When Christos Speros was a little boy, Legos were his favorite toy, the Tampa Bay Times reports. “I loved the way that you can build something from your imagination,” said Christos, 15. As a student at Bayonet Point Middle School, Christos, who wants to become a military engineer, learned that a robotics club was being founded at the school, and that the club would compete in a tournament that involved robots built with Lego parts. “I said, ‘Thank you God,’ ” he said. Christos joined the Bayonet Point Middle robotics club, which last year won two honors at the first annual Robots At Rushe FLL (First LEGO League) Qualifying Tournament. In the Project Category, the Bayonet Point team Patriot Robots took first place and got the Rising Star Award…
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Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.
Pasco leads way as school districts explore social media
When she opened her Twitter account for work in early 2012, Jessica Schultz was an anomaly in Pasco County schools, the Tampa Bay Times reports. District officials remained wary of how to step into the online world beyond static websites. Educators’ virtual presence was suspect, amid fears of potential consequences such as inappropriate student contact. It was clear to the Mitchell High School assistant principal, though, that if she really wanted to communicate with the texting, tweeting teens in her hallways, she’d have to take the plunge…
…Read MorePublic charter school’s link to Scientology raises questions
A public charter school in Clearwater, Fla. is being accused of using methods of Scientology in educating students, the Huffington Post reports.An in-depth report by the Tampa Bay Times examines the various aspects of the Life Force Arts and Technology Academy that are reportedly heavily influenced by Scientology, including school field trips, teacher training tactics and “study technology,” an educational system designed by Scientology’s late founder, L. Ron Hubbard. Life Force opened in 2007, but was struggling financially by 2009 despite receiving an annual $800,000 in public funds. That’s when Hana Islam of California’s World Literacy Crusade stepped in with one of her businesses, the Art of management, to “save the school” with “no intentions of taking over,” the Times reports. Efforts by the Pinellas County School District to close the school have been thwarted because the school is under bankruptcy protection…
…Read MoreBulking up STEM comes with a price tag, educators say
It’s the jumper cables to America’s dead battery, they say, the lighter fluid to a cooling economy, the Tampa Bay Times reports. STEM education — science, technology, engineering and math — is being touted by lawmakers and business people as the key to future job creation and international competitiveness. In Florida, the pressure is on to push more kids into STEM. This session, lawmakers are considering a bill that would reward schools when students graduate with more math and science credits than currently required. But as campuses move to aggressively bulk up their STEM programs, they are grappling with a perpetual question in K-12 education: How to pay for it?
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