For advocates, the debate over the marching band’s culture is not merely an issue of extracurriculars. It also embodies an erasure of Black heritage from a school thats roots are intimately tied to a critical part of Black history: the desegregation era.
Thousands of Alachua County residents including students, parents and teachers filled Santa Fe College's gymnasium Saturday for Alachua County's 23rd annual Stop the Violence Back to School Rally.
About 9,000 teacher vacancies need to be filled statewide for the upcoming school year, according to the Florida Department of Education.
The Stop the Violence Back to School Rally will present parents and students with backpacks, school supplies and safety lessons in the Santa Fe College gymnasium Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon.
Alachua County high school seniors attended their graduation ceremonies, maskless and side-by-side, for the first time in two years.
ACPS has the state's widest achievement gap between white and Black students in both English language arts and mathematics. Segregation met its end in 1970 for Alachua County Public Schools, but disparities between Black student and white student performance afflict the district today. This district serves more than 30,000 students, 33% of which are Black and 41% of which are white. ACPS officials acknowledged this gap and crafted an equity plan in 2018, promising to eliminate the disparity by 2028, but the plan failed to narrow the difference in student performance.
Alachua County School Board named Shane Andrew as interim superintendent two weeks after firing former superintendent Carlee Simon. The members voted 3-2 Tuesday, with Mildred Russell and Gunnar Paulson in dissent. Chairman Robert Hyatt asked for agreement in the board’s nomination at the March 2 meeting, but the vote was split again.
A divided Alachua County School Board fired Superintendent Carlee Simon Tuesday. The board voted 3-2, with Leanetta McNealy and Tina Certain dissenting. Chairman Robert Hyatt, who was part of the majority, named Deputy Superintendent Donna Jones acting superintendent until the board can nominate an interim superintendent at the next board meeting Mar. 15.
Honks, cheers and rainbow-decorated signs accompanied 30 Gainesville High School students as they walked down Northwest 13th Street Thursday afternoon. Hundreds more stood in protest on the baseball fields. GHS students joined Buchholz and Eastside High and students across the state in a walkout to protest the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, which passed its final state senate committee Monday and awaits a final vote and signature from the governor. Officially known as the Parental Rights in Education Bill, the legislation would bar state educators from discussing LGBTQ+ topics that are not “age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students.”
Alachua County Public Schools’ curriculum promises Black history education to extend beyond the month of February and the few names repeated in history textbooks. However, not every classroom fulfills this promise.
Alachua County Public Schools and the Alachua County Education Association agreed to the largest salary package offered in the district’s history Wednesday. The salary package amounts to $10.5 million, the largest offer that has ever been on the table for employees in Alachua County, ACEA President Carmen Ward said.
The ACEA and the ACPS bargaining teams reviewed the proposed salary increases for teachers and education professionals, like librarians, media specialists and school psychologists. The proposal would provide education support to professionals and teachers with an additional $0.55 per hour.
Chronic late buses frustrate Alachua County Public School parents as the fifth month of school continues to be marked by delays of up to 90 minutes. Skylah Banks, 36, a Gainesville resident, waited to leave for her 2 p.m. shift until her two third-graders came home from Marjorie K. Rawlings Elementary at 3500 NE 15th St.
Klein, a 25-year-old high school English teacher, received the 2022 Division for Emotional & Behavioral Health teacher of the year award. The DEBH is an international community of educators that dedicates itself to the success of students with or at risk of emotional and behavioral disorders. Klein traveled to Orlando Monday to receive her plaque.
Alachua County Public Schools saw an increase in the number of new cases from Jan. 9 to Jan. 16, after a record number of new cases the week prior. However, these numbers could increase as parents and employees report test results from before the holiday weekend, ACPS spokesperson Jackie Johnson said.
A fire destroyed classrooms at Alachua County public school Sidney Lanier Center on Friday afternoon.
After the first week back, there were 334 new student cases and 55 new staff cases — contributing to a total of 476 reported cases among both groups.
Arambula, a sophomore at Santa Fe High School, died at 16 on Nov. 22.
ACPS hosted the event at Eastside High School instead of the usual venue, Buchholz High School. The change of location was meant to tackle disproportionate success and representation among minority students in Alachua County, College & Career Pathways Director Shannon Ritter said .
The Alachua County School Board voted 3-2 on Wednesday to allow parents to opt their students out of masking from Nov. 12 to Dec. 17. The board also voted to make masking completely optional for students of all grade levels after winter break. The decision is consistent with State Department of Education and State Department of Health requirements.
Solutions by The State News
