The federal Department of Education plans to intensify its civil rights enforcement efforts in schools around the country, including a deeper look at issues ranging from programs for immigrant students learning English to equal access to a college preparatory courses. ...more

March 8, 2010

'Millstone' bill The front page of the Dec. 25 edition had a blatant error. It should have read "Senate OKs millstone health bill" - not milestone. Shame on you! This bill will be hung on my grandkids' necks. ...more

December 29, 2009

Detroit's (predominantly black) public schools are the worst in the nation, and it takes some doing to be worse than Washington, D.C. Only 3 percent of Detroit's fourth-graders scored proficient on the most recent National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) test, sometimes called "The Nation's Report Card." Twenty-eight percent scored basic and 69 percent below basic. "Below basic" is the NAEP category when students are unable to demonstrate even partial mastery of knowledge and skills fundamental for proficient work at their grade level. It's the same story for Detroit's eighth-graders. Four percent scored proficient, 18 percent basic and 77 percent below basic. Michael Casserly, executive director of the D.C.-based Council on Great City Schools, in an article appearing in Crain's Detroit Business, (12/8/09) titled, "Detroit's Public Schools Post Worst Scores on Record in National Assessment," said, "There is no jurisdiction of any kind, at any level, at any time in the 30-year history of NAEP that has ever registered such low numbers." The academic performance of black students in other large cities such as Philadelphia, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles is not much better than Detroit and Washington. ...more

December 26, 2009

The Hispanic student population is nearing 30 percent and black students account for 17 percent of students but minorities are noticeably under represented in the ranks of teachers and administrators in Highlands County district schools. ...more

November 23, 2009

More than 100 years ago St. Peter Claver Catholic School became the first private school in Florida with a mission to teach black students. But school officials say the landmark school faces a $250,000 budget shortfall for 2009-10. ...more

August 27, 2009

Student performance at Florida's charter schools falls far below that at traditional public schools, according to a Stanford University report. ...more

June 17, 2009

Six women from Avon Park spent several hours passing photographs back and forth a few days ago while they talked about friends and family. ...more

March 29, 2009

Otis Anthony has dedicated his life to improving conditions for the black community in Tampa. One of his many contributions is a collection of oral histories, articles and transcripts that he gathered in the 1970s and has since donated to the University of South Florida for preservation. The following are excerpts from an interview he did with G.V. Stewart, a black educator in Tampa before and after integration. ...more

February 7, 2009

Florida continues to outperform the national average on most measures of success in Advanced Placement exams, according to data released Wednesday. ...more

February 5, 2009

Florida continues to outperform the national average on most measures of success on Advanced Placement exams, according to data released today. ...more

February 4, 2009