Education

Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) is halting plans for new school construction as the district braces for a projected decline of more than 3,000 students next academic year — a shift officials say could leave classrooms empty. Stephanie Vanos, OCSB member for District 6, joins Good Day Orlando to talk about the construction pause.

As students across Central Florida consider their futures beyond high school, a growing number are turning to hands-on career and technical programs instead of traditional four-year universities. As part of FOX 35’s Blue Collar Dollar series, we take a closer look Tuesday at a local dental assisting program designed to get students in Orange County Public Schools career-ready in under a year.

FOX 35 Classroom is kicking off a Blue Collar Dollar Series, where we explore options for students who don’t want to go on to a 4-year university. They can get started in the workplace and gain hands-on experience with career and technical education programs. On this segment, we check out options at Orange Technical College.

FOX 35 is celebrating local teachers for Teacher Appreciation Week. On today’s segment, we highlight Jeremy Davies, an IB math teacher making a difference in the classroom at Spruce Creek High School.

Today, the Marion County School Board will vote to name an interim superintendent. Danielle Brewer was selected from from seven candidates and is currently the senior executive director of high schools and secondary curriculum. If approved, Brewer would assume her role immediately and would continue in the position until April 29, 2026, or until a successor superintendent has taken office.

Parents, teachers and students are rallying in support of a Florida teacher who is losing her job. Her teacher contract is not being resigned for never year, because she used a student's preferred name without their parent's permission which violated state law. A petition to get the Brevard County teacher's contract renewed has more than 10,000 signatures.

Brevard Public Schools District 4 School Board Member Matt Susin joins FOX 35 to talk about several teachers and administrators in the area not behaving appropriately. This comes after Karly Anderson, the teacher arrested after being intoxicated at a high school party in January, returned to the classroom. She returned to the classroom on Monday. However, on the same day new bodycam footage was released. The Brevard County School District then removed her from the classroom.

School districts across Florida could lose millions of dollars in funding for acceleration programs, and these cuts could have a big impact on families as their students prepare for college. The bill in the house would cut funding by 50% for programs such as advanced placement, international baccalaureate, career-technical courses and dual enrollment. The measure, along with another bill in the senate, would change how schools calculate enrollment and funding.

A student at Ridgewood Park Elementary School is in trouble for bringing alcohol to school today. The Orange County school district has confirmed the student shared the alcohol with other students on campus. All the students were checked out by paramedics and were OK.