The $300,000 grant is a three-year renewal of previous funding and helps Daytona State build on the success of its recently completed Campus Program.
Schools
Flagler School Board Lets a Pastor Insult a Transgender Student at a Meeting, In His Presence
Rev. Charlene Cothran of Palm Coast called a transgender student “mentally ill” and his father “confused” and “intimidated” in both their presence during a Flagler County School Board meeting this week, with pushback only from Colleen Conklin.
Fight at FPC Over Student’s Clothing Turns Into Brawl, But No Charges Are Filed
Sheriff’s deputies concluded the Dec. 11 fight had started within the school, then spilled into the parking lot by the Auditorium, involving dozens of students, and briefly continued in the parking lot near Olive Garden and through SnapChat.
Daytona State College to Admit New Cohort into Massage Therapy Program this Spring
Daytona State College’s Massage Therapy program will admit a new cohort in the Spring term of the 2019-20 academic calendar. The program is limited access, but only requires a standard GED and students must be 18 years old. A background check and drug screening are also required to ensure candidates are eligible to sit for […]
Florida House Revives Controversial College Survey That Would Undermine Intellectual Freedom
During the final hours of the 2019 legislative session, Senate Appropriations Chairman Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, warned senators the so-called intellectual freedom survey would “keep coming up again” and urged the Senate to block it from passing every time.
Amicus Curiae: The 16-Year-Old FPC Girl Was Racist. She Was Stupid. She Was Not Criminal.
In the case of an FPC girl who wrote bigoted threats about her teacher last December, the prosecution is making outlandish claims that it was act of terrorism, stretching the meaning of a 2018 law passed after the Parkland massacre. The law does not apply, as even the prosecution acknowledged the case’s weaknesses.
DeSantis Orders All High School Seniors to Take Civics Exam Similar to Immigrants’ Citizenship Test
Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday his administration will require all high school seniors in Florida to take a civics exam, similar to the one taken by people who want to become naturalized U.S. citizens.
For Public, Diversity and Technology Don’t Rate as High as District’s Priorities in Superintendent Search
Inspirational, trustworthy and innovative. On top of current educational issues. Financially savvy. Good listener. Familiar with Flagler schools. Those are the top qualities unidentified respondents want in the next Flagler County school superintendent, according to a school district online survey.
School Boards and Superintendents Back DeSantis Pay Raise Plan
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ proposal to set a minimum $47,500 salary for public-school teachers received a boost Thursday when it was backed by the Florida School Boards Association and the Florida Association of District School Superintendents.
Daytona Beach Police Chief Craig Capri Honored with LeRoy Collins Hometown Hero Award by Association of Florida Colleges
Craig Capri, a 1989 graduate of Daytona State College’s Law Enforcement Academy and current Daytona Beach Police Chief, has been honored as the 2019 LeRoy Collins Hometown Hero Award winner presented by the Association of Florida Colleges (AFC).
Belle Terre Elementary PTO President Jennifer Paterno Addresses Ongoing Investigations
Belle Terre Elementary School President Jennifer Paterno discusses her role in bringing to light issues that led to an internal school district and criminal investigation of alleged financial improprieties in the organization previously.
FPC Student Faces Felony Charge After NFL Argument Escalates to Death Threat and Insults About Appearance
Two Flagler Palm Coast High School students arguing over the NFL had an altercation that led to one boy making written death threats against the other boy and his parents, on Instagram.
Belle Terre Elementary Principal Culver Under Criminal Investigation By FDLE as District Announces Interim
Belle Terre Elementary Principal Terence Culver is under criminal investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Jessica DeFord was appointed interim principal at the school.
Flagler Students’ and Faculty’s ‘Football Sunday’ at Palm Coast Church Termed ‘Serious Constitutional Violation’
“Football Sunday” at Palm Coast’s United Methodist Church has annually invited students, coaches and faculty from FPC and Matanzas, among others, in religious services, drawing a rebuke from the Freedom from Religion Foundation on constitutional grounds.
Why I Filed the Complaint Against Belle Terre Principal Terence Culver
Stephen Furnari, author of the complaint against Belle Terre Principal Terence Culver, cites misappropriation of funds, sexual harassment and hostile workplace, discrimination and nepotism and retaliatory practices, among other issues.
Belle Terre Elementary Principal Culver ‘Retires’ As District Investigates Allegations of Hostile Work Environment
Belle Terre Elementary Principal Terence Culver was under internal investigation over a hostile work environment when he announced his “retirement,” following other investigations that looked at unaccounted funds in the PTO account and issues with disciplining of a special education student.
Fast-Track Enrollment Saturday at Daytona State College, Dec. 7
DSC offers an easy-access, no-cost session – Enrollment Day – on Saturday, Dec. 7, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at DSC’s Daytona Beach Campus, Wetherell Center, located at 1200 W. International Speedway Blvd.
Search Fatigue or Satisfaction Limit Turnout at Public Forum on Choosing Next School Superintendent
Just eight people participated in a public forum designed to hear ideas about what sort of school superintendent should be hired next, what challenges lay ahead and what works in the district today.
Dave Sullivan Is New County Commission Chairman, McDonald Retains School Board Chair
The titles don’t necessarily mean as much as they imply. No chairman or vice-chairman has more power than he or she would have had without the title, though some try to use more heft than they have.
DeSantis Wants $1 Billion Injection into Public Education, Mostly For Teacher Pay
After dubbing next year the “Year of the Teacher,” DeSantis has made two major teacher-compensation packages the centerpiece of his education spending plan for the 2020-2021 fiscal year.
UNF’s MedNex Plan With Palm Coast as Hub Creating “A Lot of Buzz” as Committee Deliberates
University of North Florida President David Szymanski this morning briefed a committee of the university system’s Board of Governors on UNF’s plans for an innovative “medical nexus” that would include Palm Coast and AdventHealth as key partners.
DeSantis Proposes $91.4 Billion Budget, With Focus on Teachers and Environment
Lawmakers will decide whether to move forward with DeSantis’ priorities, such as his plan to set minimum teacher salaries at $47,500 — an idea that would cost $603 million next year.
Visiting Flagler, State Board of Education Singles Out Wadsworth’s Anna Crawford, a Finalist for State Award
Wadsworth Elementary Principal Anna Crawford is one of three finalists for the 2019-2020 Innovative Principal Award, and was recognized, along with one of her sixth grade students, during a state Board of Education meeting in Bunnell.
Daytona State College Announces New Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting
Daytona State College’s Bachelor of Science in Accounting brings the total number of bachelor’s degrees offered by DSC to seven. The new program is scheduled to begin fall 2020.
Flagler Professor Discovers Unknown Spanish-Timucua Book While on Sabbatical
Timothy J. Johnson, Craig and Audrey Thorn Distinguished Professor of Religion at Flagler College, recently discovered a Spanish-Timucua book by the Franciscan Friar Francisco Pareja. The book, previously unknown to scholars, was published in Mexico in 1628.
DeSantis Pitches Bonuses for Teachers and Principals Based on School Grades
Bonuses would be up to $7,500 for teachers and up to $10,000 for principals, drawing immediate criticism from the teachers union, which has long pushed for salary increases rather than bonuses.
Parent Who Allegedly Threatened to Burn Down Bunnell Elementary Over Racism Faces Felony Charge–and Potential Hate Crime
A 23-year-old parent of two children at Bunnell Elementary accused school staff of being racist and was heard allegedly threatening to burn down the school. The sheriff’s office forwarded a felony charge to the State Attorney’s Office and recommended a more serious charge under the state’s hate-crime law.
Daytona State College Announces New Specialization Courses for Risk Management and Insurance
Daytona State College has added a new component to its Associate of Science degree in Business Administration with the addition of specialized courses in Risk Management and Insurance (RMI). These courses are designed to prepare students for entry-level jobs in the insurance industry. “Recent trends in the insurance industry, regionally and locally, prompted us to offer the specialization,” […]
Next Year’s School Calendar Builds In 2 Days Off for Elections and Hurricane Make-Up Days, Leaving Thanksgiving Week Off Intact
Next year’s Flagler schools calendar will keep students off campus on election days and provide four built-in hurricane make-up days before Thanksgiving Week is affected.
School Board Calls for Investigation of FPC’s Discipline Procedures in Unusual Settlement With Ex-Teacher’s Whistleblower Complaint
Vanishing disciplinary paperwork and lax follow-ups in bullying and harassment complaints were of special concern to the school board as it settled a whistleblower case with ex-FPC’s i3 teacher Robert Sprouse Tuesday, agreeing to pay him up to $30,000.
Palm Coast Lines Up Support from County and Cities for UNF’s MedNex Initiative in Town Center
Flagler County commissioners today unanimously endorsed a proposed UNF partnership with Palm Coast to create a medical hub in Town Center as the county’s top legislative priority for 2020.
From High School to $37,000-a-Year Firefighters: Flagler Hires 1st Three Recruits Out of FPC’s Fire Academy
Noah Dunaway, Dylan Cronk and Beau Kruithoff, all 18, are the very first Flagler County Fire Rescue recruits to be hired directly out of FPC’s fire academy. They were introduced to the Flagler County Commission this morning. They’ll be making $37,000 a year within weeks.
Rymfire’s LaShakia Moore and iFlagler’s Erin Quinn Are Flagler District’s Top Administrators of the Year
LaShakia Moore, principal at Rymfire Elementary School was tapped as the top school administrator while iFlagler’s Erin Quinn was selected as Assistant Principal of the year.
Superintendents Don’t Want Big Pay Increase To Go Directly To Teachers, But to a Pot They Would Control
Four superintendents advising lawmakers say Gov. DeSantis’s proposed $603 million teacher-compensation plan should go into the “base student allocation” — a pot of money districts can use with more flexibility.
In Public Survey, Flagler Schools, Teachers and Safety Get High Marks, the Board a Bit Lower Ones
A community survey by the Flagler County school district finds strong support for its teachers and programs and a strong sense of safety, though the survey drew around 400 responses and the questions were limited and leading.
Stetson University’s Monumental Man John B. Stetson Honored with Campus Sculpture
Installed in Palm Court in August, the larger-than-life statue and bench weighs approximately 1,600 pounds and features a relaxed Stetson sitting on the bench while tipping one of his famous hats and beckoning folks to grab a seat or strike a selfie pose.
Tobacco Use by Flagler and Florida Youth at All-Time Low, But Vaping Spikes to All-Time High
In Flagler, 15.1 percent of students in middle and high school reported using a vaping product in the past 30 days, up from 13.8 percent in 2016 and 7.8 percent in 2014.
3 Incidents Involving Students from 2 Schools in 5 Hours Result in 2 Arrests and an Injury
School resource deputies were kept unusually busy by a spate of incidents at Flagler Palm Coast High School and Old Kings Elementary Tuesday over the course of five hours.
Case of Student Arrested and Released After Allegedly Planning School Shooting Worries Safety Commission
In early September, law enforcement officers arrested a 15-year-old student who they say scribbled in a notebook six pages of specific and well-researched strategies to carry out a mass shooting at Baker County High School.
Flagler School Board Adopts Process Broadly Inclusive of Community in Choosing Next Superintendent
The Flagler school board will involve an internal, staff focus group, a community advisory committee, a community survey and a community forum as it decides what sort of superintendent to hire by next March.
What Life On the Margin Feels Like
The University of Wisconsin-Madison, is in an uproar over a video to promote the school’s homecoming that features no students of color. Here’s how young people of color feel at being treated like “others.”
Daytona State College Awarded $2.1 million Title III Grant to Help Retention and Graduation
The grant will support a new project called “Learner Engagement, Navigation, and Support (LENS),” and will enable the College to increase retention and graduation rates of first-time-in-college (FTIC) students in associate degree programs.
A “Highly Effective” Teacher Loses His Job at FPC. He Says It Was Retaliation for Whistle-Blowing. District Disagrees.
Robert Sprouse is claiming in a whistleblower action that his contract was not renewed because of the way he reported on a male senior’s repeatedly inappropriate and harassing behavior toward several girls–to school officials, the sheriff’s office and the Department of Children and Families.
DeSantis Seeks to Raise Minimum Salary for Florida Teachers to $47,500, or $7,000 Higher Than in Flagler
The Florida Education Association statewide teachers union issued a news release saying it was “encouraged to hear Gov. Ron DeSantis make clear that teacher pay matters to his administration.” But it also raised questions about how the plan would be funded and what it would do to help retain longstanding teachers.
Daytona State College Awarded Scholarship Grant for Military Veterans
Daytona State College has received a grant from the Margaret McCartney & R. Parks Williams Foundation to benefit military veterans and their families.
Rabbi Shapiro Makes Legal Case Against Flagler School Board Reviving Invocations at Meetings
Palm Coast’s Merrill Shapiro, a member of the national board of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, presented legal arguments at a talk Thursday against the Flagler County School Board’s potential return to starting meetings with invocations.
Zero Tolerance For Threatening Students? Not Exactly: Flagler District Enacts More Reasoned Approach
Even though one law calls for zero tolerance regarding threats on campus, another requires local districts to use a “threat assessment tool” that opposes zero tolerance and applies more careful, less drastic responses to students or anyone making threats.
Flagler School Board Attempts Weird Science of Conjuring Its Perfect Next Superintendent
The Flagler County School Board moved up the date of its nomination of the next superintendent to March 10, and drew up a blueprint for the sort of leader it seeks to replace the retiring Jim Tager.
Matanzas High School Student, 15, Arrested For Making Threats With Prop Gun in SnapChat Video
The 15-year-old Matanzas High School student made threats and send the video to several students he said he’d fight after school, after they came close to jumping him while he was in a school bathroom Monday, though no fight broke out.
Pair of Flagler Palm Coast High School Students Semifinalists for National Merit Scholarships
Flagler Palm Coast High School’s Elizabeth Wolcott and Liying Wu now compete for some 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $31 million that will be offered next spring.