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Florida is searching for a new education commissioner with the recent resignation of Gerard Robinson, even as the state moves ahead with reforms that will change the ways students are tested, teachers are paid and schools are held accountable.
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The Pew Hispanic Center recently reported that Hispanics are now the largest minority group on college campuses as well as in public schools. Colleges have seen a 20% increase in Hispanic students enrolling between 2010 and 11. Check out HS News’ infographic to see the rising education rates of U.S. Latinos.
The spanking-new backpack is stuffed with all the requisite supplies. The latest styles are laid out on the dresser. The alarm is set. And the bus schedule is taped to the refrigerator.
Some of the biggest changes at Natural Products Expo East will occur before the trade show floor opens on Sept. 20.
August is the time when parents across the country get their children ready for the new school year. It’s a good time to get the kids up to date with their immunizations, and to buy the supplies they need for school.
Five Brazos County residents and several students were honored with awards and scholarships worth $90,000 at the Hispanic Forum's annual gala last week. Organizers and sponsors collaborated to provide 52 students with the unprecedented amount of scholarship money at the 14th Annual Scholarship Gala. "It's about the community helping the community," said Marie Portales-Rodriguez, public relations director for the forum. Johnny Yeppez, County Veterans Services Officer, was named Person of the Year for helping more than 8,500 Brazos County veterans in need. As a retired U.S. Army first sergeant, Yeppez helps veterans acquire education funds, homes and land. Yeppez said he was informed that in April a group of veterans wrote to the forum about how he's changed their lives, prompting his award. "It's not just an award to me," he said. "It represents all the faces I've helped in past, now and in the future." Through assisting senior citizens with her Amigos del Valle de Brazos nonprofit organization and organizing exhibits and other community events bringing light to Hispanic contributions, Dorothy Hernandez won the Lifetime Achievement Award. "Being a Brazos County Hispanic resident means a lot to me," she said. "We have been a minority so long here." Hernandez is working toward getting a community-based senior citizens center in Bryan, her hometown. For his first award from the Hispanic community, Jesse Montelongo Jr., received the Business of the Year award as owner of Montelongo's Fine Jewelry. Montelongo has contributed to the forum for the past six years and served on the board of the United Way Foundation and the Rotary Club of College Station advisory board, and was chairman of Clothes for Kids. "The award meant recognition from other Hispanics in the community and respect from peers and other business owners," he said. Montelongo said he was glad to see his 12-year-old daughter Kaley, who attended the event, be "proud of her dad" when he received the award. Portales-Rodriguez said not all awards are the same each year, nor are they all given out each year. But this year was an award-heavy one, a gala bedazzled with signature art pieces, sound and special effects. Rudy Grimaldo Jr., owner of RDM Audio, made the ambiance possible, said Portales-Rodriguez. Two people received Presidential Excellence Awards, which were awarded for outstanding accomplishments or significant roles in the community. Linda Asberry, principal of R.C. Neal Elementary School in Bryan, received the award for her efforts to improve the lives of children in Brazos County. The Texas Education Agency gave the elementary school "recognized" and "exemplary" designations under her leadership. Pursing a graduate degree in education at Texas A&M University, Jose Zelaya also received the Presidential Excellence Award. Born into poverty in Honduras and later separated from his parents by Hurricane Mitch, Zelaya was targeted by Honduran criminals, shot in both arms, and traveled alone to eventually be reunited with his mother. Zelaya recently ran for student body president at Texas A&M, becoming the first undocumented student to run in the public election process.
In its 79-year history, Palm Beach State College has never had a Latino vice president. Until now. Last month, the school hired Peter Barbatis as its new vice president of student services and enrollment management, a job where the 47-year-old New York native will help manage enrollment, make sure students graduate and take a hard look at the college’s student support services.
Black and Hispanic students remain significantly underrepresented in the most selective colleges, according to a new report.
Seeking to improve national test scores, consistently ranking near the bottom, Florida policymakers and educators created a system of academic standards and the FCAT to test performance against those standards. Despite substantially improving student learning, anti-testing activists have made headlines in recent months with strident arguments. No serious person, whether on the right or the left, should desire to return Florida's schools to a transparency dark age.
College graduates steeped in debt have an unexpected ally to combat their student loans: local governments.