Florida’s public schools are at risk

Editorial, Miami Herald Thurs. July 16, 2009 Gov. Charlie Crist keeps hailing the federal stimulus package as a magic job-saver — on Wednesday he pointed to $2 billion of the money helping 26,000 teachers stay employed in Florida. The governor’s pronouncement came a day after President Barack Obama pledged $12 billion for the nation’s community…

Banking rules, poor schools blamed for detering ‘world class economic development’ for Florida

BY SCOTT ANDRON sandron@MiamiHerald.com Miami Herald July 15th http://www.miamiherald.com/business/story/1142158.html Florida’s economy needs less onerous regulation of international banking and more investment in education, local business leaders told the state economic development agency Tuesday morning. More than 100 people turned out for a forum at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens to discuss the state economy as…

Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)* – Making A+ schools look like failures. How Florida Hitched Itself to a Flawed System of Accountability

FundEducationNow.org 07/06/09 *Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), HB 991, a priority of Education Commissioner Dr. Eric Smith was signed into law last month by Governor Crist.  Required as part of the Federal No Child Left Behind Act, AYP measures schools based on a pass/fail system.  To achieve AYP, schools must meet proficiency benchmarks in 39 separate…