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Stories about students and the initiatives designed to improve performance. Are the many education reforms Florida has adopted having an impact?

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September 1, 2014

FAU Students Building Robot Boat To Conquer The World

On the Intracoastal Waterway near Dania Beach, Ivan Bertaska was getting ready to captain his vessel. Bertaska wants to check the boat’s capabilities by having it speed up and slow down as it carves a wavy wake across the Intracoastal. “The wave pattern actually gives me a good range of velocities,” he said, “so at […]

August 20, 2014

Report: Miami-Dade’s Poorest Schools Have District’s Least Experienced Teachers

Students in some of Miami-Dade’s lowest-income schools are more likely to have teachers who are new to the profession, who miss more school time and who receive lower evaluation scores, according to a new analysis by the National Council for Teacher Quality. Washington, D.C.-based NCTQ looked at student and school data by school board district […]

August 18, 2014

Florida School Districts Preparing For Central American Immigrants

Jessica Gaspar was born in the U.S. and grew up speaking English at school — but at home, she speaks Q’anjob’al. That’s the Mayan language spoken by her Guatemalan parents. She said she and her brother struggled to practice their English once the school day ended. It’s why Gaspar volunteers at a community center on a […]

August 14, 2014

Take An Audio Tour Of Florida’s Newest University

Florida’s 12th university, Florida Polytechnic University, is an architectural marvel that sits right next to Interstate 4 in Polk County. The main building features a swooping veil-like facade designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. The public can get a peek of the new campus when it opens on Saturday. But WUSF reporter Steve Newborn took […]

August 11, 2014

A Q & A With The President Of Florida’s Newest University

This coming Saturday marks the grand opening for Florida’s 12th state university. Florida Polytechnic University, in Polk County, will offer a tuition-free education focused on science, technology, engineering and math — STEM — to its inaugural class of about 550 students. They start on August 25th. President Randy Avent sat down with Robin Sussingham from […]

August 6, 2014

Where Should Programming Fit Into Florida School Requirements?

Lots of people think teaching students computer programming is a good idea. But where coding fits in schools is a difficult question. Is it a science? A language? Career training? Florida lawmakers proposed, but did not approve, letting students substitute coding for foreign language or physical education courses required for a high school diploma. The […]

August 5, 2014

Why Taking More Breaks Can Help Students Get More Done

Set a goal. Work hard. Then, take a short break to recharge. That’s the thinking behind the Pomodoro Technique, a time management method used by and deadline-driven professionals, including coders, developers and the organizers of the CodeNow camp we attended in Miami. The Pomodoro Technique was created by programmer and consultant Francesco Cirillo in the […]

August 4, 2014

Computer Programming Camp Offers Lesson In Logic

Ryan Seashore starts off every CodeNow workshop with a simple request — write out step-by-step instructions for making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. A CodeNow teacher pretends to be a robot, and follows the students’ orders exactly as they’re written. Students quickly find that asking a computer to perform an everyday task isn’t so […]

July 24, 2014

Florida Schools Rearrange Schedules To Add Extra Hour Of Reading

Florida schools are making plans for how to add a state-required extra hour of reading instruction, according to two stories out today. In 2012, lawmakers required that the 100 schools with the lowest scores on the FCAT reading test add an extra hour of reading instruction to try and boost those scores. When the Office […]

July 16, 2014

Study: More High School Math And Science Requirements, More Dropouts

Adding more math and science courses to high school graduation requirements made students more likely to drop out, according to a recently published study by Washington University researchers. The study compared course requirement changes between 1980 and 1999. Florida was among a group of states with the most required math and science courses — six. […]

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