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achievement gap

Florida students flock to another school choice option: career academies

Sherri Ackerman January 7, 2013

Sherri Ackerman

Sophomore Coral Barron, 15, is one of about 25 girls enrolled in the Central Florida Aerospace Academy in Lakeland. Coral hopes to serve as a pilot in the military one day. Enrollment in career academies has grown to more than 154,000 students in Florida.

Sixteen-year-old Stormy Foxen dreams of flying an airplane one day. So does classmate Coral Barron, 15, who hopes to join the U.S. Air Force after high school.

No flying for Ryan Long, though. “I get sick,’’ said the 14-year-old freshman, who, instead, has set his sights on a career in aircraft maintenance.

All three teens are working toward their goals and, in some cases, may reach them even before they graduate, earning pilots’ licenses or obtaining technical certifications while students at Central Florida Aerospace Academy.

Located at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport, the school is one of 63 career academies in Polk County and 1,900 statewide. Collectively, the programs are training more than 150,000 students for careers in art and design, police and fire service, information technology, cyber security and dozens of other fields.

Quickly and quietly, academies have become one of Florida’s fastest growing school choice options.

John Smith, director of workforce education for Polk County schools, believes career academies are key to driving economic development in Florida.

John Small, director of workforce education for Polk County schools, believes career academies are key to driving economic development in Florida.

“We’re building programs that give kids a well-rounded experience and one that they enjoy,’’ said John Small, director of Workforce Education for Polk County Public Schools. “At the same time, we’re providing a future workforce. I think that can help economic development. It’s kind of like the chicken and the egg.’’

In the 2007-08 school year, there were 19,868 students enrolled in 246 career academies, according to the Florida Department of Education. That same year, legislation led by now Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, went into effect, putting the high school programs on equal footing with other advanced academic offerings and opening the door for more programs.

By 2010-11, according to the most recent report available, enrollment reached 154,327 in 1,298 academies. Over the same span, the number of students earning industry certifications each year rose from 803 to 20,644.

More growth is coming. In 2011, lawmakers mandated that each school district put an academy in at least one middle school, ensuring the career and technical pipeline will get bigger. Last school year, there were 56 middle school academies registered with the state.

January 7, 2013 3 comments

Achievement Gap Charter Schools Education Reporting Funding Private Schools Testing and Accountability

Florida roundup: Security jitters, charter school funding, race-based academic goals & more

Ron Matus December 21, 2012

Ron Matus

Race-based achievement goals. Florida voters don’t like them, according to a new Quinnipiac poll, but … how much of that is based on widely circulated misinformation about them? Coverage from The Buzz, Orlando Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, News Service of Florida, StateImpact Florida.

Newtown plus doomsday. Prominent Tampa attorney Barry Cohen sparks a feud with the elite Berkeley Preparatory School over what he sees as shortcomings in security, reports the Tampa Bay Times. The state needs to better fund school resource officers, Leon County Superintendent Jackie Pons tells Gov. Rick Scott, reports Gradebook. Mayan calendar doomsday fears add to Newtown jitters at schools across the country, reports the New York Times. Lots of rumors and fears in Florida: Miami Herald, Orlando Sentinel. A gun instructor in southwest Florida offers free gun training to any interested teacher, reports the Fort Myers News Press.

Charter school funding. Don’t force school districts to subsidize charter schools, editorializes the Palm Beach Post.

Class size penalties in Duval. Superintendent Nikolai Vitti says the $7.4 million penalty – the highest in the state – should be dropped on appeal, reports the Florida Times Union.

High school grades due out this morning. SchoolZone.

December 21, 2012 0 comment

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Tony Bennett, two other candidates named finalists for Florida education chief

Sherri Ackerman December 4, 2012

Sherri Ackerman

The Florida Board of Education announced its finalists for education commissioner today, with a list of three candidates including Indiana’s outgoing education chief Tony Bennett.

Bennett, who gained national acclaim and criticism for pushing Florida-style education reforms in his home state, lost his re-election bid last month. That immediately sparked rumors that the Chiefs of Change leader might come to the Sunshine State.

The other finalists culled from 53 applications are:

Charles Hokanson Jr. A consultant and former president of the Alliance for School Choice, he also served as a deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Education, appointed by former President George W. Bush. According to the Orlando Sentinel, Hokanson said he worked on state reform efforts at the alliance, including those pushed in Florida by former Gov. Jeb Bush.

Randy Dunn. Murray State University president and a former Illinois state superintendent of education.

The board will interview the finalists during its Dec. 11 meeting in Tampa.

The new education commissioner will replace Gerard Robinson, who left at the end of August. Robinson, who only took the job a year earlier, said at the time that being apart from his family in Virginia proved too challenging. He also received sharp criticism surrounding changes to the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test that resulted in test scores dropping statewide.

Pam Stewart, the interim education commissioner, did not submit an application for the permanent post.

December 4, 2012 0 comment

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Florida roundup: Rick Scott, religious schools, charter performance & more

Ron Matus November 26, 2012

Ron Matus

What does Rick Scott want? Orlando Sentinel columnist Beth Kassab on the possibility of Tony Bennett coming to Florida: “Indiana’s loss could be Florida’s gain. Then again, it will all depend on whether the state board and the governor are looking for somebody to push Florida forward or somebody to soften Scott’s image on education reform. There are worrisome signs that Scott is looking for the latter.” Two knocks don’t make a pattern, but this is the second time in a month Scott has been criticized from the reform side.

Joining the chorus. Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts says the state Board of Education lowered the bar for minority students when it adopted short-term achievement goals that called for steeper rates of improvement for those students.

Tax credit scholarships and religious schools. The Orlando Sentinel takes a look at a long-established fact – the majority of students receiving tax-credit scholarships attend religious schools – and critics recycle myths about funding and accountability.

State settles with Christian college. From the News Service of Florida: “Settling a federal lawsuit that involved questions about the school’s “secular purpose,” state education officials will allow students at a Central Florida Christian college to be eligible for a popular grant program.” Complaint here. Settlement here.

Charter school analysis. News outlets continue to highlight UCF Professor Stanley D. Smith’s analysis, which finds that as a group, charter schools in Florida under perform traditional public schools. Smith writes an op-ed for the Tampa Bay Times. The St. Augustine Record uses his findings as a basis for this editorial.

November 26, 2012 0 comment

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Hispanic voters want to hear more about education reform, school choice

redefinED staff November 21, 2012

redefinED staff

Fuentes

Politicians eager to gain or retain the trust of Hispanic voters should focus on education and put particular emphasis on expanding school choice, suggests Julio Fuentes, president of the Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options, in an op-ed in today’s South Florida Sun Sentinel. Here’s a snippet:

We know that education reform and school choice are top issues for Latinos, second only to jobs and the economy, based on the HCREO/AFC poll released this past summer of voters in five key battleground states including Florida. The poll found that education is a top-tier issue for battleground voters and Latinos – even more important than immigration, in some cases. The poll found that Latino voters in Florida, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, and New Jersey are more likely than voters overall to cite improving education and increasing education options as core priorities.

Both presidential candidates stressed on election night that those in office must now work jointly and in a non-partisan way to address the great civil justice issues of our time. These issues include immigration, reducing the gap in quality educational opportunities for minorities, expanding school choice options so that all students regardless of zip code or socioeconomic background have a chance to excel. According to national data from the Pew Hispanic Center, only about 13 percent of Hispanic 25- to 29-year-olds complete at least a bachelor’s degree, compared with 39 percent for whites in the same age group and 53 percent for Asians. This gap cannot persist.

(Full disclosure: Fuentes is a member of the board of directors for Step Up For Students, which co-hosts this blog.)

November 21, 2012 0 comment

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Florida roundup: Broad Prize, Amendment 8, F-rated charter schools and more

Ron Matus October 24, 2012

Ron Matus

Miami-Dade Superintendent Alberto Carvalho reacts to the award announcement.

More Broad Prize coverage. As we noted yesterday, the Miami-Dade school district won this year’s Broad Prize, which goes to the urban district with the most academic progress. More from the Orlando Sentinel, Christian Science Monitor, Associated Press, Education Week. The Palm Beach school district was a finalist, which is also impressive. All this is more reason to routinely compare achievement data district by district in Florida. Also worth noting: Miami-Dade is a poster child for the new definition of public education, with a broad menu of learning options and huge numbers of parents embracing them.

Charter school issues in Volusia. The Volusia school board approves improvement plans for two F-rated charter schools, reports the Daytona Beach News Journal.

PTA doesn’t like it. The Florida PTA pans the Board of Education’s decision to set steeper improvement goals for low-income and minority students, reports the Gradebook blog.

More on Amendment 8. The Tampa Bay Times gets credit for going into detail about the legal case that’s at issue here – a case that has nothing to do with vouchers. ICYMI, our take on Amendment 8 here and here.

So the Democrat supports vouchers? In this state senate race in Central Florida, yes, notes the Orlando Sentinel.

October 24, 2012 0 comment

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Miami-Dade school district wins Broad Prize for most student progress

Ron Matus October 23, 2012

Ron Matus

For the Miami-Dade school district, the fifth time’s the charm. After being a finalist four other times, Florida’s biggest school system finally won the Broad Prize in education today, given to the urban district making the most progress in student achievement. “Miracles are possible, even when you have to wait five years,” Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said as he accepted the award, according to the Miami Herald.

The prize is well deserved. Miami-Dade has a greater percentage of low-income and minority students than any big district in Florida. And yet, as we’ve noted many times on redefinED (like here and here), no big district has made bigger gains over the past decade. The judges at the Broad Foundation took note. So did U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan: “I commend the entire Miami-Dade community for establishing a district-wide culture of results that empowers teachers and students, puts more resources into helping children in the lowest-performing schools, and is helping narrow the opportunity gap.”

Carvalho listed a number of strategies to explain the district’s success, including a focus on teacher quality and struggling schools, and an expansion of learning options. All of those reforms together helped lift the kids in Miami-Dade. All of Florida should be proud.

October 23, 2012 0 comment

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Time to compare Florida school districts

Ron Matus October 22, 2012

Ron Matus

As a group, low-income students struggle more than their wealthier peers. But in Florida, poor kids in some districts do a lot better than poor kids in others.

In Seminole County, for example, 56 percent of third graders eligible for free- and reduced-price scored at grade level or above on this year’s FCAT reading test, according to new state Department of Education data. In Duval County, meanwhile, 39 percent did. Among the state’s biggest districts, Seminole has one of the lowest rates of low-income kids. But so does Duval. And the low-income kids in Miami-Dade, which has the highest rate (nearly 20 percentage points higher than Duval), easily outpaced their counterparts in Duval. They did so in every tested grade, by an average of nine percentage points.

So what gives?

I’m not sure. But I think it’s worth a closer look.

We compare schools to each other so we can learn from those that make more progress. Ditto for states. Education Week’s annual Quality Counts report puts states side by side. It’s thoughtful and useful. It’s time for a similar spotlight on Florida school districts, which include some of the nation’s largest urban districts and an average enrollment among the top 10 of 165,000 students. Anybody could take the lead in setting that up – the press, parent groups, researchers, lawmakers, state education officials, maybe even the districts themselves.

Even with state mandates, districts have considerable leeway. Taking a closer look at achievement data district by district would spark more discussion about which ones are employing policies and programs that make the biggest difference for kids. The variation is endless. Some districts put more disability labels on minority students. Some put a premium on career academies. Some focus on principal development. Some have stronger superintendents. Some face more competition from charter schools and tax credit scholarships. How do things like that factor into district-to-district gaps? I’m sure it’s difficult to sort one from another, and impossible to draw definitive conclusions. But we won’t develop better hunches without looking at the data and talking about it.

A deeper dive into FCAT scores is one place to start. Most of the data I’m referring to is posted every year by the DOE, a few months after FCAT scores are released in late spring and early summer. It’s fascinating stuff – a breakdown of scores by district, subject, grade, FCAT level – and by all kinds of subgroups. I’ve talked to enough bona fide researchers about these numbers to know they raise fascinating questions.

Take Duval again.

October 22, 2012 0 comment