A priority of House Speaker Chris Sprowls that would lead to books being delivered to the homes of struggling elementary school readers got unanimous approval Thursday from a House panel.
Schools
Senate Panel Signs Off on Vast Expansion of Use of Tax Dollars for Private Schools
The measure (SB 48), filed by Republican Sen. Manny Diaz of Hialeah, would expand eligibility for school-voucher programs and allow parents to use taxpayer-backed education savings accounts for private schools and other costs.
Flagler Student Is Arrested on Felony Charge of Threatening School Shooting For 3rd Time in 8 Days
A 12-year-old student at Bunnell Elementary School on Wednesday told classmates not to show up for school today as he’d be shooting up campus. He was arrested and charged the way an 11-year-old and an 18-year-old were charged last week for similar, joking threats.
Even With Remote Option, Enrollment in Flagler’s 9 Traditional Schools Is at Lowest Level Since 2005
With Flagler schools reflecting some decline, Florida legislators and local education officials are trying to pinpoint what happened to nearly 90,000 “missing” public school students across the state, as public school enrollment estimates have dropped amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
2 Buddy Taylor Middle Students Struck By a Car at Belle Terre and White View Parkway
Two eighth graders, students at Buddy Taylor Middle School, were struck by a car early Monday morning (Feb. 1) as they were walking to school, sheriff’s office and school officials say. Both students were taken to AdventHealth Palm Coast.
Teacher Khady Harmon and Plant Services’ Chuck Coates Are Flagler Schools’ Employees of the Year
In a first for Flagler Schools, this year’s District Teacher and Employee Celebration was held entirely online. In all, 17 employees and 11 teachers from across the district were honored.
School Chancellor Jacob Oliva Makes English-Proficiency Exam Optional for Now
In a win for advocates of English-language learners, Florida is allowing students to opt out of taking an annual English proficiency exam that is administered in person. Florida has more than 265,000 students for whom English is not a first language. They collectively speak more than 300 languages.
3 Arrested in Shooting Spree at K-Section House Involving 3 Guns and at Least 35 Bullets
Three men were arrested two minutes after they allegedly were involving in a shooting spree at a house on Kalamazoo Trail Thursday evening, a shooting that caused ripples of alarm in the neighborhood.
11-Year-Old Student at Palm Coast Catholic School Arrested Over Threats to Bomb Campus
For the second time in two days, a student in a Palm Coast school was arrested on a felony charge of related to threats against the school.
Controversial Bill Requiring ‘Viewpoint Diversity’ Surveys on Florida Campuses Wins Senate Backing
A controversial Senate proposal that would require Florida state colleges and universities to survey students about “intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity” on campus cleared its first hurdle Tuesday.
18-Year-Old Matanzas High Student Faces Felony Charge Over Song Threatening to Kill Administrator
Joseph Washington, a senior at Matanzas High School, wrote, sang, recorded and posted a song about a Matanzas administrator who’d suspended him over a dress-code violation. The song is a succession of obscenities, racism, sexual put-downs, misogynism, and explicit threats to kill not only the administrator but his family.
Florida Senate Proposal Would Vastly Expand “School Choice” and Use of Tax Dollars for Private Schools
The legislation, filed by Republican Sen. Manny Diaz of Hialeah, would expand eligibility for school-voucher programs, consolidate existing school-choice programs and allow parents to use taxpayer-backed education savings accounts for private schools and other costs.
Stetson University Receives Nearly $1 Million National Science Foundation Grant for STEM
The National Science Foundation officially awarded Stetson $999,823 for a project titled Cohort-Based Interdisciplinary Learning to Increase Retention and Graduation Rates of Undergraduate Students in Science, Technology and Mathematics.
Gardens Development Agreement to Pay $719,000 to Offset School Overcrowding Raises ‘Worrisome’ Questions of Accuracy
Calling it “worrisome” and “nebulous,” Flagler County School Board members said today they are not ready to sign off on an agreement with the planned 335-home Gardens development on John Anderson Highway that would offset projected overcrowding costs in the district’s schools.
Teachers and School Staff Will Still Not Be Prioritized for Covid Vaccine, DeSantis Says
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices lists teachers and school employees as part of roughly 30 million “frontline essential workers” who should be prioritized for vaccinations. But DeSantis has repeatedly said that his focus is on Florida’s seniors.
TR, as FPC Principal Tom Russell Was Known to Most, Is Celebrated as Learner, Leader, Tweeter and Jovial, Heroic Dad
James Tom Russell, who died on Dec. 9 after leading Flagler Palm Coast High School for just a year and a half after a long career in leadership of Volusia County schools, was celebrated at a memorial at Jackie Robinson Stadium Friday evening with broad-ranging affection and admiration.
On Eve of Tom Russell Memorial, School Board’s McDonald Downplays Covid Deaths and Calls for ‘Backing Off This Fear’ of Virus
Flagler County School Board member Janet McDonald falsely claimed at a workshop that overall deaths are down this year, that masks are harmful, testing unreliable, and that the district should focus on “wellness” rather than additionally “ramp-up” safety measures. She did so days from the memorial for Tom Russell, the FPC principal who died of complications from Covid.
Florida Lawmakers Again Will Consider Requiring Moment of Silence in Schools
An effort to require public-school students to engage in a moment of silence at the start of each school day is back before the state Legislature. Sen. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, refiled legislation (SB 282) on Thursday that would require principals to direct first-period teachers to set aside one to two minutes for “quiet reflection.”
Flagler Schools Will Replace Most Covid-Positive Alert Letters With Web-Based Dashboard Updated Daily
A new dashboard tracking positive Covid cases throughout the school district will go live Jan. 4. Parents and others have grown increasingly jaded with the Flagler school district’s drizzle of notification letters whenever positive Covid cases are confirmed.
Trevor Tucker, in Remarkable Shift, Provides 3-2 Majority to Add ‘Gender Identity’ to Long-Sought School Protections
The Flagler County School Board this evening reversed its April vote and added “gender identity” to its anti-discrimination policy, ending a year-long and at times controversial and embittered debate over the identity and rights of LGBTQ students.
Palm Coast Council Awards Jacksonville University $2.5 Million to Open Town Center Campus, But Without Unanimity
While the Palm Coast City Council’s majority supported the subsidy with enthusiasm, Council members Ed Danko and Victor Barbosa opposed awarding some or all of the money to the University of Jacksonville for different reasons, a split that did not exist when the council welcomed the University of North Florida with a $1.5 million subsidy.
Jacksonville University Plans Major Campus Expansion in Palm Coast in City’s 2nd Higher-Ed Partnership
Jacksonville University and Palm Coast announced a joint partnership that will open a JU campus in town–the university’s first-ever expansion beyond Jacksonville in its 86-year history–and enroll 150 to 200 full-time students within 24 months. The focus will be health-care education, and more specifically, nursing.
Jessica Paugh Selected as DSC’s New School of Emergency Services Director
Over the last five decades, the DSC School of Emergency Services has produced thousands of law enforcement officers and first responders, and graduates who pass the State Officer Certification Exam qualify for employment anywhere in the State of Florida.
Tom Russell, Flagler Palm Coast High School Principal, Dies of Covid Complications, Leaving ‘Legacy of Kindness and Decency’
James Tom Russell, Flagler Palm Coast High School’s principal since 2019 and a former superintendent in Volusia County, where he built a 30-year career in education, died today of complications from covid-19. Russell had been diagnosed with Covid-19 on Nov. 16 and more recently was hospitalized.
Talk of Stimulus: Cancel All Student Debt
Research by the Federal Reserve and the Levy Economics Institute shows that debt cancellation would boost the national economy. Freed up from these financial burdens, former debt holders would have more buying power just when we and they need it most.
Matanzas’s Jeff Reaves and Buddy Taylor’s Stacia Collier Are Principal and Assistant Principal of the Year
Jeff Reaves has been principal at Matanzas High School since 2017. He’s been in education for 15 years, 12 of those in Volusia County. Stacia Collier is a 2000 graduate of Flagler-Palm Coast High School.
Officials Discredit False Rumors About FPC Principal Tom Russell as His Covid Battle Continues
Sometime on Monday a rumor started flying around Volusia County that Tom Russell, the Flagler Palm Coast High School principal and former Volusia County superintendent, had died. By evening the rumor was rampant in Flagler County as well. The rumor, which has upset Russell’s family, is false.
Flagler Sees Highest 2-Week Tally Yet as Covid Hits School, County and City Leaders and Passes 1 Million Mark in State
Leaders in Palm Coast, the Flagler County Fire Department and the district’s largest school are battling Covid-19 in a two-week stretch that’s also seen the highest number of infections in schools, where the plan is to continue the option of remote learning past Christmas.
Court Refuses to Revisit School Reopening Ruling, Leaving State’s In-Person Preference in Place
An appeals court Monday refused to reconsider a decision that backed Gov. Ron DeSantis and Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran in a legal battle about the state’s push this summer to reopen schools amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Pendulum Was Swinging Toward Reopening Schools. Then Came the Surge.
The national Covid-19 surge that is overwhelming hospitals in some states has stalled any further movement toward opening classrooms. Scores of schools are closing in hard-hit states, and major cities are shelving plans to reopen schools for the first time.
Two School Districts Had Different Mask Policies. Only One Had a Teacher on a Ventilator.
Eleven states let school districts decide whether students and staff must wear masks. One Georgia middle school where masks were optional–only about half of the children wore them–became the center of an outbreak.
Belle Terre Elementary Briefly Under Code Blue Alert for Bomb Threat This Morning
Belle Terre Elementary was placed under a “Code Blue” alert early this morning when a parent found a note in the parent’s child’s backpack mentioning a bomb. The parent found the note at the child’s home.
FPC Principal Tom Russell Reveals Covid Diagnosis as Cases Rise and State Extends Remote School Option To June
Russell’s revelation occurs as cases in Flagler and in Florida are rising sharply and the surge cascading over much of the nation, now reaching catastrophic proportions in many states, is beginning to ripple in Florida, where the state agreed to extend remote-learning options in all schools through June.
Calmer Swearings-In at County and School Board; Mullins Will Not Be Commission Chairman This Year
The Flagler County School Board and the Flagler County Commission held swearing-in ceremonies for a combined six new and re-elected members. Donald O’Brien was named chairman of the commission, Trevor Tucker chairman of the school board.
Federal District Court in Jacksonville Honors 2 Flagler Palm Coast High Students in 19th Amendment Essay Contest
Sean Gilliam, a junior and International Baccalaureate candidate at Flagler Palm Coast High School, was the second-place winner Friday in the 2020 high school essay contest sponsored by the federal court for the Middle District in Jacksonville, taking home a $1,000 check, and junior Kenny Logan won honorable mention and $50. Both are students of FPC history teacher Allison Elledge.
DeSantis Wants Court to Deny Further Challenges to School-Reopening Orders Across Florida
Trying to end months of legal wrangling, the state is urging an appeals court to keep in place a decision that backed Gov. Ron DeSantis and Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran in a fight about reopening schools during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Judge Backs Firing of Lake County Teacher Over “Lewd” TikTok Clips
Judge Robert Telfer III on Friday issued a 26-page order recommending that the Lake County School Board terminate the employment of Todd Erdman, who was a faculty member at Umatilla Middle School.
Cara Cronk Is Named Principal at Buddy Taylor Middle, Jessica DeFord Is New Principal at Belle Terre Elementary
Neither moves on the part of Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt are a surprise, though they reinforce what the appointments do signal: that the superintendent, herself in the district less than half a year, is comfortable and trusting of an administrative staff that two previous superintendents cultivated for leadership positions. The district’s bench, in other words, is not thin.
Daytona State Ranked No. 2 Among Most Affordable Colleges in Florida
Best Value Schools has listed Daytona State College in another prominent position in its collection of comprehensive educational rankings, with DSC ranked No. 2 on the list of Florida’s most affordable colleges. The College has not raised tuition in 10 years and even lowered it in 2015.
Stetson Student Bryson Pritchard of Ormond Beach a Finalist in 2020 Collegiate Inventors Competition
The Dyad Syringe is a two-compartment syringe where the rear is pre-filled with saline and the front is empty, which allows health-care professionals to administer a specific dosage of medication to a patient before attaching the syringe to a Luer lock on an intravenous line (IV).
Flagler’s 13 School Deputies Get Tactical Medical Training
Flagler Schools students had a day off but on Tuesday for Election Day, but the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office School Resource Deputy Unit used the vacant rooms at Buddy Taylor Middle School to conduct tactical medical training for first responders.
Teachers and Others Seek Rehearing in Court to Argue ‘Irreparable Harm’ of In-Person Schools
Attorneys for Florida’s teachers union and others point to the trial court’s factual findings, supported by clear evidence, establishing that the state had abused its powers in a way that was harmful to Floridians.” The motions pointed to continuing safety threats to teachers and other school employees.
Daytona State College Gets Nearly $1 Million Grant to Help Covid Unemployed or Furloughed Back to Work
DSC’s Rapid Credentialing programs may be completed in as little as one to 18 weeks to assist unemployed, underemployed, or furloughed workers. Qualifying participants may be able to qualify at little or no cost depending on the program selected.
Bobby Bossardet Replaces Earl Johnson at School District’s Leadership Post Closest to Superintendent
Buddy Taylor Middle School Principal Bobby Bossardet replaces Earl Johnson, who was shifted to a different administrative position previously held by Lynette Shott. Johnson, one of the few Black administrators in the district, has been looking to leave since getting passed over for superintendent earlier this year.
Rebuffing Teachers Union, Appeals Court Sides With State in Reopening of Florida Schools
Saying that “nothing in the emergency order requires any teacher or any student to return to the classroom,” a state appeals court Friday overturned a ruling that said Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran violated the Florida Constitution when he issued a July order aimed at reopening schools amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Enrollment Underway for Fall B Term at Daytona State College; Classes begin Monday, October 19
Enrollment for Daytona State College’s Fall B term is underway, and a team of admissions specialists are here to help future DSC students through the entire process. Classes begin on Monday, October 19 and enrollment can be completed online or by making an appointment to speak with an admissions advisor.
Former Star Teacher at Palm Coast’s Imagine School Is Indicted on Child Porn Charges in Oregon
Brett Cunningham, a former elementary school teacher at Imagine School at Town Center in Palm Coast, was indicted in Oregon last week on charges of allegedly possessing and duplicating child pornography.
Covid ‘Superspreader’ Night and Other Events at Social Club of Palm Coast Cause at Least 2 Deaths and Up to 50 Infections
An August 28 singing night at the Social Club of Palm Coast on Old Kings Road, where people sang and socialized, many without masks or social distancing, triggered a rare covid-19 superspreader event whose toll in infections and deaths the Flagler Health Department is still tallying.
Appeals Court Hears Challenge to Schools Using Non-Cops as Armed Security on Campuses
A controversial state program that allows school “guardians” to carry guns on campus came under scrutiny Tuesday, as an appeals court heard arguments in a legal challenge to Duval County’s “school safety assistants.”
FPC and Matanzas Face Off Sept. 18 on Gridiron as Fall Sports Return and Uncertainty Outnumbers Fans
Attendance at FPC will be limited to 640 people in the stands, or about 13 percent of the stadium’s capacity of 5,000. No tickets will be sold at the gate, no interactions between fans and athletes will be allowed.