My week at the RNC
By Joshua Santos | gargoyle@flagler.edu
With the DNC under a spotlight, it’s easy to forget that just last week Tampa, FL hosted the safest national convention in the history of America.
Florida
Video: Saints basketball highlights
Higher teacher pay will bring quality education
By Lindy Almony | gargoyle@flagler.edu
Americans speak often about investing in the future with K-12 education. President Barack Obama said during a speech in February that, “Education is an investment that we need to win the future.”
How much, though, do we really invest in education in this country? And how much does the success of our education programs depend on the teachers?
The easy way out of a tough spot
By Caroline Young | gargoyle@flagler.edu
New Florida Gov. Rick Scott has always said that he knows what is best for Florida education. His new law, the Student Success Act makes standardized tests the main evaluation tool for teachers’ abilities. And, he says it weeds out the fruitless ones.
Contrary to Scott’s belief, this law is everything but the best choice for our state’s suffering education system.
Merit pay hurts teachers, taxpayers
By Alex Bonus | gargoyle@flagler.edu
Lawmakers are forcing failed reforms on failing schools, hoping two wrongs makes a passing grade.
The Student Success Act, signed by Gov. Rick Scott on March 24, ties teacher salaries to student achievement. Starting July 1, professional evaluators will rank teachers on a four-part scale to determine their eligibility for bonuses, pay raises and promotions.
College life in a landmark
By Kelly Gibbs | gargoyle@flagler.edu
When I moved to St. Augustine from Gainesville two years ago, I never dreamed I’d one day sit on a sidewalk shooting the breeze with two older black men taking pictures of a former slave cabin and sharing neighborhood gossip.
I was excited to find my own cheap apartment down the street from campus in Lincolnville in August 2009. I was told I was moving into a “mixed neighborhood” by my landlady, but didn’t understand the phrase.
Depression mixed with weapons: Dead-Lands in the making
By Caroline Young | gargoyle@flagler.edu
We heard one gun shot. Sounds of sirens ricocheted from buildings in downtown DeLand, a small Florida town.
“Dead-Land,” we called it.
Florida educators hurting because of government
By Mari Pothier | gargoyle@flagler.edu
Florida’s done it again, shooting itself in the foot when it comes to public education.
The state already struggles in this department, but Gov. Rick Scott signed into law the Student Success Act that will make standardized tests like the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test the basis for teacher evaluations and pay. Also with the act, new teachers coming into the system will not be able to receive tenure.
At the Alligator Farm
By Angela Daidone | gargoyle@flagler.edu
Related Story: Alligator Farm reptile charmers accept risky job
Stats show St. Johns takes the lead in education
By Caroline Young | cyoung1@flagler.edu
St. John’s County superintendent Joseph Joyner said it is near impossible to compare the U.S.’s educational success with the rest of the world.
The Globe
“We have different tests and assessments than other countries,” he said.