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Flagler, Florida and Beyond
FlaglerLive | June 19, 2018
The Palm Coast charter school becomes the third in six years to shut its doors. Irregularities and poor student performance led the district to pressure Palm Harbor to close.
FlaglerLive | May 14, 2018
Palm Coast’s Palm Harbor Academy, one of two charter schools in Flagler, has struggled for most of its existence, and is accused of shifting students to a “private school” so they can avoid being tested.
FlaglerLive | April 20, 2018
The controversy highlights continuing tensions between local school districts and the state about oversight and expansion of charter schools, which are public schools but are often run by private operators.
FlaglerLive | March 5, 2018
At a joint news conference later this week, Sheriff Rick Staly and Superintendent Jim Tager will outline new security measures and initiatives and a plan for additional school deputies, but no weaponizing of teachers.
FlaglerLive | July 6, 2017
The new law overhauls swaths of state education, dealing with everything from mandatory recess for elementary school students and standardized testing to charter school funding and teacher bonuses.
FlaglerLive | June 28, 2017
Indian Trails Middle and Old Kings Elementary returned to A form, FPC climbed to a B, but Wadsworth Elementary fell to a C. Other schools maintained their grades–either B or C.
FlaglerLive | May 22, 2017
The Flagler school district average of 69 percent of students at proficiency or better exceeds the state average of 58 by 11 points as every elementary school showed strong improvement.
FlaglerLive | January 20, 2017
One court decision upholds corporate tax vouchers for private schools, another diminishes the role of local school boards in deciding what charter schools may operate.
FlaglerLive | September 18, 2016
Trump recently proposed billions in spending to allow the nation’s poorest students to leave public schools and enroll elsewhere, including by using homeschooling. Except the plan won’t work for the poorest students.
FlaglerLive | April 26, 2016
The number of American K–12 children educated at home increased from 1.09 million in 2003 to 1.77 million in 2012. That means they make up 3.4 percent of the nation’s school population.
FlaglerLive | February 13, 2016
This year’s grades are almost eight months late. They’re less reliable than in previous years. And they’re still facing bitter criticism because of the state’s troubled standardized testing system.
FlaglerLive | February 11, 2016
The proposed constitutional amendment would set up a statewide entity with the power to approve charter schools anywhere in Florida, bypassing local school districts. The Legislature is expected to approve sending the proposal to the ballot.
FlaglerLive | January 21, 2016
Sean Gilliam, a sixth grader at Bunnell Elementary, correctly spelled the word buoyancy to defeat 16 competitors. Fifth grader Grayson Ronk of Wadsworth Elementary School was the runnerup.
FlaglerLive | August 21, 2015
As school resumes Monday, transportation changes are afoot in the Matanzas High area, while the sheriff’s office has issued a series of cautions and tips to parents and students.
FlaglerLive | July 6, 2015
As part of a school-choice movement heavily backed by state Republican leaders, charter schools do not have to operate under all of the same requirements as more-traditional public schools.
FlaglerLive | May 18, 2015
The voucher-like program provides tax credits to companies that donate money to nonprofit entities that help pay for children to attend private schools. Some 70,000 students are enrolled.
FlaglerLive | March 3, 2015
The money rewards schools that either maintain A or B grades or improve significantly toward such grades. It is one of the reasons Florida’s high-stakes testing has been facing criticism, as student testing is directly tied to monetary consequences.
FlaglerLive | February 17, 2015
The Flagler School Board wanted to start school in early August to give students more time to prepare for exams, but state law forbids it, forcing a calendar of its own on local districts.
FlaglerLive | February 9, 2015
Lawyers for the state and parents whose children use Florida’s de facto school-voucher program argued Monday that groups including the state’s largest teachers union don’t have the right to challenge the program in court.
FlaglerLive | February 9, 2015
County government will vote Tuesday on a proposal by First Baptist Christian Academy of Palm Coast to lease the old courthouse in Bunnell for $5,700 a month, and with an interest-free, 30-year tax-funded loan of $360,000.
FlaglerLive | January 7, 2015
Palm Coast’s fire chief is incensed by the deception of a cautionary email to school staff this week that warns of a coming fire inspection, but also suggests that problem items must be removed or rearranged only “until after the inspection.”
FlaglerLive | December 31, 2014
A judge rebuffed claims by a teacher and two parents who joined the new lawsuit that the expansion of the Tax Credit Scholarship Program hurt them because it could lead to reduced funding for their schools.
FlaglerLive | December 7, 2014
Parents and their lawyers said they should be allowed the full-party status because their children would lose access to what is known as the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program if the court finds it unconstitutional.
FlaglerLive | July 22, 2014
The idea that charter school operators should make a profit by providing children a better educational experience should offend no one. The fact that the numbers say they’re not doing a better job, while they’re draining away precious public resources, should alarm everyone.
FlaglerLive | July 17, 2014
The voucher expansion had appeared dead in the Senate until getting approved in a broader bill in the waning hours of the 2014 legislative session. The Florida Education Association charges the state “log rolled” that and other education issues into a single bill.
FlaglerLive | July 11, 2014
A-rated schools included Bunnell, Rymfire, Old Kings, Wadsworth and Belle Terre elementaries, along with Indian Trails Middle and Palm Harbor, the charter school that just two years ago was failing. The district will earn several hundred thousand dollars in bonuses.
FlaglerLive | June 6, 2014
Overall, Flagler students improved their rankings in Florida in 12 categories while dropping back in seven, providing many bright spots but also a few worrisome ones.
FlaglerLive | May 23, 2014
The Flagler County school district had a few results to celebrate as the Department of Education on Friday released FCAT writing scores for 4th, 8th and 10th graders and reading and math scores for third graders.
FlaglerLive | April 3, 2014
Baker Acts involving children in schools has reached 32 so far this year, three times more than last year, prompting one school board member to call herself “outraged” at the police-led manner in which most such Baker Acts are carried out, even with teens and younger children.
FlaglerLive | March 29, 2014
The House Education Appropriations Subcommittee voted 8-4 to introduce the measure, which would bind together a program aimed at students with disabilities and the voucher expansion. Senate leaders last week pulled their counterpart to the House voucher bill, but the measure for students with disabilities remains alive.
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