Organizers of the proposed charters now are expected to appeal to the state Department of Education, which under a series of Republican governors and Legislatures has become a strong advocate of charters.

But Seminole school officials found a number of faults with each of the three charter proposals and are prepared to defend their turndown.

Central Florida Virtual, for example, has unrealistic expectations for enrollment, officials said. The online school plans 500 students in kindergarten through ninth grade the first year, while the district’s existing virtual school — which is nearly identical to the charter’s planned offering — has enrolled only 86 this year.

For the rest of the article, go to Seminole nixes 3 proposed charter schools

As the Times-Union recognized, under the superintendent’s leadership, there have been many positives.

These include leading all Florida urban districts in graduating students prepared for college, expanding voluntary pre-kindergarten programs for our neediest children, expanding and increasing the rigor of career academies, opening our own virtual school, expanding wireless capacity throughout the district and launching a major reading initiative – all in the face of crushing fiscal limitations.

Ultimately, when evaluating the superintendent, the question becomes: “How do you weigh many exceptional accomplishments against the reality that a few of our schools are not performing at a level acceptable to the board and the superintendent?”

For the rest of the article, go to Guest column: A look behind the evaluation of Duval’s superintendent

School officials also say there is confusion as to whether special education students are also required to take an online course. “A lot of online courses aren’t built to a lower reading level,” McAuley said.

Florida Virtual School, a state-supported virtual school program that some districts contract with to offer their own virtual classes, said its most popular high school courses include algebra, geometry, Spanish, and a health and physical education class. The school is funded by the state through student enrollment and course completion.

For the rest of the article, go to Virtual Classes Go from Optional to Mandatory

During the first week of school, Matthew and Vincent Barnes slept past 7 a.m. every day, had a commute that lasted about 15 seconds and got to learn about math and world history alongside their mother, Virginia Barnes, and their dog, Sally.

They are two of the more than 350 Palm Beach County public school students taking full-time online classes at home through the Palm Beach County Virtual School system. .

Matthew, 11, prefers taking online classes at home rather than attending a public school.

“There is so much more pressure at a regular school,” he said.

For the rest of the article, go to Virtual learners thrive at home – bullies are absent