DeSantis proclaims ‘year of the teacher' in pushing for higher wages

| 10/31/2019

DeSantis proclaims ‘year of the teacher’ in pushing for higher wages

Gov. Ron DeSantis said that passing his proposal to give teachers a raise is one of his top priorities for the 2020 state legislative session. “This coming legislative session really needs to be the year of the teacher,” he told a roomful of reporters at the annual “AP Day” event, where the state’s top elected officials speak to the media. State lawmakers are scheduled to begin officially meeting on Jan. 14 to discuss and pass bills through March 13. More from that Tampa Bay Times, Fox 4 Now, and MyPanhandle.com.

College enrollment down in Florida, but that's not the whole story

According to U.S. Department of Education figures, enrollment at some Florida colleges and universities has decreased in the past five years. But sometimes those numbers don’t show the full story. “When you have more schools trying to grow, and fewer students or similar numbers of students (enrolling), it's just not mathematically possible for everybody to get the number of students they're wishing to enroll each year,” said John Sullivan, Vice President of Enrollment at Eckerd College. [Source: WLRN]

Florida students post ‘significant declines’ on national reading test

Florida, a “shining star” on the national test scene two years ago, saw “significant declines” in reading scores posted by its fourth and eighth graders this year, results released this week showed. The Sunshine State mirrored the nation, which also saw average reading scores fall on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel ]

Florida college athletes could see financial benefits by next summer

Following California’s lead, Florida lawmakers are tackling NCAA rules that prohibit college athletes from reaping financial benefits from their prowess in the arena of big-money sports. With a bounty of marquee college sports programs, Florida could help student athletes flex their muscles as they take on the NCAA, which governs college athletics. [Source: Gainesville Sun ]

Lawmaker’s proposal would hold private schools to same requirements as public campuses

Florida’s public charter schools and their private peers, including those that don’t participate in state-backed scholarship programs, should have to adhere to the same requirements as the traditional public schools, according to an Orlando lawmaker’s proposal. Private schools would be required to hire teachers who have bachelor’s degrees or prove they have special skills, administer the state’s standardized tests and receive A-to-F letter grades just as their public counterparts do. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Stetson University in Central Florida chooses Vassar academic as next leader [Orlando Sentinel]
Vassar College academic Christopher Roellke was selected as the next president of Stetson University, where he’s to succeed Wendy Libby after her planned retirement this summer from the DeLand school’s top post, where she spent a decade.

› Florida students launch viral petition for day off after Halloween [Lakeland Ledger]
A recent trend that seems to be picking up steam is students petitioning to have the day off after Halloween. In fact, more than 350,000 people in school districts across Florida have signed an online petition with change.org hoping to cancel classes on Nov. 1, the day after Halloween. These requests aren’t limited to Florida. Thousands of petitions with more than a million signatures have also called for the same in school districts in Georgia, Colorado and Michigan, among other states.

› FIU professor reflects on teaching in prison [FIU News]
English professor Kenneth E. Johnson teaches courses to South Florida inmates as part of a local writing program. He is one of several FIU faculty who make the trek to either Dade Correctional Institution or Everglades Correctional Institution to offer weekly instruction.

› Orange County teachers union rejects district offer [Orlando Sentinel]
The Orange County teachers union Wednesday rejected the district’s latest salary offer, saying teachers do not want a two-year package that could mean no raises next year and that hikes health insurance costs for those needing family coverage.

Tags: Education eNews

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