Hillsborough County eighth-graders remained among the top scoring students who took the writing portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Tests, according to results released today. ...more

April 30, 2009

The latest report from Education Week finds that less than half of all African-American students, many of whom live in poverty, graduate from high school in Florida. That's a staggering statistic, and none of us who believe public education is a sacred trust can rest until we try everything possible to reach every child who is poor and disadvantaged. Only in a polarized political environment, then, could a program offering a few of those children a different learning option be viewed by well-meaning people as an affront to public schools. ...more

October 18, 2008

As the economy has weakened and citizens have become weary of increased taxes, more pressure is being put on state governments to find "painless" alternatives to fund education, which accounts for the largest category of state expenditures. ...more

October 4, 2008

As American students prepare to head back to school, parents should prepare for the imminent advertising blitz. Commercials selling everything from laptops to lunch boxes will soon jam the airwaves as companies try to explain how their latest products will help make this school year a success. ...more

August 16, 2008

The Florida Department of Education this week issued grades to the state's public schools. This no doubt re-ignited water-cooler debates on whether testing-based grading of school performance is accomplishing anything or is actually counterproductive. ...more

July 12, 2008

TOWN 'N COUNTRY - Some people don't know what they're going to do with their lives after they graduate from high school; luckily for recent grad Leah Lopez, she has known since she was 15. ...more

June 21, 2008

TOWN 'N COUNTRY - Some people don't know what they're going to do with their lives after they graduate from high school; luckily for recent grad Leah Lopez, she has known since she was 15. ...more

June 21, 2008

TAMPA - John Tortorella, the now former Lightning coach, spoke to the media for about 45 minutes this morning, the first time he has spoken publicly since returning in May from the World Championships where speculation began to circulate that he would not return for the final year of his contract. ...more

June 4, 2008

Getting knocked down isn't what matters. What you do when you're sprawled on the floor does. And if anyone could write a book on that, it's Kim Ruoff. ...more

May 9, 2008

Hillsborough school officials are celebrating the best average writing score for eighth-graders in the state on the essay portion of this year's Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. ...more

May 9, 2008