S. Florida’s Schools of Education Thriving Despite the Market

Although there is a lack of teaching jobs in S. Florida at this time, schools of education indicate that their student population continues to grow. This growth is recognized in spite of the fact that 1,400 teachers were laid of by Broward County Public Schools last summer.  While there is difficulty in obtaining a teaching position in S. Florida at this time, potential teachers are optimistic that there will be a turn around in the hiring policies in the future.

For more information see http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/07/30/2338182/schools-of-education-thriving.html

Lawsuit: Some Legal Florida Residents Pay Out-of-State Fees

Some Florida residents and citizens are being denied in state fees because of questions about their parents’ immigration status. The Southern Poverty Law Center, an Alabama civil rights organization, has filed a law suit against state colleges and universities on behalf of five students who applied to state universities. The law suit alleges that the practice of asking questions about the legal status of parents is unconstitutional.

For more information see http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/education/highered/fl-college-discrimination-lawsuit-20111019,0,2937463.story

U.S. Citizen Children of Immigrants Protest Higher Tuition Rates

.S. born children of undocumented immigrants are required to pay out-of-state tuition in Florida. This new law was recently challenged with the filing of a law suit.  In the meantime,  many students are unable to afford the high costs, so they are are unable to pursue an education.

For more information see http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/10/23/2468655/us-citizen-children-of-immigrants.html

Rick Scott Wants to Shift University Degree Funding Away From Some Degrees

Rick Scott does not believe that some programs such as anthropology, psychology, liberal arts contribute much to Florida’s economy and wants to decrease funding. Scott wants to shift funding to degrees that have the best job prospects, weed out unproductive professors, and reconsider the system that offers job security to faculty. The governor has been making his intention known during a series of interviews across the state.  He is hoping to shift more funding to science, technology, engineering and math departments.

For more information see:

http://htpolitics.com/2011/10/10/rick-scott-wants-to-shift-university-funding-away-from-some-majors/

Antipoverty Group Works with Community Colleges to Graduate More Students

Mercy Arenas, a project coordinator for the antipoverty group Single Stop USA meets with a student from Miami Dade College’s North Campus to discuss benefits for which she may be eligible.  Single Stop USA is a New York based non-profit agency whose mission is to fight poverty. Since 2009, it has formed partnership with several community colleges to eradicate poverty that restricts students form completing college.  One such case is Julio Cohen who was laid off from his job. After subsequently enrolling at Miami Dade College, his need to assist his family was addessed by Single Stop USA which arranged for his family to receive food stamps. He says the money he used for food goes instead to savings and he can focus on his goal to obtain his architectural design and building construction technology degree.

For additional information see

The Chronicles of Higher Education – http://chronicle.com/article/Antipoverty-Group-Works-With/128874/