A lot of kids in Jacksonville and around Florida are getting access to meals that include fruits or vegetables.
The Jacksonville Children’s Commission is among the groups making sure kids eat lunch. Food is doled out at 172 locations around the city, including 14 public libraries.
Children's Librarian Charles Roig entertains kids in the Dream Big, Read program.
Florida students can exercise their reading skills over the summer through a free program at their public library.
The goal is to mitigate the summer reading loss that leaves some students two years below grade level by the time they reach middle school.
The program is helped by a collaborative effort among states to make more low-cost summer reading materials available to local libraries.
Librarians in Miami kicked off the “Dream Big, Read” program thanks to a federal grant. Charles Roig got things started by leading the kids in a song and dance session.
“Hopefully they leave with a joy of reading and interest in reading,” said Roig.
The program is designed to help students avoid what’s become known as the summer slide.
“This is where many children, especially low income children, forget a portion of what they learned during the prior school year over the summer break,” said Ann Stone, Senior Research and Evaluation Officer for the Wallace Foundation.
“Since this happens every summer, summer learning loss accumulates and ends up contributing substantially to the achievement gap that we see between low-income children and their more fortunate peers,” Stone said.
Student leaders and administrators from Palm Beach State College and Miami-Dade College North are joining Florida PIRG to call for a bipartisan bill to keep interest rates low.
“We are urging Senators Nelson and Rubio to act to extend the low interest rate on federal student loans on behalf of all students,” Christine Lindstrom said, Florida PIRG Higher Education Program Director.
The groups are focusing on Latinos, which Lindstrom said have been hit particularly hard by the economic downturn.
“Roughly 63,000 Latino students in Florida will see their loan amount increase by over $900 on average, which would total an additional $62-million in loan debt,” said Lindstrom. Continue Reading →
The U.S. Department of Education unveiled the FAFSA Completion Tool website a few months ago to track information about applicants around the country.
Reasons for not applying include confusion over eligibility, fear of more debt and lack of information about the application process according to Florida C.A.N.
Florida’s Board of Governors plan for the future is a trilogy.
Most states have long-term goals and an accountability plan to make sure everyone follows through.
But Dr. Jan Ignash, Vice Chancellor of the State University System, says it’s the middle volume that could be the most interesting as the board meets at the University of Central Florida this week.
“The board is now in the middle stage of what our chancellor calls the three great books. The strategic plan sets the long-range system plan and includes goals for degree production, research and other measures out to the year 2025,” said Ignash. “The accountability report is the other book end.”
“But in the middle are these university work plans, and this is really unique. There are not many states that do this,” said Ignash. Continue Reading →
Florida’s public schools rely heavily on parents to provide supplies and help with fundraisers. It turns out businesses also have crucial roles to play in providing resources for schools.
“Their pledge to student academic success through business partnerships embodies the fundamental relationship between education and the workforce,” said Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson. “As students prepare for post-secondary education and careers, the skills they learn today through these partnerships will ensure they are ready to compete for the jobs of tomorrow.”
Over three days, the board will hear presentations about each public university’s work plan for the next three years — including their tuition requests.
The board will review applicants for openings on boards of trustees at Florida A&M University (1), New College of Florida (1), and the newly created Florida Polytechnic University (5).
Gov. Rick Scott will address the panel during an informal lunch on Tuesday in an ongoing effort to keep the peace between the Governor’s Office and the board. Continue Reading →
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