How to deal with falling enrollment? Florida public schools aim to compete.
It’s no secret that Florida’s public school enrollment has been on a downward slide. This year alone, the overall student population has dropped by about 70,000 children. The issue has everyone seeking solutions in the face of a growing voucher sector and the press by Schools of Hope charters to claim unused space in district campuses. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
Florida Trend Exclusive
Making a nursing program
Saint Leo University has never offered health professions programs — until very recently. In 2019, Dr. Kathleen Van Eerden was charged with developing a nursing program for the private Catholic school in Pasco County. She started by identifying four core tenets for the curriculum: evidence-based practice, interprofessional communication, culture of health and — most importantly, perhaps — clinician well-being. [Source: Florida Trend]
Hundreds more books removed from Florida schools, new report shows
About 400 books were "removed or discontinued" from Florida public schools in the 2024-25 school year by school boards across the state, according to a report by the Florida Department of Education – down from roughly 700 the year before. No books were removed or discontinued in 56 of Florida's 67 counties, or almost 84%. More than half of the books that were removed were in Clay County, southwest of Jacksonville. [Source: Tallahassee Democrat]
Should any students have priority access to Florida Virtual School courses?
Florida Virtual School would no longer offer priority enrollment to certain students, if state lawmakers have their way. The House Education Administration subcommittee on Tuesday advanced legislation (HB 129) that would delete advance consideration for students who otherwise do not have access to available courses, those who who seek a course to graduate at least one semester early, and children of active duty armed forces members who are state residents but not stationed in Florida. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
Educator unions are challenging a Florida education rule
Unions representing college faculty members have challenged a state Department of Education plan that would expand requirements for professors to post syllabi and other course material online. The Florida Education Association and the United Faculty of Florida filed the administrative challenge last week, contending that state education officials overstepped their legal authority in moving forward with the plan. The Department of Education proposed a rule that included the changes to the State Board of Education, which approved it Nov. 13. [Source: WLRN]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Tampa startup using AI to build custom curricula for schools
Riley Walker grew up in a Maine town with a population of 3,072. His sister was an artist who struggled in a rigid school system that offered little room for creativity. Watching her sparked a question that has guided his entire career. How do you make learning personal? How do you make it matter for every student rather than forcing them into the same mold? Those questions now shape ryco, a Tampa education technology company building custom curriculum and interactive learning tools for schools and businesses.
› Florida professor may have solved mystery of Peru’s Band of Holes
A Florida archaeologist’s decades-long persistence has helped solve one of Peru’s most puzzling geographical conundrums: the origin and purpose of the so-called Band of Holes in the country’s mountainous Pisco Valley. Charles Stanish, professor of archaeology at the University of South Florida, and an expert on Andean culture, spent years studying the more than 5,200 curious hillside shallow pits known to local residents as Monte Sierpe - serpent mountain.
› UF’s presidential salary has exploded in the last 20 years. Here’s why.
When Bernie Machen took over as president at the University of Florida in 2004, his contract paid him a base salary of $375,000 — the highest for any public university president in Florida at the time. Two decades later, the starting salary of UF’s acting president is three times as high, far outpacing inflation.
› Florida Poly joins high-tech alliance with tech company
Florida Polytechnic University has entered into a strategic high-tech alliance with The Skyway Organization, working to spark new developments in advanced manufacturing, materials science, aerospace and workforce development. Leaders from both organizations signed a memorandum of understanding formalizing the partnership at Florida Poly’s Barnett Applied Research Center in Lakeland.