Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently announced groundbreaking legislation that eliminates the high-stakes Florida Standards Assessment (FSA) test and replaces it with progress monitoring. Senate Bill 1048, sponsored by Senator Manny Diaz, Jr. and Representative Rene Plasencia, makes Florida the first state in the nation to transition fully to progress-monitoring for school accountability. Starting with the 2022-2023 school year, Florida students will have three short check-ins instead of multi-day, end-of-year, high-stakes tests for English Language Arts and Mathematics. This new system of testing will benefit students, teachers and parents by allowing for informed instruction in a timely manner, that can be tailored to each student’s individual needs.
Northwest Florida State College (NWFSC) was recently named a 2022-23 Military Friendly School with a Gold Distinction by MilitaryFriendly.com. Every year, institutions earning the Military Friendly School designation are evaluated using public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey. Final ratings are calculated by combining the institution’s survey scores with the institution’s ability to meet minimum thresholds for student retention, graduation, job placement, loan repayment, and loan default rates for student veterans. Methodology, criteria, and weightings are determined with input from the Military Friendly Advisory Council of independent leaders in the higher education and military recruitment community. The gold-level distinction is awarded to schools that score within 10% of the 10th best school in their category. These schools are considered to be setting the example with their programs and initiatives. For more information about Northwest Florida State College’s military and veteran services, please contact our Veterans Success Center at 850-729-5375 or va@nwfsc.edu. The 2022-23 Military Friendly Schools list can be found at www.militaryfriendly.com.
The Collegiate High School at NWFSC received a $2 million Early College Career and Technical Education grant from Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Department of Education, which will allow it to expand the Collegiate High School by introducing the first class of ninth graders and implementing a new degree track. This will enable students to earn an Associate in Science in Computer Information Technology or an Associate in Science in Engineering Technology while simultaneously earning their high school diploma. The Collegiate High School is a public charter school located on NWFSC’s Niceville campus and is free to students. The high school is a designated Florida School of Excellence and routinely ranks among the best high schools in Florida.
A FREE Apprenticeship Program is available at NWFSC, which is committed to helping the community and businesses attract and retain a talented, vibrant and skilled workforce. The program offers apprenticeships in Construction/Carpentry, Culinary, HVAC-AC-Ventilation, CNC Machining, Plumbing and IT. It blends classroom instruction and On-the-Job training to provide business and employees world-class training leading to employer recruiting and retention and giving employees tangible skills and certifications to better their careers. If interested, contact NWFSC workforce development staff at apprenticeships@nwfsc.edu. Fill out the application on NWFSC’s website for more information about a specific opportunity or meet with in person at NWFSC. https://www.nwfsc.edu/academics/non-degree-programs/registered-apprenticeships/
Okaloosa County
The Okaloosa County School Board is in the process of upgrading its parent-teacher software to a program called FOCUS. The upgraded systems will streamline education services while at the same time put more information in the hands of parents than ever before. Different parts of the FOCUS system will come online periodically until the completed system is fully operational in October 2022. The FOCUS Parent Portal is a tool designed to enhance communication and involvement for you in your child’s education and is accessible through the FOCUS mobile app or an internet browser. With this upgrade, parents will have access to their student’s attendance, grades, accommodations and more in real time. Kindergarten registration is now taking place through FOCUS for the Fall of 2022. Parents will create a FOCUS Parent Portal account before registering their student and will have access to the new resources through the FOCUS software in September! Visit www.okaloosaschools.com/focus to view the roll-out timeline, see a sneak peek at what FOCUS looks like, and ask questions about the new system.
Views: 0
