Why are a slew of high achievers at Matanzas High School and FPC who have already succeeded in various courses having to take the so-called Post Secondary Educational Readiness Test on top of all other tests? How many unnecessary, time-consuming tests are we going to continue to subject our students to?
Matanzas High School
Matanzas High School Junior Kathryn Perez Named Runner-Up in New York Times Editorial Writing Contest
Kathryn Perez, a witty, self-assured 16-year-old junior who started writing when she was about 5, caught the attention of the New York Times judges with a counterintuitive editorial celebrating Barbie’s feminist virtues.
As Baker Acting of Children Soars, Flagler School Board Grapples With Perceptions of “Outrage”
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.
A Matanzas High Teacher Reveals Her Evaluation Scores, and the Absurdity of Florida’s “VAM” Scam
What do my almighty “VAM” scores reveal about me, my students, the quality of my instruction or what goes on in my classroom? Absolutely nothing, writes JoAnn Nahirny, who deconstructs Florida’s new teacher-evaluation scores, hers among them, and shows why they have little basis in reality, though they may well define a teacher’s fate.
Matanzas and Flagler Palm Coast High Learn Of Suicide of Senior Alexandria Rodriguez
On Tuesday, the grandfather of Alexandria Rodriguez, an 18-year-old senior who’d attended Matanzas High School last year and Flagler Palm Coast High School until Thanksgiving, came to FPC to retrieve her two younger sisters and inform the administration that Alex, as she was known, had committed suicide that morning.
In a 1st, Flagler Requires All Juniors to Take SAT, Raising Concerns About County’s Image If Grades Drop
On February 26, almost 1,000 juniors–double the usual number–will take the SAT at Matanzas and FPC, but School Board member Colleen Conklin worried that the resulting drop in average results may send the wrong message to families and businesses looking to relocate to Flagler County.
Youth Leadership Flagler’s 2nd Class Looking For 10th-Grade Applicants
The Flagler County Chamber of Commerce is looking for 10 future leaders of Flagler County to join the organization’s Youth Leadership Program next fall. The application deadline for current 10th graders is March 14, 2014.
Fulfilling Pledge, Rep. Travis Hutson Files Animal Cruelty Bill Inspired By FPC Student
Animal abuse may cost abusers far more in penalties and punishment if a bi-partisan bill inspired by Flagler Palm Coast High School student Morgan Purtlebaugh and filed by Rep. Travis Hutson last week becomes law.
Matanzas High Community Awakens to Suicide of One of Its Own, 9th Grader Dalton Coxwell
Dalton Coxwell, a 9th grader at Matanzas High School, hung himself at his home in Palm Coast the afternoon of Dec. 18. The school is responding to students’ grief with a stepped-up presence of administrators and counselors while a school board member asks that social media be monitored.
Flagler Schools Improve Graduation Rate For 5th Year in a Row, to 76.6%; Black Rate Lags
Flagler’s rate improves from last year’s 74.8 percent, and is up significantly from the 2008-09 rate, when it was 65.1 percent. But the graduation rate of 67.9 percent among black students continues to lag, adding to pressure on the district that it’s not doing enough to address a vast gap between white and black achievement.
Matanzas High Student Accosted By Man Impersonating Police in Palm Coast’s C-Section
A 16-year-old Matanzas High School student reported that as she was walking to her bus stop around 6:45 a.m. when a white or Hispanic man in a car began following her and telling her, as the girl ran, that she was resisting arrest.
School Board Honors John Winston, Tireless Advocate of Flagler’s African-American Mentor Program
At 76, John Winston has continued to be the leading force behind the Flagler school district’s African-American Mentor Program, which pairs young boys and men in need of solid direction with adults who take on the role of father figures. Winston is himself the patriarch of a family of seven children and three dozen grandchildren.
Rep. Travis Hutson Will File a Bill on Animal Abuse Reporting Proposed by Flagler Students
Florida Rep. Travis Hutson worked for weeks with FPC and Matanzas High students on a mock legislative process that culminated today in a student vote choosing actual bill Hutson will file at the Legislature in the coming session. The exercise gave students direct insights into the legislative process.
Matanzas High School’s Surging SAT Scores Brighten Otherwise Dimmer District Results
In a tribute to the school’s SAT prep classes, Matanzas’ reading average of 502 on the SAT test exceeded state and national averages, and the school exceeded state averages on math and writing, but district-wide 2013 SAT and ACT scores remain below state and national averages, dragged down especially by math scores.
When an F Is an Automatic 50: In Defense Of Matanzas High School’s Grading Policy
Matanzas High School Principal Chris Pryor’s new policy of bottoming out all F’s at 50%–not zero–drew some grumbles, but teacher Jo Ann Nahirny explains why it’s a far more just policy than awarding zeros–and how the same policy may have changed her own life.
That Feared Flagler Schools Enrollment Drop And Loss of $1.8 Million? Didn’t Happen.
Last May, when the school board was campaigning for a new tax, it was projecting a loss of 283 students and $1.8 million. In fact, the district has added a handful of students two weeks into the new school year, ensuring that the state will keep sending that money to Flagler–and reducing pressure on the local district to think of closing some schools.
Laptop Policy FAQ For Flagler County Schools, Explaining Macbook Distribution
This year (2013-14) the district is giving every high school student a Macbook Air, unless students or parents opt out. So-called “deployment” nights are scheduled at FPC and Matanzas High later this month. The following is the district’s own Frequently Asked Questions about the initiative.
Three High School Students Held Up at Gunpoint For Their Laptops at a Bus Stop
Earlier this week, three high school students were robbed at gunpoint of their Macbook Air laptops at a bus stop in Ocoee, in Orange County. The computers had been issued to the students as part of a pilot program. A similar but much broader initiative is under way in Flagler County Schools, though security issues have not been addressed as broadly.
School Bell Schedule for Flagler County Schools, 2013-14
Clip and save: bell schedules for Flagler Palm Coast High School, Matanzas High School, Buddy Taylor and Indian Trails middle schools, and the district’s five elementary schools: Bunnell, Belle Terre, Rymfire, Wadsworth and Old Kings.
James Wolfe, Popular English Teacher and Coach at Matanzas, Accused of Sex With a Student
James Wolfe, a successful cross country coach at Matanzas, was arrested and charged with seven counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor, whom he allegedly drugged, based on allegations dating back to between August 2010 and May 2011, when the alleged victim was 16.
Most Flagler Schools’ Grades Drop, Following State Trend, As Tougher Standards Kick In
In Flagler County, not a single school saw its grade improve and five fell back a grade, though two maintained their A rating: Indian Trails Middle School and Belle Terre Elementary. Grades would have been worse had the state Board of Education not agreed to artificially prop them up, limiting grade drops to a maximum of one letter grade.
Flagler District Approves $3.2 Million Plan for Free Macbook or iPad in Every Student’s Hands
Within three weeks starting on Sept. 16, every student at Flagler Palm Coast High School and Matanzas High School will have the latest-generation Macbook Air, free, on what amounts to a permanent loan from the school district. The district also plans to have an iPad for every fifth and sixth grader this year and next, and have every student in the district possess a device by the 2017-18 school year.
Board Members Balk at 7:25 a.m. Middle School Start Time, But Approve New Bell Schedule
Buddy Taylor and Indian Trails middle school students will have to wake up even earlier than last year when school resumes on Aug. 19, with first-bell at 7:25 a.m. and dismissal at 1:25 p.m. Most other schools’ schedules are unchanged, with high schools starting at 8 a.m. and elementaries around 9 a.m.
Flagler County School Board July 18 Meeting Notice
The School Board of Flagler County, Florida, will hold a Budget Workshop on Thursday, July 18, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. on the 2013-14 budgets for Matanzas and Flagler Palm Coast High Schools’ budgets, and that of Indian Trails Middle School.
Flagler District Shelves School-Cop Posting in All Elementaries, Reverting to Previous Plan
Not expecting another case of a parent privately paying for a school cop, the Flagler County School Board Tuesday evening gave its approval to the district’s new contract with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office to provide six school resource deputies at high and middle schools only, and seven crossing guards, for the duration of the school year.
Education Commission Reprimands Steve Knob, Ex-Band Director at Matanzas, Over Porn
The formal reprimand of Steve Knob accompanies a settlement agreement that enables him to seek teaching jobs and maintain his teaching certificate but also requires him to remain on probation for two years and pay $800 in fines and monitoring costs while on probation.
District Throws In Towel on School Uniforms, Largely Relaxing Policy For Simplicity’s Sake
For high school students in Flagler schools, specific color restrictions will be gone, as long as students wear solid colors and sweatshirts and other “outerwear,” including all sorts of logos, will be allowed, making the policy look more like the pre-uniform dress code than not. Restrictions would still be in place for younger students.
Flagler Middle & High School Principals Plead With Voters: Give Us Back Those 45 Minutes
Flagler County’s four secondary-school principals say restoring 45 minutes to the school day, or the equivalent of a month’s worth education, is indispensable if the district’s students are to excel consistently.
Between Fleeting Time and Family Feel at Matanzas High’s 2013 Commencement
Some 340 students graduated from Matanzas High School Friday evening in a ceremony that emphasized the school’s successes and the connections of the student body with its extended families.
Matanzas High Student Allen Brown Tasered After Allegedly Punching Student and Deputy
Matanzas High student Allen Brown, 18, was Tasered by a Flagler sheriff’s deputy Monday after being involved in a fight with a 15-year-old student and allegedly punching the deputy, in the first use of a Taser on a Flagler school campus in six years.
Closing Flagler’s Alternative School: When The Classmate Next to Your Child Is a Felon
The Flagler County school, district may close Everest alternative school (formerly Pathways) if the June 7 referendum for a modest property tax increase fails. Jo Ann Nahirny, a teacher at Matanzas High School, describes the disruptions of managing a classroom with felons and sex offenders in seats alongside other students.
Flagler’s African-American Mentor Program Celebrates Another Year Against Odds and Age
The Flagler County African-American Mentor Program graduated 10 of its 62 students in a ceremony Thursday evening, attended by 42 mentors and parents and grandparents as the program, started by Jim Guines and John Winston, celebrated its ninth year.
Flagler Youth Orchestra’s 280 Musicians Take The Auditorium in Year-End Concert
The Flagler Youth Orchestra’s “Take a Bow” concert at the Flagler Auditorium Monday at 7 p.m. will feature all 280 musicians in different orchestras in the culmination of a year’s–and for many, several years’–work.
Flagler School District Celebrates Silver Medals for Matanzas and FPC in U.S. News Rankings
Matanzas High School ranked 72nd in Florida, out of 777 schools. Matanzas was 1,523rd in the nation, out of 21,000 schools. Flagler Palm Coast High School ranked 87th in the state, and 2,242nd in the nation.
NAACP’s 2nd Annual Olympics of the Mind Dazzle and Dare on Matanzas Stage
The Flagler County NAACP’s annual ACT-SO Olympics of the Mind at Matanzas High’s Pirates Theater Saturday brought out dozens of student performers in music, dance, oratory, song and in the visual arts, humanities and science, with winners potentially qualifying for the national competition in Orlando in July.
Youth Leadership Flagler Application Deadline Is March 15 for High School Sophomores
Modeled after Leadership Flagler, a program that develops aspiring leaders of Flagler County, the youth program will provide participating students with a better understanding of Flagler County for community-improvement purposes.
School Security’s Buy-A-Cop Delusions
The Flagler County School board this week will debate adoption of a new security plan that includes adding armed cops in elementary schools. The approach would be costly, ineffective, and more emotional than intelligent. Smarter approaches–and far greater priorities–abound.
What an Ode to Farting, Drug-Dealing’s Benefits and the FCAT Have in Common
A Matanzas High School student who wrote a humorous essay on the health benefits of drug-dealing was threatened with a referral, though his teacher gave him a near-top grade: Jo Ann Nahirny explains how FCAT rewards dull, stupid and bad writing at the expense of creativity.
16-Year-Old Matanzas High Student Accused Of Raping 14-Year-Old in School Stairwell
D’Shawn Hosang, who was on probation for burglaries in July, was accused of raping a 14-year-old girl Monday morning after both students had secured hall passes while the rest of the school was in second period.
Flagler Schools Considering Public Color-Coded Emergency System to Signal Lockdowns
Before the Newtown massacre but after a close call with a student who threatened to attack a school last week, Flagler school and sheriff’s officials met to devise a system that would let people know in real time when a school, college or day care center was in lockdown.
Matanzas High School Is an A School Again, FPC Maintains B, Heritage Gets 3rd F in a Row
The much-anticipated high school grades are in, with Matanzas High School getting the second A in seven years, after three years as a B school, and FPC maintaining its B for the third straight year. Now-closed Heritage, a charter, got what would have been the third successive F.
SWAT Team and Fire Flight Deliver: 20-Year-Old Is Caught at 3:25 p.m. on John Anderson Hwy
Three unrelated wrecks at US1 and Palm Coast Parkway kept emergency authorities busy, while at 8:30 the county’s two high schools and Daytona State went on lockdown following comments on Facebook school authorities were concerned about.
Journey for Nahirny: A Walk-A-Thon to Benefit JoAnn Nahirny Friday at Matanzas
A fund-raiser is being organized by the Flagler County Educators Association and the Matanzas High School Student Government Association on Mr.s Nahirny’s behalf Friday, Dec. 7, at Matanzas High School, from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m.
Tumor Gone, Staples Removed, Humor and Grit Intact: A Teacher Returns to Matanzas
On medical leave for cancer treatment since September, Jo Ann Nahirny describes in harrowing and moving detail her final medical hurdles and clearances before deciding to return to her classroom almost a month early, on Dec. 10.
Flagler School District Cut from $30 Million Race-to-the-Top Grant; Rezoning Still Ahead
The $30 million federal grant–a third of the district’s annual budget–would have let the district turn all its middle and elementary schools into K-8 magnet schools of choice, with transportation. Nevertheless, the district still plans to adopt several reforms, including converting Indian Trails into a K-8 center, and countywide rezoning.
Astronaut Suni Williams Enthralls 1,000 Flagler Students in a Ham Radio Chat From ISS
Suni Williams, one of the most decorated American astronauts, was 210 miles above Florida as she fielded some 20 questions for 10 minutes from students before a packed audience of 1,000 at Indian Trails Middle School today, in a thrilling, old-fashioned hook up made possible by the Flagler Palm Coast Amateur Radio Club.
K-8 System, Choice, Rezoning: Flagler School District Bracing for Reforms Affecting All
Major changes are coming to Flagler County schools: Rezoning, reforming and rethinking the district’s physical and intellectual boundaries. By the time it’s done—or at least implemented—students, teachers and parents will have all felt the ground beneath their feet move a little, and in some cases a lot.
Not Dead, Not Dying, and Still Shopping, But Humbled By Cancer’s Side-Effects
Almost two months into her cancer treatment, Jo Ann Nahirny–who faces surgery Tuesday–surveys the long list of side-effects, good and bad, that she’s endured, from crushing bills to the moving affection of students and friends, and am ever- loyal husband.
Flagler Schools’ Overall Enrollment Flat For 4th Straight Year as Charters Keep Growing
Flagler County’s three charter schools’ enrollment exceeds 1,000, or 8 percent of the district, which saw its traditional schools’ enrollment fall to the lowest level since the 2005-06 school year.
A 17-Year-Old Matanzas High School Senior Is Charged With Arson; No Injuries
Josh Lowe, a 17-year-old senior and a member of the Matanzas High School football team, was charged with felony arson today at the school when he was connected with a fire that started in a bathroom in the middle of the afternoon.
