I have four children in the Hillsborough County public school system. When my first two children were in elementary school a few years ago, I found out that schools no longer taught writing etiquette or cursive. ...more

September 26, 2009

Our school system needs to make serious inroads into the education of the bottom 50 percent of our students. ...more

March 13, 2009

In yesterday's paper a writer wrote that he hopes that President Obama fails because, "Thinking that we can stimulate the economy by bigger government and more government programs is absurd and never worked." This is a rather startling, and I believe, unsubstantiated statement. ...more

February 25, 2009

Ken Alvarez is convinced a higher power guided him to Hernando Christian Academy. ...more

February 21, 2009

Are our teachers making the grade(s)? A good teacher keeps students engaged, fosters curiosity and has the ability to teach what is being tested. Sometimes testing or grading certain students can be as painful for them as it is for the teacher, causing a negative attitude toward that subject for life. ...more

January 24, 2009

We all know there is a need for cutbacks in the budget, nationally, on the state level, and even in our own homes, but I feel the State of Florida has gone too far in their budget cuts. I attended the District School Advisory Council meeting at the Highlands County School Board for January and came away disheartened at how little our children seem to mean to the State of Florida. According to the paperwork I received there, our state ranks 50th in school spending and the budget just keeps getting cut further. ...more

January 19, 2009

The school board will know this week if the district is one step closer to a search for a new superintendent. ...more

January 13, 2009

Superintendent may be finalist for new job; finance director leaves Friday. ...more

January 12, 2009

"Outliers: The Story of Success," by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown, $27.99) ...more

December 14, 2008

as well as longtime school board member Marge Whaley - wants voters to take a leap Nov. 4 and elect an under-qualified teacher as the next superintendent of schools. ...more

October 15, 2008