No one involved with the court case against Diana O'Neill disagrees that the teacher hit her severely developmentally disabled students in the head with water bottles, boards and binders. ...more

February 13, 2009

The children in Diana O'Neill's special education class started their mornings like many other students. ...more

February 11, 2009

In Part One entitled "Racing Through Life," I bemoaned the fact I had been the victim of hostile Type-A behavior on Sun City Center roads and elsewhere in our wonderful town. I suggested that perhaps we could use a course in town describing the dangers of a Type-A personality and teaching techniques to stop being one. I shared that I had been one in my younger years and still struggle with its problems. The rest of this column discusses the happy ending I've had. ...more

November 19, 2008

In Stephanie Ragusa's spring job evaluation, she received marks indicating she was unsatisfactory or needed improvement in every category but one. ...more

June 25, 2008

Woman accused of having sex with students dressed well, review said. ...more

June 24, 2008

Olympic gold medalist Michele Smith will return to Little League's Southern Region headquarters in St. Petersburg in early March to host a softball coaching clinic. ...more

February 2, 2008

A bat that plunged onto the head of a student at Compass Middle Charter School in Bartow last week was rabid, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said. ...more

December 6, 2007

These days at Pasco High School, some students are delivering their assigned book reviews not on traditional printed pages, but through podcasts - audio or video dispatches that can be broadcast over the Internet. For another assignment, one student will produce a short public-service announcement about the hazards of cyberbullying, the cruel way some children harass each other by using e-mail, cell phones or other new digital technologies. ...more

November 17, 2007

Few problems in public education are as vexing as the achievement gap between white and minority students, so it's worth celebrating when two local schools show the gap can be erased. ...more

October 22, 2007