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Florida ranked first in the nation for higher education

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Florida ranked first in the nation for higher education

| 5/16/2019

Florida ranked first in the nation for higher education

Florida once again is rated first in the nation for higher education, according to U.S. News and World Report rankings released Tuesday. The rankings are based on the percentage of residents who have college degrees, the time it takes students to complete two- and four-year programs at public institutions, the cost of in-state tuition and fees and the average debt for the graduating class of 2017. More from the Orlando Sentinel, the Tampa Bay Times, and NBC Miami.

See also:
» Is Florida really #1 in higher education? It depends on the stats

Governor Ron DeSantis orders changes to Florida's Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten program

Florida officials on Wednesday lamented a newly released figure showing that 42 percent of children in the state’s Voluntary Prekindergarten program were not ready for kindergarten last year, and said they planned to address the issue with more accountability measures. In an early evening statement, Gov. Ron DeSantis said he has asked education commissioner Richard Corcoran to create a plan for improving that number “and direct available funding to make enhancements.” More from the Tampa Bay Times, WPTV, and CBS 12.

Commentary: Career starts equal career gains for Florida’s women college graduates

Congratulations to all women college graduates in the state of Florida. You have achieved the goal of education. You are part of the larger group of women in the United States who are more educated than men. Women’s overall performance in school, as measured by higher GPAs and the percentage of degree completion in 4 years, also surpasses those levels attained by men. Progress is moving at a slower pace, however, for women and workplaces. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

In Florida, vouchers win ground, but courts may have ultimate say

Florida’s decision to test constitutional boundaries infuses a larger national debate about school reform – and the very nature of “public” schools. The new test reflects “a more clear-cut partisan divide in the courts, where courts have traditionally tended to rule simply on questions of church and state and where now conservatives ... see this as a matter of economic freedom, of making a choice,” says Christopher Lubienski, who studies school choice policy at Indiana University Bloomington. [Source: Christian Science Monitor]

Florida clears teacher certification backlog from January

Back in late January, the Florida Department of Education had 31,666 teacher certification applications open, with 15,290 of them in hand longer than the statutory processing limit of 90 days. On Wednesday, education commissioner Richard Corcoran announced all those requests had been completed, meeting the 120-day deadline he had set. [Source: ]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› NIDA awards UF College of Pharmacy additional $3.4 million kratom grant
Although kratom is seen as a possible remedy for drug addiction, it’s typically associated with harm in western countries but not in those in Southeast Asia where its leaves have been used for hundreds of years. Now the National Institute on Drug Abuse has awarded researchers at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy a multimillion-dollar grant to find out why.

› Florida’s 2019 principal of the year is named new principal at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
An award-winning principal with strong ties to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High has been tapped as the school’s next leader. Michelle Kefford, principal at Charles Flanagan High in Pembroke Pines, was recently named Florida’s 2019 principal of the year.

› Florida Tech Elected to Universities Space Research Association
Florida Tech was recently elected a member of the Universities Space Research Association (USRA), the 50-year-old nonprofit research corporation that utilizes in-house and university-based expertise to advance space science and technology. The Council of Institutions at USRA, the Columbia, Maryland-based non-profit organization, unanimously elected Florida Tech at USRA’s annual meeting April 23.

› Florida sets aside $15 million to settle Best and Brightest bonus lawsuit
The Florida Department of Education, which is based in Tallahassee, is being sued by the Florida Education Association and seven South Florida teachers over the Best and Brightest teacher bonus program, first enacted by lawmakers in 2015. The suit is near a settlement.

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