Mapping Access to Accelerated Courses at Florida High Schools
Check out our interactive map on the proportion of college-level courses offered by county. Continue reading
Sarah Gonzalez
Broadcast Reporter (Former)
Sarah Gonzalez was the Miami-based reporter for StateImpact Florida until March 2013. Previously, she worked at NPR in D.C. where she was a national desk reporter, web and show producer as an NPR Kroc Fellow. The San Diego native has worked as a reporter and producer for KPBS in San Diego and KALW in San Francisco, covering under-reported issues like youth violence, food insecurity and immigration. Her work has been awarded an SPJ Sigma Delta Chi and regional Edward R. Murrows. She graduated from Mills College in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and journalism.
- Email: disabled_reporter@stateimpact.org
- Twitter: @GonzalezSarahA
College Textbooks Take Bite Out Of Florida High School Budgets
thinkprogress.org
Florida high schools are graded in part by the number of college-level classes they offer high school students. Â Those classes require college textbooks, which are more expensive than high school textbooks, and the state doesn’t always give high schools enough money to cover the difference.
The 34 Miami Schools Where Students Walked Out for Trayvon Martin
Thousands of middle and high school students walked out of 34 Miami schools this week to protest the death of Miami Gardens teen, Trayvon Martin.
We’ve got the full list of every school with a walkout from the Miami-Dade school district.
And you can find all our coverage on how Trayvon Martin has impacted Florida schools after the jump.
On Friday, walkouts occurred at the following schools:
Miami Norland Senior
Miami Edison Senior
Miami Central Senior
William H. Turner Technical Arts Continue Reading
Students at 34 Miami Schools Walk Out of Class for Trayvon Martin
Alan Diaz / AP
Students walked out of 34 Miami middle and high schools on Thursday and Friday, some chanting “Justice for Trayvon,” in a sign of solidarity with the 17-year-old black student who was killed by a neighborhood watch volunteer last month in Sanford, Fla.
Protesters numbered more than 1,000 at some schools, others fewer than 100. Some teachers and principals gave their tacit approval.
Listen to why students are, and aren’t, walking out of class here on NPR.
The first walkout was at Carol City High School, where Trayvon Martin was a student last year. Hundreds of his old schoolmates walked out in the middle of the school day.
Nearly a month has passed since George Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon, who was unarmed. But it wasn’t until this week that Trayvon’s high school said anything about his death to his fellow students.
That got Miami students talking and organizing.
Alana Coreus, a 12th-grader, says students aren’t worried about getting punished for walking out of class. Continue Reading
Parents Requested School Not Acknowledge Trayvon Martin’s Death, School District Says
Mario Tama / Getty News Images
Marchers gathered in New York City to protest the investigation of Trayvon Martin's death. Marchers in the "Million Hoodie March" wore sweatshirts similar to one Martin was wearing at the time of his death.
This morning, the chief communications director for the Miami-Dade County school district, John Schuster said there is a reason the school did not announce Martin’s death on campus.
“Shortly after Trayvon’s death, his parents asked the school’s principal for privacy in the matter,” Schuster said.
“So counselors couldn’t do what they normally do. They couldn’t move from room to room and tell students who had passed away.”
But the school did make an announcement yesterday anyway, after StateImpact Florida started asking around.
Schuster says there’s a reason for that too.
“Now we have a lot of students who are expressing anger, frustration, and they really need to talk to a counselor,” Schuster said. “So its grown beyond those initial wishes of the parents and we’re addressing a new set of issues that students are expressing to us.”
How Trayvon Martin’s High School Reacted To His Public Death
_bigm33ch / Instagram
Students at Krop Senior High in Miami wore hooded sweatshirts to remember slain classmate Trayvon Martin.
It’s been nearly a month since self-appointed neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin, an unarmed teen in Sanford, Fla.
Martin’s death has inspired a national debate about race and justice.
But at the high school Martin attended in Miami, his death had not been announced publicly until today, when the school held a moment of silence for the slain student.
Ashley Aristide is a junior at Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High in Miami, where Martin went to school.
She’s having a hard time coping with her friend’s death.
“He’s dead and his killer isn’t even arrested, it just doesn’t make sense to me,” Aristide said. “I just really want justice to be served in this case because it’s not fair.”
But for more than three-weeks, Aristide said no one in the school’s administration was talking to students about Martin.
Miami High School Holds Moment of Silence For Trayvon Martin — Nearly One Month After Death
Gerardo Mora / Getty News Images
Attendees at a town hall meeting hold up a photo of slain teen Trayvon Martin.
The Miami high school attended by Trayvon Martin, the student shot and killed by a neighborhood watch leader in Central Florida, held a moment of silence for Martin this morning, students and staff have told StateImpact Florida.
Students at Dr. Michael M. Krop High School say it is the first acknowledgement of Martin’s death since he was killed while visiting his father’s girlfriend’s home near Orlando.
Update at 10:15 a.m. ET Miami-Dade School District RespondsÂ
This morning, the chief communications director for the Miami-Dade County school district, John Schuster said there is a reason the school did not announce Trayvon’s death on campus.
Some Florida Students Make The Paddles Used To Discipline Classmates
-
- The paddle at Holmes County High School in Bonifay, Fla. was made by students in woodshop class four years ago.
-
- The paddle at Holmes County High school is made of ash wood. Its about 6 ounces heavy, 16 inches long, 5 inches wide, and half an inch think.
-
- The paddle at Madison County Central elementary and middle school was made by a member in the community out of plexiglass. The paddle is about 18 inches long, 7 inches wide and a quarter of an inch thick.
-
- The paddle at Sneads High School in Jackson County, Fla. sits on the principal’s desk.
The late comedian Richard Pryor had a classic bit about being forced to find and strip a “decent switch” so that his grandmother could administer a “decent whippin.'”
Florida students in school districts that still use a paddle to spank misbehaving pupils know the feeling.
At Holmes County High School in Bonifay, Fla., students make the paddles in woodshop class.
“You can’t buy them anywhere,” said Eddie Dixson, the school’s principal. “There’s not a market for them, so yeah, students make it.”
Why School Leaders Say There’s Nothing Sexual About Paddling Students
Sarah Gonzalez / StateImpact Florida
Melynda Howell is the guidance counselor at Sneads High School in Jackson County Fla. She said paddling is not considered sexual in her small town.
Our story on Florida schools that paddle students was picked up by NPR and we’ve gotten some comments from folks who wondered about a sexual element to spanking.
John Shelley (JackinVosburg) wrote:
Why do they hit the kids in the butt? Is this a sexual thing?
Conky Swayze (Conky) wrote:
There’s so much sexual connotation with spanking that it does walk in that grey area.
Some who have been on the receiving end of a paddle say people outside of their community just don’t understand their culture.Â
Why Florida Schools Can Paddle Students Against Parents’ Wishes
Sarah Gonzalez / StateImpact Florida
Gierrea Bostick, 6, was paddled on his second week of pre-school without the consent of his mom, Tenika Jones. The paddles allegedly left welts on Gierrea’s bottom and Jones has filed a notice to sue the Levy County School District.
State law allows schools in Florida to punish students by spanking them with a paddle, which is often a wooden or plexiglass board.
The administrators at most schools with corporal punishment policies ask parents for permission to paddle their children. Many principals say they will not paddle a kid against the parent’s wishes.
But schools don’t always check the paperwork before they administer the punishment.
And when that happens, Florida statutes protect the principals and teachers from lawsuits.
Florida Law Protects Principals and Teachers
Robert Rush, a civil rights attorney in Gainesville, says state law does not require schools to get parental consent.
“If the school board and the principal specifically authorize corporal punishment, it can be administered lawfully against the parent’s wishes,” Rush said.Â