Colleges May Give More Weight To Writing Scores
(Tampa Bay Online © 09/28/2008)
If Florida's college-bound students haven't thought much about the SAT writing test, they had better start soon: the University of South Florida and others are paying more attention to their scores. Although the emphasis has been on the critical reading and math portions of the test, USF, Florida State University and the University of Florida this year are considering writing results to help det...

Canal Point speech students earn top award for anti-bullying video
(Palm Beach Post © 09/29/2008)
The black and white video opens to three bullies crowding in on their victim. "You're a chicken." "You live in a barn." "Your mom's a hen and your dad's a rooster." "You're gallus domesticus!" And really, he is. Kind of. He's a guy in a chicken suit. But that doesn't make him fair game for bullies.

Will Florida attract the boomers?
(Sarasota Herald-Tribune © 09/28/2008)
Each and every day from now until 2023, roughly 10,000 Americans will blow out the candles on their 60th birthday cake. That means four million people a year face impending decisions on whether to stay where they have been earning their livelihood, or to indulge their dreams by moving to their idea of retirement heaven. At stake are hundreds of billions of dollars…

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Indian River State College could add 10 more bachelor degree programs
(Jupiter Courier © 09/29/2008)
FORT PIERCE -- Indian River State College could double its number of bachelor degree programs by next fall. The college's first baccalaureate classes started in January, and officials already are looking at developing another 10 bachelor degree programs to help strengthen the Treasure Coast's production of employees for technology and biotech work.

FSU Law Student Bar named the best
(Florida Bar News © 09/28/2008)
The Florida State University College of Law Student Bar Association has been selected as “SBA of the Year” by the American Bar Association’s Law Student Division. Numerous student bar associations from around the nation competed for the annual award. Florida State Law’s Student Bar Association was recognized following a year of many accomplishments.

Colleges May Give More Weight To Writing Scores
(Tampa Bay Online © 09/28/2008)
If Florida's college-bound students haven't thought much about the SAT writing test, they had better start soon: the University of South Florida and others are paying more attention to their scores. Although the emphasis has been on the critical reading and math portions of the test, USF, Florida State University and the University of Florida this year are considering writing results to help det...

Chancellor's Exit Means Tough Search For State
(Tampa Bay Online © 09/28/2008)
A lot was at stake last spring: The leader of Florida's public universities warned top lawmakers that his schools were weakened by budget cuts and that a planned move by the Legislature to overhaul his system of higher education would erode its credibility. Those lawmakers snubbed him and ended their meeting together by telling him he was "dismissed.

UF poll: Debate is a close match
(Gainesville Sun © 09/28/2008)
Sen. Barack Obama won or drew even with Sen. John McCain in Fridays initial presidential debate while neither candidate did or said anything to hurt himself, according to several University of Florida professors and a survey of a group of UF students. The debate was the first of two between Democrat Obama and Republican McCain…

Michelle Obama, Jill Biden speak to nearly 8,000 at FAMU campus about student issues, economic crisis
(Tallahassee Democrat © 09/28/2008)
About 8,000 people came to Florida A&M University on Saturday to hear the wives of the Democratic presidential candidates talk about student issues; the economic crisis and call on people to register to vote. The visit by Michelle Obama, wife of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, and Jill Biden, wife of Delaware Sen.

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Urban school superintendents hard to hang onto
(Tallahassee Democrat © 09/29/2008)
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- St. Louis is looking for its eighth school superintendent since 2003. Kansas City is on its 25th superintendent in 39 years. Despite good salaries and plenty of perks, a recent study found that the average urban superintendent nationwide stays on the job only about three years - which educators say isn't enough time to enact meaningful, long-lasting reform.

Review suggests more teacher misconduct at poorer schools in Pinellas and Hillsborough
(St. Petersburg Times © 09/29/2008)
When Stephanie Ragusa allegedly began having sex with a student, she was teaching in a school where half the students were low-income. When Debra Lafave was arrested for the same thing, she was teaching in a school where more than 60 percent were low-income. Coincidence? Maybe. But Pinellas and Hillsborough teachers punished by the state…

Parents sing Blue Ribbon school's praises
(Pensacola News Journal © 09/29/2008)
Five days a week 40-year-old Gulf Breeze resident Vincent Sclafani drives 45 minutes to Shalimar where he works as a computer consultant. Gas prices are certainly a consideration for the Sclafanis but not more so than education. Victor's wife, Belen, 35, said her family will stay put, because she wants her children to stay at Oriole Beach Elementary School.

2 schools snag 'Blue Ribbon' status
(Florida Today © 09/29/2008)
Two Brevard schools were given the national "Blue Ribbon" designation this year because of their high level of achievement. Edgewood Jr./Sr. High on Merritt Island and Freedom 7 Elementary in Cocoa Beach were two of 320 schools in the United States and 16 schools in Florida to win the honor. The Blue Ribbon, an award that's part of the federal No Child Left Behind initiative, honors ...

Canal Point speech students earn top award for anti-bullying video
(Palm Beach Post © 09/29/2008)
The black and white video opens to three bullies crowding in on their victim. "You're a chicken." "You live in a barn." "Your mom's a hen and your dad's a rooster." "You're gallus domesticus!" And really, he is. Kind of. He's a guy in a chicken suit. But that doesn't make him fair game for bullies.

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Florida House, Senate races heat up
(Tallahassee Democrat © 09/28/2008)
If it hasn't already, your mailbox will soon begin to bulge with campaign materials from state legislative candidates. Unless you're a devotee of public broadcasting or the home-shopping stations, it will be hard to watch 10 minutes of TV in October without hearing from House and Senate hopefuls. Some will even be ringing your doorbell, glad-handing you at football games or waving signs on street...

Will Florida attract the boomers?
(Sarasota Herald-Tribune © 09/28/2008)
Each and every day from now until 2023, roughly 10,000 Americans will blow out the candles on their 60th birthday cake. That means four million people a year face impending decisions on whether to stay where they have been earning their livelihood, or to indulge their dreams by moving to their idea of retirement heaven. At stake are hundreds of billions of dollars…

Abuse of the elderly can all too easily go unspotted
(Lehigh News Star © 09/28/2008)
The Department of Children and Families investigates cases involving vulnerable adults as well as reports about children. There are more people 60 and older than children in Lee County, but adult-abuse reports to DCF hover far below that of children abuse. Adults made up about 18 percent, or 2,574, of the department's 14,452 abuse reports from July 2007 to June 2008…

Food Allergies More Common, Especially in Kids
(Lakeland Ledger © 09/28/2008)
Michaela Mathis is only 4, but she already knows a five-syllable word: anaphylaxis. Four-year-old Michaela Mathis pulls out a tub of Earth Balance Butterfly Spread she eats as a substitute at her home in Auburndale. Michaela has a life-threatening allergy to milk products...

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WHERE DO WE STAND TODAY?
(Florida Times-Union © 09/28/2008)
Jacksonville residents made a leap of faith Oct. 1, 1968, trading corrupt and ineffectual old leaders for a new city-county government that extended City Hall's reach from the ocean to Baldwin. That consolidated government will enter midlife this week, dogged at age 40 by problems with crime, public confidence and money.