Florida schools want to improve attendance. Are field trips an answer? [Video]

The big story: It’s one thing to notice that students aren’t coming to school as often as they used to.

It’s quite another to do something about it.

In Pinellas County, schools superintendent Kevin Hendrick has made it a priority to find ways to have students want to come to class. He’s been emphasizing engaging lessons and plenty of enrichment activities, from clubs to academic competitions.

Field trips play a key role in the initiative. As Kim Hill, the district’s new director of student experience put it, “There is power in going off campus.” Read more here.

Speaking of competitive academics, the coach of an Alachua County high school’s nationally successful math team will start a private school focused on academic competition, Main Street Daily News reports. “America is very competitive, but we channel our competition in sports, for the most part. And I feel like we ought to be taking education a lot more seriously and channeling the competition that way,” …