Hurrricane Helene aftermath: In Pasco county, dozens of school employees, students and residents came out on Sunday to provide donations in Gulf High School’s cafeteria. Neighbors came by with loaded boxes and bags of clothing, bedding and toiletries for anyone in need. Gulf High plans to send some of the items to Hudson High, which is planning a similar event for Wednesday evening. Anclote High School also plans to collect and distribute donations at its football games Monday and Friday, and Sunray Elementary was planning to open its clothes closet to the community. “Never did we dream that we would have this kind of outpouring,” said Gulf High Principal Jeff Morgenstein. Tampa Bay Times. ABC Action News. In Citrus County, some schools changed locations on Monday. Citrus County Chronicle. Meanwhile, North Central Florida schools’ schedules have been affected this week due to Hurricane Helene. WCJB.
Orange: Traffic has created dangerous conditions near a Windermere area school during dropoff and pickup times. Orange County government and the sheriff’s office said they would look into the issue. “That’s my worst fear is one of my children or somebody else’s kid getting severely injured, if not worse,” said parent Chris Dyer. Spectrum News.
Duval: The School Board will vote today to finalize its updated master facility plan, which determines where to locate new schools and when to consolidate or close older or underutilized schools. Built as Public School No. 21, Annie R. Morgan is one of nine Duval schools that could close at the end of the school year, and one of about two dozen schools that could close over the next 15 years. Jax Today.
Pasco: Students in this county are learning both English and social studies at once. “Social studies content is often at the back when literacy is at the forefront,” said Cassie Hernandez, a district humanities curriculum senior supervisor. “This will turn it up.” Suncoast News.
Pinellas: Storm surge caused major damage to two Pinellas schools — Gulf Beaches Elementary and Madeira Beach Fundamental K-8. WFLA. At an assessment on Sunday, only eight schools remained without power out of the 40 schools without power on Friday. WFLA.
Seminole: With the general election about a month away, attention is shifting to the contest for Seminole County’s District 3 school board seat. Recent school safety threats have placed the spotlight on this race, as candidates outline their platforms to address these pressing issues. Spectrum News.
Cellphone bans: More than half of U.S. states have taken steps to ban or restrict cellphone usage in K-12 schools, according to a new analysis. But the jury’s still out on whether cellphone bans actually make life better for students. Axios.
Colleges and universities: A list recently came out that ranks the 10 best online Florida colleges offering bachelor’s programs. Forbes. University of South Florida’s campuses are bouncing back after Hurricane Helene despite some damage to some facilities. USF shut down operations as the hurricane approached and made landfall as a Category 4 on Thursday. Florida Politics. The University of Central Florida Board of Trustees on Friday updated policies governing campus protests to address people who conceal their identity or restrict the movements of others. Trustees voted to add new language prohibiting people protesting on UCF campuses from wearing something that conceals their identity, including masks and hoods, while violating a law, regulation or policy or attempting to intimidate someone. Orlando Sentinel. Some historically Black colleges and universities are seeing an enrollment boost. NPR. Meanwhile, New College of Florida’s national stock took a hit for the second year in a row, with another drop in U.S. News and World Report’s ranking of the top liberal arts schools in the county — though New College representatives say the ranking doesn’t accurately reflect the school’s status. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
