1.
Florida
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Florida /ˈflɒrᵻdə/ is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, Florida is the 22nd-most extensive, the 3rd-most populous, and the 8th-most densely populated of the U. S. states. Jacksonville is the most populous municipality in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States, the Miami metropolitan area is Floridas most populous urban area. The city of Tallahassee is the state capital, much of the state is at or near sea level and is characterized by sedimentary soil. The climate varies from subtropical in the north to tropical in the south, the American alligator, American crocodile, Florida panther, and manatee can be found in the Everglades National Park. It was a location of the Seminole Wars against the Native Americans. Today, Florida is distinctive for its large Cuban expatriate community and high population growth, the states economy relies mainly on tourism, agriculture, and transportation, which developed in the late 19th century. Florida is also renowned for amusement parks, orange crops, the Kennedy Space Center, Florida has attracted many writers such as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Ernest Hemingway and Tennessee Williams, and continues to attract celebrities and athletes. It is internationally known for golf, tennis, auto racing, by the 16th century, the earliest time for which there is a historical record, major Native American groups included the Apalachee, the Timucua, the Ais, the Tocobaga, the Calusa and the Tequesta. Florida was the first part of the continental United States to be visited and settled by Europeans, the earliest known European explorers came with the Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León. Ponce de León spotted and landed on the peninsula on April 2,1513 and he named the region La Florida. The story that he was searching for the Fountain of Youth is a myth, in May 1539, Conquistador Hernando de Soto skirted the coast of Florida, searching for a deep harbor to land. He described seeing a wall of red mangroves spread mile after mile, some reaching as high as 70 feet. Very soon, many smokes appeared along the whole coast, billowing against the sky, the Spanish introduced Christianity, cattle, horses, sheep, the Spanish language, and more to Florida. Both the Spanish and French established settlements in Florida, with varying degrees of success, in 1559, Don Tristán de Luna y Arellano established a settlement at present-day Pensacola, making it the first attempted settlement in Florida, but it was abandoned by 1561. Spain maintained tenuous control over the region by converting the tribes to Christianity. The area of Spanish Florida diminished with the establishment of English settlements to the north, the English attacked St. Augustine, burning the city and its cathedral to the ground several times. Florida attracted numerous Africans and African-Americans from adjacent British colonies who sought freedom from slavery, in 1738, Governor Manuel de Montiano established Fort Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose near St
2.
Tallahassee, Florida
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Tallahassee /ˌtæləˈhæsi/ is the capital of the U. S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2015, the population was 189,907, making the city the 126th-largest city in the United States, the population of the Tallahassee metropolitan area was 377,924 as of 2015. Tallahassee is the largest city in the Northwest Florida region as well as the center for trade and agriculture in the Florida Big Bend. Tallahassee is home to Florida State University, ranked the nations thirty-eighth best public university by U. S. News & World Report and it is also home to the Florida A&M University, one of the countrys largest historically black universities by total enrollment. Tallahassee is home to the Florida State Capitol, Supreme Court of Florida, Florida Governors Mansion, the city is also known for its large number of law firms, lobbying organizations, trade associations and professional associations, including the Florida Bar and the Florida Chamber of Commerce. It is also a regional center for scientific research. In 2015, Tallahassee was awarded the All-American City Award by the National Civic League for the second time, Tallahassee is currently ranked as the 18th best college town in the nation by Best College Reviews. During the 17th century several Spanish missions were established in the territory of the Apalachee to procure food, the largest, Mission San Luis de Apalachee, has been partially reconstructed by the state of Florida. They found large areas of cleared land previously occupied by the Apalachee tribe, earlier, the Mississippian Indians built mounds near Lake Jackson around AD1200, which survive today in the Lake Jackson Archaeological State Park. The expedition of Pánfilo de Narváez encountered the Apalachees, although it did not reach the site of Tallahassee, hernando de Soto and his expedition occupied the Apalachee town of Anhaica in what is now Tallahassee in the winter of 1538–1539. Based on archaeological excavations this site is now known to be located about 0.5 miles east of the present Florida State Capitol, the DeSoto encampment is believed to be the first place Christmas was celebrated in the continental United States. During the First Seminole War, General Andrew Jackson fought two separate skirmishes in and around Tallahassee, the first battle took place on November 12,1817. Chief Neamathla, of the village of Fowltown, just west of present day Tallahassee had refused Jacksons orders to relocate, Jackson responded by entering the village, burning it to the ground, and driving off its occupants. The Indians later retaliated, by killing 50 soldiers and civilians, Jackson reentered Florida in March 1818. According to Jacksons adjutant, Colonel Robert Butler, they advanced on the Indian village called Tallahasse two of the enemy were made prisoner, Tallahassee became the capital of Florida during the second legislative session. It was chosen as it was equidistant from St. Augustine and Pensacola. The first session of Floridas Legislative Council—as a territory of the United States—met on July 22,1822 at Pensacola, the second session was in St. Augustine and required western delegates to travel perilously around the peninsula on a twenty-eight-day trek
3.
United States dollar
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The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States and its insular territories per the United States Constitution. It is divided into 100 smaller cent units, the circulating paper money consists of Federal Reserve Notes that are denominated in United States dollars. The U. S. dollar was originally commodity money of silver as enacted by the Coinage Act of 1792 which determined the dollar to be 371 4/16 grain pure or 416 grain standard silver, the currency most used in international transactions, it is the worlds primary reserve currency. Several countries use it as their currency, and in many others it is the de facto currency. Besides the United States, it is used as the sole currency in two British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean, the British Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands. A few countries use the Federal Reserve Notes for paper money, while the country mints its own coins, or also accepts U. S. coins that can be used as payment in U. S. dollars. After Nixon shock of 1971, USD became fiat currency, Article I, Section 8 of the U. S. Constitution provides that the Congress has the power To coin money, laws implementing this power are currently codified at 31 U. S. C. Section 5112 prescribes the forms in which the United States dollars should be issued and these coins are both designated in Section 5112 as legal tender in payment of debts. The Sacagawea dollar is one example of the copper alloy dollar, the pure silver dollar is known as the American Silver Eagle. Section 5112 also provides for the minting and issuance of other coins and these other coins are more fully described in Coins of the United States dollar. The Constitution provides that a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and that provision of the Constitution is made specific by Section 331 of Title 31 of the United States Code. The sums of money reported in the Statements are currently being expressed in U. S. dollars, the U. S. dollar may therefore be described as the unit of account of the United States. The word dollar is one of the words in the first paragraph of Section 9 of Article I of the Constitution, there, dollars is a reference to the Spanish milled dollar, a coin that had a monetary value of 8 Spanish units of currency, or reales. In 1792 the U. S. Congress passed a Coinage Act, Section 20 of the act provided, That the money of account of the United States shall be expressed in dollars, or units. And that all accounts in the offices and all proceedings in the courts of the United States shall be kept and had in conformity to this regulation. In other words, this act designated the United States dollar as the unit of currency of the United States, unlike the Spanish milled dollar the U. S. dollar is based upon a decimal system of values. Both one-dollar coins and notes are produced today, although the form is significantly more common
4.
Education in the United States
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Education in the United States is provided by public, private, and home schools. Funding comes from the state, local, and federal government, private schools are generally free to determine their own curriculum and staffing policies, with voluntary accreditation available through independent regional accreditation authorities. About 87% of school-age children attend schools, about 10% attend private schools. Education is compulsory over an age range starting between five and eight and ending somewhere between ages sixteen and eighteen, depending on the state and this requirement can be satisfied in public schools, state-certified private schools, or an approved home school program. In most schools, education is divided into three levels, elementary school, middle or junior school, and high school. Children are usually divided by age groups into grades, ranging from kindergarten and first grade for the youngest children, there are also a large number and wide variety of publicly and privately administered institutions of higher education throughout the country. Post-secondary education, divided into college, as the first tertiary degree, the United States spends more per student on education than any other country. In 2014, the Pearson/Economist Intelligence Unit rated US education as 14th best in the world, just behind Russia. In 2015 the Programme for International Student Assessment rated U. S. high school students #40 globally in Math and #24 in Science and Reading. ”King, Jr. acknowledged the results in conceding U. S. students were well behind their peers. According to a report published by the U. S. News & World Report, of the top ten colleges and universities in the world, government-supported and free public schools for all began to be established after the American Revolution. Between 1750 and 1870 parochial schools appeared as ad hoc efforts by parishes, historically, many parochial elementary schools were developed which were open to all children in the parish, mainly Catholics, but also Lutherans, Calvinists and Orthodox Jews. Nonsectarian Common schools designed by Horace Mann were opened, which taught the three Rs and also history and geography, States passed laws to make schooling compulsory between 1852 and 1917. They also used federal funding designated by the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Acts of 1862 and 1890 to set up land grant colleges specializing in agriculture, by 1870, every state had free elementary schools, albeit only in urban centers. His movement spread to many other Southern states to small colleges for Colored or Negro students entitled A. & M. or A. & T. some of which later developed into state universities. By 1910,72 percent of children attended school, private schools spread during this time, as well as colleges and — in the rural centers — land grant colleges also. Between 1910 and 1940 the high school movement resulted in increasing public high school enrollment. By 1930,100 percent of children attended school, during World War II, enrollment in high schools and colleges plunged as many high school and college students dropped out to take war jobs. The 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v, in 1965, the far-reaching Elementary and Secondary Education Act, passed as a part of President Lyndon B
5.
History of education in the United States
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The first American schools in the thirteen original colonies opened in the 17th century. Boston Latin School was founded in 1635 and is both the first public school and oldest existing school in the United States, the first free taxpayer-supported public school in North America, the Mather School, was opened in Dorchester, Massachusetts, in 1639. At first, the rudiments of literacy and arithmetic were taught inside the family, literacy rates were much higher in New England because much of the population had been deeply involved in the Protestant Reformation and learned to read in order to read the Scriptures. Literacy was much lower in the South, where the Anglican Church was the established church, single working-class people formed a large part of the population in the early years, arriving as indentured servants. The planter class did not support public education but arranged for private tutors for their children, by the mid-19th century, the role of the schools in New England had expanded to such an extent that they took over many of the educational tasks traditionally handled by parents. All the New England colonies required towns to set up schools, in 1642 the Massachusetts Bay Colony made proper education compulsory, other New England colonies followed this example. Similar statutes were adopted in colonies in the 1640s and 1650s. The schools were all male and all white, with few facilities for girls, in the 18th century, common schools were established, students of all ages were under the control of one teacher in one room. Although they were supplied at the local level, they were not free. Students families were charged tuition or rate bills, the larger towns in New England opened grammar schools, the forerunner of the modern high school. The most famous was the Boston Latin School, which is still in operation as a high school. Hopkins School in New Haven, Connecticut, was another, by the 1780s, most had been replaced by private academies. By the early 19th century New England operated a network of high schools, now called prep schools, typified by Phillips Andover Academy, Phillips Exeter Academy. They became the major feeders for Ivy League colleges in the mid-19th century and these prep schools became coeducational in the 1970s, and remain highly prestigious in the 21st century. Residents of the Upper South, centered on the Chesapeake Bay, in late 17th century Maryland, the Catholic Jesuits operated some schools for Catholic students. Generally the planter class hired tutors for the education of their children or sent them to private schools, during the colonial years, some sent their sons to England or Scotland for schooling. In March 1620, George Thorpe sailed from Bristol for Virginia and he became a deputy in charge of 10,000 acres of land to be set aside for a university and Indian school. The plans for the school for Native Americans ended when George Thorpe was killed in the Indian Massacre of 1622, in Virginia, rudimentary schooling for the poor and paupers was provided by the local parish
6.
Education reform
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Education reform is the name given to the goal of changing public education. Historically, reforms have taken different forms because the motivations of reformers have differed, however, since the 1980s, education reform has been focused on changing the existing system from one focused on inputs to one focused on outputs. In the United States, education reform acknowledges and encourages public education as the source of K-12 education for American youth. Education reformers desire to make public education into a market, where accountability creates high-stakes from curriculum standards tied to standardized tests, as a result of this input-output system, equality has been conceptualized as an end point, which is often evidenced by an achievement gap among diverse populations. This conceptualization of education reform is based on the market-logic of competition, as a consequence, competition creates inequality which has continued to drive the market-logic of equality at an end point by reproduce the achievement gap among diverse youth. Overall, education reform has and continues to be used as a substitute for needed reforms in the United States. The one constant for all forms of education includes the idea that small changes in education will have large social returns in citizen health, wealth. For example, a stated motivation has been to reduce cost to students, from ancient times until the 1800s, one goal was to reduce the expense of a classical education. Ideally, classical education is undertaken with a highly educated full-time personal tutor, historically, this was available only to the most wealthy. Encyclopedias, public libraries and grammar schools are examples of innovations intended to lower the cost of a classical education, related reforms attempted to develop similar classical results by concentrating on why, and which questions neglected by classical education. Abstract, introspective answers to these questions can theoretically compress large amounts of facts into relatively few principles and this path was taken by some Transcendentalist educators, such as Amos Bronson Alcott. In the early age, Victorian schools were reformed to teach commercially useful topics, such as modern languages and mathematics, rather than classical subjects, such as Latin. Many reformers focused on reforming society by reforming education on scientific, humanistic, pragmatic or democratic principles. John Dewey and Anton Makarenko are prominent examples of such reformers, some reformers incorporated several motivations, e. g. Maria Montessori, who both educated for peace, and to meet the needs of the child. Reform has taken many forms and directions, throughout history and the present day, the meaning and methods of education have changed through debates over what content or experiences result in an educated individual or an educated society. Changes may be implemented by individual educators and/or by broad-based school organization and/or by curriculum changes with performance evaluations, Plato believed that children would never learn unless they wanted to learn. Compulsory learning never sticks in the mind, an educational debate in the time of the Roman Empire arose after Christianity had achieved broad acceptance. Though educational reform occurred on a level at various points throughout history
7.
Primary education in the United States
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Primary education in the United States refers to the first eight years of formal education in most jurisdictions, often in elementary school. Preschool programs, which are formal and usually not mandated by law, are generally not considered part of primary education. The first year of education is commonly referred to as kindergarten. Subsequent years are usually numbered being referred to as first grade, second grade, elementary schools normally continue through sixth grade, which the students normally complete when they are age 11 or 12. In 2001, there were 92,858 elementary schools in the United States, some private schools, and some public schools, are offering pre-kindergarten as part of elementary school. The first three to five years of a life can be the most critical period of their education. Since 1965, the government has promoted the growth of state-funded programs such as Head Start. In 2007, it served over 22 million preschool-aged children and their families, Head Start works to educate the whole child in addition to providing health and nutrition services to low-income families. Students may attend either a 6-year or 7-year public or private elementary school, elementary school usually runs from kindergarten through either grade 5 or grade 6, depending on the region. Upon successful completion of their elementary education students then proceed to middle school, additionally, students may have the option of attending elementary schools that include all eight primary grades. In this case the student will proceed to High School. In most U. S. elementary schools, students have all their classes from one or two homeroom teachers. In some elementary schools, when funding and supplies are adequate, additional teachers are hired to students in areas such as Art. Education in the United States Education in New York City Homeschooling in the United States Secondary education in the United States Primary education Primary school
8.
Secondary education in the United States
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The United States historically had a demand for general skills rather than specific training/apprenticeships. It recommended twelve years of instruction, consisting of eight years of education followed by four years of high school. At the turn of the 20th Century, it was common for high schools to have entrance examinations which restricted entrance to fewer than 5 percent of the population in preparation for college, most were expected to be ready for a job or a family after junior high school. The first public schools started around the 1830s and 40s within the wealthier areas of similar income levels. There was a shift towards local decision making by school districts, the shift from theoretical to a more practical approach in curriculum also resulted in an increase of skilled blue-collar workers. The open enrollment nature and relatively relaxed standards, such as ease of repeating a grade, there was an increase in educational attainment, primarily from the grass-roots movement of building and staffing public high schools. In 1954 the Supreme Court case Brown v. By 1955, in 1965 the far-reaching Elementary and Secondary Education Act, passed as a part of President Lyndon B. Johnsons War on Poverty, provided funds for primary and secondary education while explicitly forbidding the establishment of a national curriculum and it emphasized equal access to education and established high standards and accountability. The bill also aimed to shorten the achievement gaps between students by providing every child with fair and equal opportunities to achieve an exceptional education, after 1980, the growth in educational attainment decreased, which caused the growth of the educated workforce to slow down. Pressure to allow people and organizations to create new Charter schools developed during the 1980s and were embraced by the American Federation of Teachers in 1988. These would be legally and financially autonomous public school free from state laws and district regulations. Minnesota was the first state to pass a school law in 1991. By 2009 charter schools were operating in 41 states and 59% of these had waiting lists, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 required all public schools receiving federal funding to administer a statewide standardized test annually to all students. Standards-based education has been embraced in most states which changed the measurement of success to academic achievement, by 2006, two-thirds of students lived in states with effective standards requiring passing tests to ensure that all graduates had achieved these standards. Great indirect authority is, however, exercised through federal funding of national programs, the U. S. government may also propose, but cannot enforce national goals, objectives and standards, which generally lie beyond its jurisdiction. Many high schools in the United States offer a choice of vocational or college prep curriculum, the level of specialization allowed varies depending on both the state and district the school is located in. Many states require that courses in the areas of English, science, social studies. The majority of high schools require four English credits to graduate, generally, three science courses are required
9.
Higher education in the United States
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Higher education in the United States is an optional final stage of formal learning following secondary education. These may be public universities, private universities, liberal arts colleges, community colleges, according to the National Student Clearinghouse, US college enrollment has declined for five consecutive years and is projected to continue declining for the next two decades. Unlike Tertiary education system of UK, American education is unique in the world to place emphasis on Liberal Arts education in its higher education curriculum. As of 2012, the latest figures available in 2015, the US has a total of 4,726 Title IV-eligible, the US had 21 million students in higher education, roughly 5. 7% of the total population. About 13 million of these students were enrolled full-time which was 81,000 students lower than 2010. Colleges and universities in the U. S. vary in terms of goals, some may emphasize a vocational, business, engineering, many combine some or all of the above, being a comprehensive university. Almost all colleges and universities are coeducational, during a dramatic transition in the 1970s, all but a handful of mens colleges started accepting women. Over 80 percent of the colleges of the 1960s have closed or merged. Over 100 historically black colleges and universities operate, both private and public, Higher education has led to the creation of accreditation organizations, independent of the government, to vouch for the quality of competing degrees. Accrediting agencies have been criticized for possible conflicts of interest that lead to favorable results, non-accredited institutions exist, such as Bible colleges, but the students are not eligible for federal loans. Community colleges are often, though, not always two-year colleges and they have open admissions, with generally lower tuition than other state or private schools. Graduates receive the associates degree such as an Associate of Arts upon graduating, many students earn an associate degree at a two-year institution, before transferring to a four-year institution to study another two years to earn a bachelors degree. Four-year colleges usually have a number of students, offer a greater range of studies. They are either primarily undergraduate institutions or the institution of a university. Some states, such as Washington, now offer schools simply known as colleges, the elevation in status comes from a cooperation between the community college and local universities. There are two distinctions between colleges and community colleges that arise from this arrangement. The second primary difference is that colleges, in cooperation with university, some colleges go so far as to offer particular, specialized 4-year bachelors degrees, on behalf of the university. Four-year institutions in the U. S. emphasizing the arts are liberal arts colleges, entirely undergraduate institutions
10.
State school
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State schools generally refer to primary or secondary schools mandated for or offered to all children without charge, funded in whole or in part by taxation. The term may refer to public institutions of post-secondary education. State education is inclusive, both in its treatment of students and in that enfranchisement for the government of public education is as broad as for government generally and it is often organized and operated to be a deliberate model of the civil community in which it functions. Although typically provided to groups of students in classrooms in a school, it may be provided in-home, employing visiting teachers. It can also be provided in non-school, non-home settings, such as shopping mall space, State education is generally available to all. In most countries, it is compulsory for children to school up to a certain age. In the case of private schooling, schools operate independently of the state, the funding for state schools, on the other hand, is provided by tax revenues, so that even individuals who do not attend school help to ensure that society is educated. In poverty stricken societies, authorities are often lax on compulsory school attendance because child labour is exploited and it is these same children whose income-securing labor cannot be forfeited to allow for school attendance. The term public education when applied to schools is not synonymous with the term publicly funded education. Government may make a policy decision that it wants to have some financial resources distributed in support of, and it may want to have some control over. Grants-in-aid of private schools and vouchers systems provide examples of publicly funded private education, conversely, a state school may rely heavily on private funding such as high fees or private donations and still be considered state by virtue of governmental ownership and control. In some countries, private associations or churches can operate schools according to their own principles, when these specific requirements are met, especially in the area of the school curriculum, the schools will qualify to receive state funding. Proponents of state education assert it to be necessary because of the need in society for people who are capable of reading, writing. In most industrialized countries, these views are distinctly in the minority, Government schools are free to attend for Australian citizens and permanent residents, whereas independent schools usually charge attendance fees. They can be divided into two categories, open and selective schools, the open schools accept all students from their government-defined catchment areas. Government schools educate approximately 65% of Australian students, with approximately 34% in Catholic, regardless of whether a school is part of the Government or independent systems, they are required to adhere to the same curriculum frameworks of their state or territory. The curriculum framework however provides for flexibility in the syllabus. Public or Government funded schools are found throughout Bangladesh and these schools mostly teach students from Year 1 to 10, with examinations for students in years 5,8, and 10
11.
Ralph Turlington
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Ralph Donald Turlington, Sr. is a retired politician from the U. S. state of Florida. Turlington was born in Gainesville in 1920, Ralph Turlington was in the inaugural class of the P. K. Yonge Developmental Research School, where he is a distinguished alumni, graduating in 1938. He attended the University of Florida, where he is also an alumni, to obtain a Bachelor of Science degree in business. After completing his education, Turlington served in World War II, after the war, he worked at the University of Florida. In 1947, he became a faculty member of Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Business Fraternity and he received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Florida in 1968. He was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1950 for Alachua County and he would serve until 1974, eventually also serving as speaker from 1967 to 1969. He was the Florida Commissioner of Education from 1974 to 1987 and he was elected to Constitutional office in Florida more times than any other person in the history of Florida. Following his service as Commissioner of Education, Turlington joined the American College Testing Program, Turlington was married to Ann Gellerstedt and has two children, Donald and Katherine. A facility at the University of Florida, Ralph D. Turlington Hall, is named after him, the Florida Department of Education headquarters in Tallahassee, the Turlington Building, is also named in his honor
12.
Florida Cabinet
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The Florida Cabinet is a body of the government of Florida that engages in the collective governance of the state. Created following Reconstruction, when there had been a widespread distrust of the appointed by the federal government. This amendment took effect in 2003, following the 2002 election, some environmental policy powers of the Cabinet were shifted to other officials as well. The reforms were seen as ways to strengthen the power of the Governor, in the case of a tie, the vote cast by the Governor decides the outcome. The Governor and Cabinet serves as the board of directors of state agencies and during their bi-weekly meetings discuss agency business. The Governor and Cabinet, all officials, also oversee the separate offices and agencies under their departments. These offices are headed by a Chief Cabinet Aide, who is assisted by other aides, the week prior to a Cabinet meeting, the Cabinet aides meet to discuss the agenda and to conduct preliminary discussions on a variety of issues slated to come before the full Cabinet. Cabinet aides meetings are considered an important part of the Cabinet process, the state of Florida employs about 227,479 workers to execute the will of the legislature under the direction of the governor and cabinet officials. 27,479 state employees receive free medical insurance premiums including members of the legislature, another 200,000 state workers and university employees paid $600 annually for medical insurance for individuals, $2,160 annually for families. Average contributions nationwide were $779 annually per individual, $3,515 annually for families, Florida Governor of Florida Constitution of Florida Florida Cabinet
13.
Florida Constitution
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The current Constitution of Florida was ratified on November 5,1968. Florida has been governed by six different constitutions since acceding to the United States, before 1838, only the Spanish Constitution of 1812 was briefly enacted in Florida. A monument commemorating La Constitución de Cádiz still stands in front of the Government House in St. Augustine, Floridas first constitution as a U. S. territory was written and implemented in 1838. On March 3,1845, Florida was granted admission into the union as the 27th state, the current Constitution of Florida was ratified on November 5,1968, and modified by initiative and referendum several times since. The delegates were to draft a constitution and bill of rights for the Territory of Florida, the Constitutional Convention convened on December 3,1838 with Robert R. Reid presiding as president and Joshua Knowles secretary. The work of the Convention was carried out by eighteen committees, the process was a relatively simple one, since they used the constitutions of several other Southern states as models. Only on the subject of banking did much debate take place, the Convention adjourned sine die on January 11,1839. Considered a secretarys copy this document is the only copy of the 1838 Constitution. The original Constitution, signed by all the delegates, has never been found, since the Convention generally approved of Governor Perrys actions it made no move to interfere with his administration. However, when Governor John Milton took office in October 1861 and reversed some policies of his predecessor, Convention president McGehee issued a proclamation on December 13 for the convention to meet on January 14,1862, at Tallahassee. McGehee expressed concern over two matters, the finances and the powers of the Governor during wartime. The Convention adjourned sine die on January 27,1862, in October 1865, delegates met to revoke the Ordinance of Secession and write a new Constitution. This Constitution did not meet the requirements of Congress for seating delegates from the former Confederate states, the Reconstruction constitution returned civilian control of the state. Florida became subject to the authority of the federal government in 1867. The Constitution had to conform with the Federal Constitution and with the 13th and 14th Amendments, the Convention met in Tallahassee on January 20,1868. As the Convention began its functions, bitter factions were formed, the Convention reconvened on February 18,1868, and Horatio Jenkins, Jr. was elected President. The Constitution was adopted by the people of Florida in May 1868 and it conferred electoral franchise upon male persons instead of white male persons as by the 1865 Constitution. With its acceptance by the military authorities, the State of Florida was recognized as being restored to the Union
14.
Jeb Bush
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John Ellis Jeb Bush Sr. is an American businessman and politician who served as the 43rd Governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Bush, who grew up in Houston, is the son of former President George H. W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush. He graduated from Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, and attended the University of Texas, in 1980, he moved to Florida and pursued a career in real estate development, and in 1986 became Floridas Secretary of Commerce until 1988. At that time, he joined his fathers campaign for the Presidency. In 1994, Bush made his first run for office, losing the election for governor by less than two points to the incumbent, Lawton Chiles. Bush ran again in 1998 and defeated Lieutenant Governor Buddy MacKay with 55 percent of the vote and he ran for reelection in 2002, defeating Bill McBride and winning with 56 percent, to become Floridas first two-term Republican governor. Bush announced his candidacy on June 15,2015. He suspended his campaign on February 20,2016, shortly after the South Carolina primary, Bush later made headlines by joining a group of Republicans who opposed the GOP nominee for President, Donald Trump. Jeb Bush was born on February 11,1953 in Midland, when he was six years old, the family relocated to the Tanglewood neighborhood of Houston, Texas. The nickname Jeb is composed of his initials J. E. B and he grew up with two younger brothers, Neil and Marvin, one younger sister, Dorothy, and one older brother, George, who is seven years older. Jeb Bush initially attended Grady Elementary School in Houston, Bush completed ninth grade in Houston, but was advised to repeat it at Andover, and was nearly expelled due to poor grades. Bush recreationally used marijuana, hashish, and cigarettes during his school years, although he made the honor roll by the end of his senior year. While in Mexico, he met his wife, Columba Garnica Gallo. Bush, who had largely avoided criticizing or supporting the Vietnam War, registered for the draft after his graduation from high school in 1971. In the fourth and final lottery drawing, on February 2,1972, for men born in 1953 and to be inducted during 1973. But no new orders were issued after 1972, because the U. S. changed to an all-volunteer military beginning in 1973. Though many in his family had attended Yale University, Bush chose to attend the University of Texas at Austin and he played on the Texas Longhorns varsity tennis team in 1973. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude from the University of Texas at Austin with a B. A. in Latin American studies and he completed his coursework in two and a half years
15.
Charles Beecher
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Charles Beecher was an American minister, composer of religious hymns and a prolific author. Beecher was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, the son of Lyman Beecher and he was the brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, the famous author of Uncle Toms Cabin, and the brother of renowned Congregationalist minister, Henry Ward Beecher. He also had another prominent and activist sister, Catharine Beecher and he attended Boston Latin School and Lawrence Academy in Groton, Massachusetts, graduated from Bowdoin College in 1834, and then attended Lane Theological Seminary in Ohio. He taught music classes in Cincinnati, Ohio, and received his license from the Presbytery of Indianapolis. Beecher married Sarah Leland Coffin in 1840 and they had six children and he served as pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana, from 1844 until 1851. He was also a prominent member of the Peucinian Society, in 1851, he moved east and ministered to the First Free Presbyterian Church in Newark, New Jersey. The church, known as a stronghold of abolitionism, was expelled from the Presbyterian Synod in 1853, Beecher left in 1857 for a pastorate in Georgetown, Massachusetts. In 1863 he was relieved of his duties in the Congregational Church for preaching against orthodox doctrine. Following the Civil War, he moved to Florida to help his sister Harriet and he eventually was state Superintendent of Public Instruction in Florida from 1871–1873. He finished his ministry as acting pastor in Wysox, Pennsylvania and he published several antislavery tracts, including A Sermon on the Nebraska Bill and The God of the Bible Against Slavery. His travel journal was re-published in 1986 by the Stowe-Day Foundation under the title Harriet Beecher Stowe in Europe, the Duty of Disobedience to Wicked Laws. A Sermon on the Fugitive Slave Law Biography at the Cyber Hymnal Wilson, James Grant, Fiske, John, eds
16.
Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs
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Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs, II was a Presbyterian minister and a prominent African-American officeholder during Reconstruction. Gibbs was born free in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 28,1821 and his father was Reverend Jonathan Gibbs I, a Methodist minister, and his mother Maria Jackson was a Baptist. Jonathan C. Gibbs II was the oldest of four born to the couple. He grew up in Philadelphia during a time when the city was rife with anti-black, many white Northerners during this period practiced both white superiority and discrimination against blacks. Gibbs and his brother, Mifflin, attended the local Free School in Philadelphia, though not much is known about the details of his early life, Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs grew up in a Philadelphia where anti-black riots and violence were quite common. Following the death of his father in April 1831, Gibbs and his left the Free School to aid their ailing mother. The young Gibbs apprenticed to a carpenter, both brothers eventually converted to Presbyterianism. Gibbs impressed the Presbyterian assembly such that the Assembly provided financial backing for him to attend Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, Gibbs attended Kimball Union Academy at Meriden, New Hampshire, and graduated in 1848. At the time, the academy was under the guidance of abolitionist principal, Cyrus Smith Richards, Washington is best known for a famous daguerreotype of John Brown. At KUA, Gibbs became acquainted with Charles Barrett, a native of Grafton, Vermont, the two went on to Dartmouth College, and later, Barrett returned to his native Vermont and served in politics. While Gibbs was a student, Dartmouth was under the presidency of pro-slavery Nathan Lord, Lord was originally an anti-slavery advocate who had voted for the Liberty Party and had written editorials in The Liberator. His sudden conversion was due to his brand of Calvinism. Despite the presidents views regarding slavery, which stemmed in part from his belief that the institution was predicated on sin. Lord believed that any group of people who sinned against God could be enslaved, while at the college, Gibbs was influenced by three professors who would affect his thinking as a missionary, educator and politician. He was a member of the abolitionist movement while a college student and he was the third African American to graduate from Dartmouth College. Following John Brown Russwurm, Gibbs became the black man in the nation to deliver a commencement address at a college. Following his graduation in 1852, Gibbs studied at Princeton Theological Seminary from 1853 to 1854, at the seminary, Gibbs studied under Charles Hodge a pro-slavery advocate. Hodge, a Presbyterian minister, espoused the belief that, slavery as such was not condemned by Scripture, unlike Nathan Lord, Hodge did support the war effort and President Abraham Lincoln
17.
Floyd T. Christian
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Floyd Thomas Christian, Sr. was Florida Commissioner of Education from 1965 to 1973. Christian was born in Bessemer, Alabama and he moved to Pinellas County with his family in 1927. Christian graduated from St. Petersburg High School in 1933 and he received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Florida in 1937 and was a teacher and coach at Clearwater High School and coach at Fort Myers High School from 1938 to 1941. In World War II he served as commander of the 697th Field Artillery. He received the Legion of Merit, the French Croix de Guerre, a Bronze Star Medal, a Silver Star, after the war, Christian was an administrator at the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs in St. Petersburg from 1946 to 1948. Christian was Superintendent of Public Instruction for Pinellas County from 1948 to 1965 and he received his masters degree in education from the University of Florida in 1950. Christian was also served on the Florida Board of Regents, and was one of its first appointees when the board was organized in 1965, Christian was appointed state Superintendent of Public Instruction, by Governor W. Haydon Burns in 1965 and served until 1973. Christian won election as Florida Commissioner of Education in 1970, the Florida statewide teachers strike of 1968 and the desegregation of Florida schools occurred during Christians tenure. His career ended in disgrace in 1975 after he was investigated on corruption, Christian lived in Sarasota for about 20 years until he moved to a St. Petersburg retirement community in 1997. He suffered from heart disease died at Westminster Shores Health Care Center in 1998 at the age of 83. A Guide to the Floyd T. Christian Speeches from the George A. Smathers Libraries of the University of Florida
18.
Betty Castor
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Betty Castor is an American educator and former politician and elected officeholder. Her public service included three terms in the Florida State Senate and one term as a Hillsborough County Commissioner, in 2004, she was the Democratic nominee for the open U. S. Senate seat of retiring Senator Bob Graham and was narrowly defeated by Mel Martinez. She is the mother of Kathy Castor, who is the Democratic Congresswoman from the Floridas 11th congressional district, currently, Betty Castor is the Director of the Patel Center for Global Solutions at the University of South Florida. Castor was born and grew up in Glassboro, New Jersey and her father was the mayor of Glassboro. She attended Glassboro State College, earning her bachelors degree, while at Glassboro she was active in organizing a drive to support education in Uganda. Because of her activities, President John F. Kennedy appointed her to a mission to attend the independence celebrations in Kampala. While in East Africa, Castor participated in a project to lead two dozen African school girls to the summit of Tanzanias Mount Kilimanjaro, the first all-female expedition to accomplish this. She returned to the U. S. in 1965, married Donald Castor and moved to Dade County, while living and studying in Miami, Castors first daughter, Katherine, was born. Kathy Castor is currently the Congressional representative of Floridas 11th congressional district, after receiving her Masters Degree in 1968, Castor moved with her family to Tampa, where she joined the League of Women Voterss Tampa chapter, becoming its president in 1970. Castors second daughter, Karen, was born in 1968 and her son, Frank, in 1972, she ran for the Hillsborough County Commission. An advocate of protection and governmental reform, Castor faced ten opponents in the Democratic Primary. She won all the contests, becoming the first woman elected to the County Commission. During her term, she chaired the Environmental Protection Commission and became chair of the Board of County Commissioners in 1976, later in 1976 she was elected to the State Senate and served until 1978 when she ran unsuccessfully for Lieutenant Governor. She was elected again to the Florida Senate in 1982 and became the president pro tempore of the Senate in 1985, Castor served on numerous education committees and became chair of the appropriations sub-committee on education. She was the co-sponsor of the Equal Rights Amendment and championed bills to end discrimination and she successfully sponsored legislation providing for the early childhood education program. In 1986, Castor was elected statewide to the Florida Cabinet as Florida Education Commissioner, as Commissioner of Education, Castor served on the Board of Regents and as a member of the Community College Coordination Board. She worked with the legislature to fund the first statewide program to funding for the early childhood education program. She worked also with the Insurance Commissioner to develop the Healthy Kids program, in 1989 Castor, who divorced in 1978, married Samuel P
19.
Doug Jamerson
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Douglas Lee Tim Jamerson, Jr. was a Florida Commissioner of Education. He was appointed to the position in 1993 after former Betty Castor resigned to become President of the University of South Florida and he was defeated in his bid for a full term in 1994 by Frank Brogan. Jamerson grew up in the neighborhoods in St. Petersburg. He planned to attend Gibbs High School, but his grandmother encouraged him to go to Bishop Barry High School instead, Jamerson graduated from St. Petersburg Junior College and received his bachelors degree in criminal justice from the University of South Florida. He also was a graduate of St. Petersburg Police Academy, Jamerson was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1982 from District 55 representative and served 5. After his loss Chiles appointed him as secretary of the state Department of Labor, Jamerson died of cancer at the Tallahassee Memorial Hospital in 2001, at the age of 53
20.
Frank Brogan
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He was also the 15th Lieutenant Governor of Florida. Brogan is an educator who served eight years in statewide office. In 1976, Frank Brogan became the first member in his family to earn a degree when he received his bachelors degree in education magna cum laude from the University of Cincinnati. In 1981, he earned his M. A. in Educational Leadership from Florida Atlantic University, Brogan began his education career in 1978 in the Martin County, Florida public school district. His first job was teaching fifth grade at Port Salerno Elementary School and it was while teaching at this school that he earned his masters degree in 1981. Brogan next focused his career on educational administration and he went on to serve as the Dean of Students at Indiantown Middle School, and then Assistant Principal, and Principal of Murray Middle School. While an administrator, Brogan negotiated a gun away from a student, Brogan was eventually elected to two terms as the Superintendent of Schools in Martin County. In 1994, Brogan was elected Florida Commissioner of Education, in this position he oversaw all education activities in Florida and served as a member of the Florida Cabinet, which oversaw various aspects of state government. He was the youngest Education Commissioner in Floridas history, Brogan was seeking a second term as Education Commissioner when, in 1998, Jeb Bush asked him to be his running mate as Lieutenant Governor. The Bush/Brogan team won the general election, as Lieutenant Governor, Brogan oversaw education policy and acted as legislative liaison for the Bush Administration. Bush and Brogan were re-elected in 2002, Brogan departed to become President of FAU in 2003, during Brogans initial six-year term, the University developed its first-ever comprehensive strategic plan, which has provided a roadmap for progress since its inception in 2006. He oversaw the largest physical development of the University’s campuses as new facilities were built to serve FAU’s undergraduate and graduate population, the stadium and most of these features were developed and completed in the years after Brogan left FAU. In 2009 Brogan became Chancellor of the State University System and resigned as President of FAU, Brogan took office as Floridas university system chancellor in 2009 during a time of deep acrimony between the Florida Legislature and the Board of Governors. As the longest-serving chancellor since the creation of the Board of Governors in 2003, meanwhile, the university system demonstrated significant progress in providing access to high-quality higher education. This was part of Brogans goal for Florida to have the most accountable university system in America, during the 2013 legislative session in particular, the university system took several major steps toward further excellence. Additionally, the Legislature reversed an earlier $300 million budget cut and added more than $400 million in new funding for operations, facilities and maintenance. In October 2013, Brogan left his post as Chancellor of the State University System of Florida to serve as the chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education
21.
Tom Gallagher
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For other individuals with the same or similar names, see Thomas Gallagher C. Thomas Tom Gallagher III is an American politician from the state of Florida and a member of the Republican Party. Gallagher holds the distinction of having served more years as a state official than any other individual in Florida history. He began his career in the Florida House of Representatives, where he served from 1979 to 1987, after 2003, his office was merged with that of Comptroller to form the Chief Financial Officer of Florida, which he held from 2003 to 2007. Gallagher has also run unsuccessfully for the United States Senate in 2000 and four times for Governor of Florida, Gallagher was raised in Delaware where he participated on the high school swim team. In 1961, he entered the University of Miami with an athletic scholarship. After graduating, Gallagher enlisted in the United States Army with the 3rd U. S, Gallagher was honorably discharged and returned to Miami to start a business career. Gallagher married his wife, Laura Wilson, in 1998. Wilson comes from a sixth-generation Florida family, the Gallaghers have a son, Charlie, born in 2000. Gallagher and his wife became divorced in 2011. Gallagher began his career when he was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1974. He ran in the 111th district and defeated the Democratic nominee, attorney Alan Rosenthal and he was re-elected in 1980, defeating John F. Cosgrove by 62% to 38%. He briefly ran for Governor of Florida in 1982 but dropped out early on after realising that incumbent Democrat Bob Graham would be re-elected, Representative Louis A. Bafalis in a landslide by 65% to 35%. Gallagher was re-elected from the 117th district in 1982, defeating attorney Charlene Carres by 57% to 43% and his final race was in 1984, when he defeated real estate agent and former actor Seth Sklarey by 70% to 30%. In the House he served as Minority Whip from 1980 to 1982, in 1984, he proposed a 10-year freeze on state taxes and spending. He declined to run for re-election in 1986, deciding instead to enter the Republican primary for Governor, in the election, he faced fellow State Representative Chester Clem, former U. S. Representative Louis Frey, Jr. and Tampa Mayor Bob Martinez and his running mate was State Representative Betty Easley. She had been running for Commissioner of Education but dropped out to pursue the office of Lieutenant Governor, Martinez finished first with 244,417 votes and advanced to a runoff with Frey, who came second with 137,967 votes. Gallagher came third with 131,265 votes and Clem finished last with 44,409 votes, Gallagher endorsed Martinez, who won the run-off and the general election
22.
Charlie Crist
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Charles Joseph Charlie Crist Jr. is an American attorney and politician who is the U. S. Representative for Floridas 13th congressional district and he had also previously served as the 44th Governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011. After initially leading in the race for the Republican nomination, he was overtaken in the polls by Marco Rubio, in the general election, he lost to Rubio in a three-way race, taking 30% of the vote to Rubios 49% and Democratic nominee Kendrick Meeks 20%. Crists term as Governor ended in January 2011, on December 7,2012, he joined the Democratic Party, having endorsed President Barack Obama for re-election in 2012. On November 1,2013, he announced that he was running for governor in the 2014 election, however, he was defeated by incumbent Governor Rick Scott, losing by a 1% margin. In 2016 Crist was elected to the United States House of Representatives from Floridas 13th congressional district, defeating incumbent David Jolly by a margin of 52%-48%. Crist was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania on July 24,1956, to Charles Joseph Crist, Sr. an American physician of Greek Cypriot and Lebanese descent, and Nancy, of Scots-Irish, Swiss and his family name is adapted from the original Greek name Christodoulou. Crist moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, as a child, where he attended Riviera Middle School and he is the second of four children and has three sisters, Margaret Crist Wood, Elizabeth Crist Hyden, and Catherine Crist Kennedy. He attended Wake Forest University for two years, where he played quarterback for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Crist earned his undergraduate degree from Florida State University where he was elected Vice President of the student body and became a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. He received his J. D. from Samford University Cumberland School of Law, drawn to politics, Crist was a candidate for public office for the first time in 1986, as a Republican, in the primary race for a state Senate seat in Pinellas County. Crist was elected to a term to the Florida Senate in 1992 from the 20th District. Crist defeated longtime incumbent Democratic State Senator Helen Gordon Davis of Tampa,58.3 to 41. 7%, Crist was able to unseat Gordon Davis following the 1992 decennial redistricting process, which significantly reconfigured the districts in the Tampa Bay area. He was known as a senator, sponsoring legislation requiring inmates to serve at least 85% of their sentences before becoming eligible for parole. He supported teacher salary increases, charter schools, and a specialty license plate for Everglades conservation, chiles testified before the committee and admitted that his campaign had made the calls. Crist was reelected to the Senate in 1994 to a four-year term, Crist gained recognition in 1998 as the Republican challenger to the incumbent Democratic U. S. He lost to Graham by 26 percentage points and he was elected Education Commissioner of Florida in 2000 – a position he held until it became an appointed office 2003, due to a 1998 constitutional amendment. Crist left his position after he was elected Attorney General, in 2002 Crist was elected as the Attorney General in Florida. He received support of his candidacy from the host of Americas Most Wanted, Walsh and other supporters of his work commented and cited his work with the Center for Missing and Exploited Children
23.
Education in Florida
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There are ten public universities and a liberal arts college that comprise the State University System of Florida. In addition the Florida College System comprises 28 public community colleges, in 2008 the State University System had 302,513 students. Florida also has private universities, some of which comprise the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida, in 2010, nineteen of Floridas 28 community colleges were offering four year degree programs. The states public primary and secondary schools are administered by the Florida Department of Education, FLDOE also has authority over the Florida College System. The State University System is under the authority of the Florida Board of Governors, as mandated by the Florida Constitution, Article IX, section 4, Florida has 67 school districts, one for each county. All are separate municipal government. School districts tax property within their jurisdictions to support their budgets, Florida has hundreds of private schools of all types. The FLDOE has no authority over private school operations, private schools may or may not be accredited, and achievement tests are not required for private school graduating seniors. Many private schools obtain accreditation and perform achievement tests to show parents the schools interest in educational performance, in 2008, about 55,000 students were homeschooled. Neither FLDOE nor the school district has authority to regulate home school activities. The government supports and assists homeschooling activities, there is no minimum number of days in a year, or hours in a day, that must be met, and achievement tests are not required for home school graduating seniors. In the state of Florida, public primary and secondary schools are administered by the Florida Department of Education, School districts are organized within county boundaries. Each school district has an elected Board of education which sets policy, budget, goals, management is the responsibility of a Superintendent of schools. The Florida Constitution allows districts to elect the superintendent in a popular election or choose to allow the school board to appoint the superintendent. As of 2010, school boards in 25 districts appointed the superintendent, in 2008, there were 619 secondary schools in the state. Education Week evaluated Floridas schools for 2010, fifth in the overall, with As for student testing, teacher accountability. It gave the state an F for per-pupil spending, the Center commended Florida as one of two states that provides annual school-level productivity evaluations which report to the public how well school funds are being spent at the local level. Floridas public-school revenue per student and spending per $1000 of personal income usually rank in the bottom 25 percent of U. S. states, average teacher salaries rank near the middle of U. S. states
24.
Florida College System
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The Florida College System, previously known as the Florida Community College System, comprises 28 public community colleges and state colleges in the U. S. state of Florida. In 2013-14, enrollment consisted of more than 813,000 students, together with the State University System of Florida, which includes Floridas 12 public four-year universities, it is part of Floridas system of public higher education. While governed by boards of trustees, the colleges are coordinated under the jurisdiction of Floridas State Board of Education. As of 2014, only three members of the Florida College System retain community college in their official name and this mission and responsibility includes, Providing lower level undergraduate instruction and awarding associate degrees. Preparing students directly for careers requiring less than baccalaureate degrees and this may include preparing for job entry, supplementing of skills and knowledge, and responding to needs in new areas of technology. A Florida College System institution may offer career education programs in fields having lesser academic or technical requirements, promoting economic development for the state within each Florida College System institution district through the provision of special programs, including, but not limited to,1. Providing upper level instruction and awarding baccalaureate degrees as specifically authorized by law, a separate and secondary role for Florida College System institutions includes the offering of programs in, Community services that are not directly related to academic or occupational advancement. Adult education services, including adult education, adult general education, adult secondary education. 1007.33, F. S. requires that any Florida College System institution that offers one or more degree programs. Responsibility for responding to community needs for postsecondary education and career degree education as prescribed in s. The provision of associate degrees that provide access to a university, Maintain an open-door admission policy for associate-level degree programs and workforce education programs. Continue to provide outreach to underserved populations, comply with all provisions of the statewide articulation agreement which relate to 2-year and 4-year public degree-granting institutions as adopted by the State Board of Education pursuant to s. The schools athletic teams are governed by the Florida State College Activities Association and compete in the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 8
25.
Florida Board of Governors
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The Board of Governors was established in 2003 after the successful passage of the constitutional amendment heralded by Graham in 2002. A statewide board of education, also appointed by the governor, oversaw kindergarten through higher education, the Board of Governors, as part of the Florida Constitution, cannot be abolished without another constitutional amendment. During the 2014-2015 academic year, the State University System enrolled roughly 341,000 total students, the Board appoints a Chancellor, who serves as the System’s chief executive. The campaigns focus is a connection between the System’s universities and Florida’s businesses, with an emphasis on collaboration in the areas of Talent, Research. The Board of Governors unveiled a performance-based funding model in 2014 to incentivize universities to improve on key metrics, key components of the model, Institutions will be evaluated on either Excellence or Improvement for each metric. Data is based on one-year data, University Press of Florida State University System of Florida Libraries Florida Institute of Oceanography Florida Board of Control Official website
26.
State University System of Florida
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The State University System of Florida is a system of twelve public universities in the U. S. state of Florida. As of 2015, over 341,000 students were enrolled in Floridas state universities, together with the Florida College System, which includes Floridas 28 community colleges and state colleges, it is part of Floridas system of public higher education. The system, headquartered in Tallahassee, is overseen by a Chancellor, the Florida Board of Governors was created in 2003 to centralize the administration of the State University System of Florida. Previously, Floridas State University System had been governed by the Florida Board of Regents, from 1905 to 1965, the few universities in the system were governed by the Florida Board of Control. The Board of Control was replaced by the Florida Board of Regents in 1965, in 2002, Floridians led by U. S. Senator Bob Graham passed an amendment to the Florida Constitution establishing a new governing body. ^A In 1851, the Florida legislature voted to establish two seminaries of learning, West Florida Seminary and East Florida Seminary, in 1905, when the Buckman Act reorganized higher education in Florida, the three resulting state institutions all adopted 1905 as their founding date. In 1935 the Florida Board of Control changed the dates of UF and Florida State to the years their predecessor Seminaries opened,1853 and 1857. In 2000, Florida State declared 1851 to be its founding date, in 1836, the United States Congress authorized the establishment of the University of Florida. Florida Student Association Florida Department of Education Advisory Council of Faculty Senates List of colleges and universities in Florida Official website
27.
Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test
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The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, or the FCAT/FCAT2.0, was the standardized test used in the primary and secondary public schools of Florida. First administered statewide in 1998, it replaced the State Student Assessment Test, the FCAT was administered annually, in late February and early to mid-March as well as April, to all public school students in grades three through eleven. Students in grades three through ten are required to take the reading and math portion every year, FCAT Science is administered annually to public school students in the fifth, eighth, and eleventh grades. Students results from the FCAT are compiled to generate a grade for public school. If a school improves a letter grade, or maintains an A and this money is not collectively bargained or funneled through the recipient schools district. Schools can use the money for staff bonuses, educational equipment, materials related to boosting student performance, most of the money typically goes toward teacher bonuses, however. As of the 2010-2011 school year it has called the FCAT2.0 On actual test material it is labeled FCAT2.0 Next Generation Sunshine State Standards. As of the 2014-2015 school year, many grades do not take the FCAT, when originally introduced, students in fourth grade were required to pass the reading portion of the test in order to be promoted to the fifth grade. However, many counties in the state have adopted other promotional requirements tied to the FCAT, exceptional education students were able to waive the FCAT requirement to get a Standard High School Diploma. Those ESE students wishing to obtain a high school diploma must score a passing grade on the FCAT or receive a waiver for the FCAT. In order to get the waiver, ESE students must prove that they have taken steps to try to pass the FCAT. A student failing the tenth grade test—that is, the test required for graduation—is allowed approximately five additional opportunities to pass it prior to graduation. Originally, students were given four more chances to pass the test after failing it in 10th grade—in October, however, starting in 2006, students were provided an additional test administration during the summer between school years. Students, however, may not retake the Grade 10 FCAT during the summer between their sophomore and junior year because time is needed for remediation. If students do not pass the FCAT prior to their scheduled graduation, if a student completes the minimum number of credits for high school graduation, but does not pass the FCAT, he or she may still be allowed to graduate with a certificate of completion. Students may substitute the appropriate subject-area score from either the ACT or SAT, students may also transfer their credits to a private or out-of-state school. The FCAT is either machine-scored or hand-scored, depending on the section, multiple-choice and gridded-response questions are machine-scored. Performance tasks, such as short-response, extended-response, essay items, are hand-scored and this type of scoring is called Item Response Theory
