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Jeffrey S. Solochek - Education reporter
Jeffrey S. Solochek

Education reporter

I've been an education reporter for more than 25 years, in Illinois, Texas and Florida. Why stick with it? Because I see education as key to our community, whether it's about children learning, teachers and staff working, or residents seeking the best for their tax dollars. Our school systems are critical to our society, and I strive to tell you what's going on there. I've worked at the Tampa Bay Times since 2000, covering statewide education issues as well as the districts in Hernando, Hillsborough and Pasco counties. Think I've missed something? Send your ideas my way. I read all my emails.

  1. Teaching African-American and Holocaust history? Prove it, Florida Board of Education says
    22 minutes ago• Gradebook
    Rep. Geraldine Thompson, D-Orlando, urges the Florida Board of Education to hold schools accountable for teaching the Holocaust and African-American history, as required by lawmakers in 1994. The board was considering a rule on the matter at its Sept. 20, 2019, meeting in Jacksonville.
    School districts will have to report how they are providing the instruction required in Florida law.
  2. Hundreds of Wesley Chapel students could be reassigned to new schools in 2020
    1 hour ago• Gradebook
    The Pasco County school district would rezone the Seven Oaks subdivision from the Wiregrass Ranch High feeder pattern to the Cypress Creek High feeder pattern, beginning in the 2020-21 school year.
    The Seven Oaks subdivision is the primary target for rezoning.
  3. Florida education news: School threat tips, state testing, and voucher funding
    Earlier today• Gradebook
    Fortify Florida is a new app that allows for anonymous reporting of suspected school threats.
    A roundup of stories from around the state.
  4. A new Florida app is tracking school threats, but many are bogus
    Earlier today• Gradebook
    Pasco County school superintendent Kurt Browning says Fortify Florida, the new state-sponsored app that allows students to report potential threats, is "disrupting the education day" because the callers are anonymous, many of the tips are vague and there's no opportunity to get more information from tipsters. "I have an obligation to provide kids with a great education," Browning said. "I cannot do it with this tool, because kids are hiding behind Fortify Florida."
    Vague and anonymous tips often waste law enforcement’s time and disrupt the school day, says Kurt Browning, president of Florida’s superintendents association.
  5. Teens still learning English shouldn’t have to pass Florida’s 10th grade English test, lawmaker says
    Yesterday• Gradebook
    Rep. Susan Valdes, D-Tampa, during a Feb. 7, 2019, meeting of the House PreK-12 Appropriations subcommittee. [The Florida Channel]
    ‘One test should not determine the rest of your life,’ Rep. Susan Valdes says.
  6. Gradebook podcast: They’re back. Florida lawmakers start talking education priorities
    Yesterday• Gradebook
    The Florida House Education Committee focuses on early education in its first meeting of the 2020 session.
    School security and early learning get top billing in the first committee meetings of the looming 2020 session.
  7. Florida education news: Teacher workload, superintendent search, and active shooter drills
    Yesterday• Gradebook
    This image from a Pinellas County Schools video shows an armed police officer running to respond to a fictional active shooter.
    A roundup of stories from around the state.
  8. Pasco school district formally introduces 2-year pay plan
    Yesterday• Gradebook
    Representatives from the Pasco County school district and the United School Employees of Pasco discuss salary and benefits during negotiations on Sept. 18, 2019.
    The proposal is short on details, with officials saying they want to work through specifics during negotiations.
  9. Pasco School Board cuts property tax rate
    Sep. 18• Pasco
    Pasco School District headquarters in Land O' Lakes
    The board’s 2019-20 budget totals $1.39 billion.
  10. Pasco school visitors face video recording ban
    Sep. 18• Pasco
    The DeLucio family of Trinity toured the Mitchell High School campus and showed the visit on their YouTube channel, which has more than 1 million subscribers. Many parents, students and school officials were not amused.
    The proposed policy comes up for a vote on Oct. 1.