From a Department of Juvenile Justice press release: Juvenile delinquency in Florida’s public schools declined dramatically during the last six months of 2011, the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) announced today.

Delinquency referrals in schools throughout the state declined 16 percent compared to the same period the year before. School referrals declined in 46 of Florida’s 67 counties, with Miami-Dade recording the biggest numeric decline (353 cases or 60 percent) in school-related delinquency. A school-related referral is an arrest for a juvenile misdemeanor or felony committed on school grounds.

According to the DJJ stats (attached below), the numbers in Pinellas dropped from 403 to 357; in Hillsborough, from 455 to 420; in Pasco, from 184 to 158; and in Hernando, from 77 to 48. Here's the rest of the press release: ... Read more

FINANCIAL AID: The Pasco school district's technical education center sees a spike in adult enrollment after it offers access to federal grants. (Times photo, Stephen Coddington) 

HANDS OUT: USF prepares to solicit its students for donations. 

NOT ENOUGH? Florida officials wonder if there's adequate funding to support the state's school recognition program, the Orlando Sentinel reports. ... Read more

If you didn't think STEM was an enormous buzzword in education these days, consider this: What the Hillsborough County School District used to call the Science and Engineering Fair is now called the STEM fair.

STEM, of course, stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Politicians of all persuasions are advocating policies to get more students interested in science, and keep them there through college.

The STEM fair will take place Tuesday, Feb. 7 for private judging; and Wednesday, Feb. 8,  for public viewing at the Tampa Convention Center. Awards ceremonies are 6 p.m. for elementary school and 8:30 p.m. for middle and high school.

Winners will represent Hillsborough County at the 57th annual State Science & Engineering Fair of Florida from April 3 - 5 5 at the Lakeland Center. 
 

Glen Gilzean, appointed by Gov. Rick Scott to fill the late Lew Williams' seat on Pinellas County school board, comes to his new position from Educate Today, a nonprofit organization he founded while he was in graduate school at University of South Florida.

A day after Scott named Gilzean, 29, to the post, the Gradebook asked him more about the organization and its role in 2010-11 as one of four in the state permitted to award vouchers to poor students to attend private schools. A state Department of Education spokeswoman said Educate Today never ended up awarding any vouchers. Still, Gilzean said he's clear in his belief that vouchers provide a needed option to some families.

When we tried asking him more about that, he requested we send him our questions by email. Here are the answers he sent back: ... Read more

Bucking the opinion held by Florida's university presidents, a panel of presidents from eight of the state's community colleges told the Florida House Education Committee that they oppose tuition hikes.

The discussion came a day after the House Appropriations Committee approved a budget that would hike tuition 8 percent. Under a program known as tuition differential, colleges and universities will have the option of implementing another 7 percent hike, bringing the total increase to 15 percent. That's what happened last year, and it's likely to happen again.

University presidents, who spoke before the Education Committee last week, said the tuition hike is crucial. Florida is nearly at the bottom nationwide in terms of tuition rates -- No. 45 out of 50 states. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, according to the Florida College leaders. And Gov. Rick Scott shares that belief. ... Read more

The United School Employees of Pasco has scheduled two showings, and the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association one, of a documentary that focuses on four educators who love their jobs but are forced to ask themselves whether they can continue to afford being teachers.

If you'd like to put it on your calendar, American Teacher, narrated by Matt Damon, will be shown for free at 6 p.m. Feb. 9 at the River Ridge High center for the arts, and again at 6 p.m. Feb. 16 at the Wesley Chapel High center for the arts. In Pinellas, the showing will be at 6 p.m. Feb. 20 at Clearwater High.

Afterward, the USEP will have a panel discussion about the state of education today. From the flyer: ... Read more

As Florida lawmakers toss terms such as "parent empowerment" and "teacher protection," the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association wants to refocus the debate.

The union plans to rally at two major Pinellas intersections -- N. McMullen-Booth Rd. at State Road 580 in Clearwater, and 38th Avenue North at 4th Street in St. Petersburg -- at 4 p.m. Thursday "calling on the Florida Legislature to end legislative trickery and get to the real business of funding education to Make Our Schools a Priority!"

"Florida's budget problems are the result of an unfair tax system riddled with special interest tax loopholes designed to ensure that the biggest corporations and the richest of the rich don't pay their fair share. All of these devastating changes to our public schools are the direct result of Rick Scott and Tallahassee politicians rewarding their political backers in a shameful “pay to play” scam that will devastate our public schools, in every Florida community, and cost taxpayers billions in exclusive special interest contracts."

Pasco parents seeking to place their children in schools other than the ones they are assigned to through attendance zones have a month to apply for another choice. The district will take applications through March 1, and will not begin to review the requests until after that date.

The requests are not considered on a first come-first served basis. They are assessed based on several factors, including available seats in each grade level. That means in some cases, siblings might not get accepted to the same school, as has happened in past years.

Requests made solely to participate in athletics are not considered. See the full set of rules here.  ... Read more

To many, Florida looks like fertile grounds for charter school expansion. Lawmakers have been so friendly that a coalition of parent groups recently joined forces to protest one of the latest proposals, which they argue would take too much money away from the traditional public school system.

But even charter school operators have their concerns that the good times might not last.

Cheri Shannon, executive director of Florida's new Charter School Alliance, this week sent out an urgent call to action for supporters. She's worried that a recently proposed IRS regulation could make it near impossible for charters to find teachers. She writes in her alert: ... Read more