

Half of Broward’s classes were over the limits when the state counted students in October. In contrast, Palm Beach County, which was the state’s worst offender last year, had every class in compliance and faces no penalty at all, according to the state Department of Education.

Broward Superintendent Robert Runcie acknowledged that the district “should have done a better job” and promised to pursue “more aggressive strategies” next year. Those could include co-teaching, virtual education, and standardized high school schedules, he said.

“We’re going to really work hard to ensure that this isn’t a huge issue going forward,” he said.

Broward could see its fine reduced substantially – possibly down to $16 million – if it submits a plan to improve. Runcie said he also planned to ask for a one-time waiver from the fine.

For the rest of the article, go to Broward School District faces $66 million penalty for overloaded classes

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Two Families, Two Takes on Virtual Schooling

December 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment

With all the talk about online education lately, it’s clear that the vision evoked by the words “home schooling” is changing. The image of Mom and kids sitting at the kitchen table has given way to a child logging onto a virtual class from the home office.

The number of students in kindergarten through 12th grade enrolled in virtual schools nationwide has grown to 225,000 from 50,000 a decade ago—and 30% year over year since 2001, says Susan Patrick, chief executive of the International Association for K-12 Online Learning, a nonprofit advocacy group. Some parents choose virtual schooling to accommodate a heavy schedule of extracurricular classes or interests; others feel their children’s needs are better served outside a traditional classroom. Here are two families’ experiences.

Elana Whitehead, a stay-at-home mother in Cape Canaveral, Fla., enrolled her fourth- and sixth-grade boys in Brevard Virtual Instruction Program, the virtual arm of the Brevard County public school system, last year. “The kids’ friends were doing it and they were curious,” she says.

The Whiteheads received a box of books in August, and were given weekly course work. Adam, age 10, and Noah, 12, would log on for each subject. BVIP would present a slideshow about the day’s lesson, then direct them to read a chapter in a textbook and complete some worksheets. They would log back on later to do an assessment.

“Adam was online for less than an hour each day,” says Ms. Whitehead, “but Noah had more work online than offline.” No credentials were required for Ms. Whitehead, who sat with her sons as they logged hours playing with snap circuits, taking the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test and sitting in a virtual classroom with 60 other students.

For the rest of the article, go to Two Families, Two Takes on Virtual Schooling

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