The big story: Florida schools continued to show improvement in the state’s annual letter grading system, which have over the past two decades become a quick way to get a sense of how well a school performs on spring testing.
This year, slightly more than 70% of schools earned an A or B. All districts made a C or higher.
Gov. Ron DeSantis celebrated the news, saying it shows how well the state’s education system is serving children and offers direction for further gains. But critics from the left and the right took issue with the grades, albeit for different reasons.
They’re pushing for changes. Read more here about state and Tampa Bay area grades. Find the results for all schools and districts on the Department of Education website.
Among notable outcomes: One long-struggling Escambia County school is not seeing improvement in its grade as a turnaround charter school and faces potential closure, the Pensacola News-Journal reports. • A D-rated Leon County elementary school jumped to an A grade, the Tallahassee Democrat reports. • The Duval County school district earned an A for the first time, the Florida Times-Union reports.
Hot topics
Charter schools: The State Board of Education will consider whether to allow Alachua County’s Newberry Elementary to convert into a charter school, WCJB reports.
Elections: A candidate to replace Sarasota County school board member Bridget Ziegler raised more than $45,000 in the first weeks of her campaign, Florida Politics reports.
Expansion plans: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has scaled back its plans to build an aviation training site in the Ocala National Forest amid complaints by neighbors and conservationists, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reports.
University leadership: The University of Florida faces a leadership crisis, with interim appointees serving as president, provost, chief finance officer, general counsel and deans of four prominent academic colleges, the Miami Herald reports.
Weather report: More than half of Miami-Dade County students attend school in an extreme urban heat zone, Axios reports.
From the police blotter … A Charlotte County middle school teacher faces additional charges after being accused of unlawful sexual activity with a minor student, WINK reports.
Don’t miss a story. Here’s a link to yesterday’s roundup.
Before you go … Sure, you’ve been on your share of dark rides before. How do they compare to Jurassic World in Beijing?