New College has been filling positions that account for nearly a third of the school’s faculty. DeSantis appointed a slate of conservative members to the school’s Board of Trustees early this year.
Schools
DeSantis ‘War on Woke’ Mirrors Whitewashing of History in Other Countries
Florida’s new law forbidding the teaching of systemic racism is the most extreme example in a series of recent U.S. state bills that critics call “educational gag orders.” The tactics that Gov. Ron DeSantis is using to censor the teaching of American history in Florida look a lot like those seen in the illiberal democracies of Israel, Turkey, Russia and Poland.
Texas University Suspends Professor Accused of Criticizing Lt. Governor in Lecture on Opioids
The professor, Joy Alonzo, an expert on the opioids crisis, was placed on paid administrative leave and investigated, raising questions about the extent of political interference in higher education, particularly in health-related matters.
District Breaks Ground on Two-Year, $22.6 Million Matanzas High School Expansion
The $22.6 million project is the largest on a Flagler school campus in a decade and a half, adding 20,000 square feet, including classrooms, and renovating 11,000 square feet over the next two years.
Will Furry’s Rate Plan for Belle Terre Swim Club Is ‘Ludicrous’ and Disconnected from Reality
School Board member Will Furry is demanding a new rate structure for Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club that is based on “personal belief unmoored to any study or research,” Doug Courtney, who leads the club’s advisory board, argues. The rates would increase sharply, and be split into tiers. The board is voting on the new rates Tuesday evening.
Florida’s Magical Negro History Standards
We now have the Magical Negro elevated to an entire curriculum. It’s Florida’s African American History standards. The standards are an excellent illustration of what American history looks like through white eyes, and how whites are the best thing that ever happened to Black people, who apparently should worship the Middle Passage down the chains of their ancestry.
State Approves Florida’s New Version of Black History Standards as Teachers Blister Half-Truths and Errors
Students at Florida public schools will now learn that Black people benefitted from slavery because it taught them skills. This change is part of the African American history standards the State Board of Education approved at a Wednesday meeting.
Stetson University Again Selected for Fiske Guide to Colleges 2024
The Fiske Guide to Colleges 2024, now in its 40th year, selects more than 320 colleges as the “best and most interesting” among the country’s 2,300 institutions. The bestselling guide bills itself as the “most authoritative source of information” for college-bound students and their parents.
As Fleet Ages, Flagler Schools Looks to Finance Purchase of 16 New Buses, With Interest
The district has cleared the way for its financial adviser to prepare a request for proposal that would seek bankers’ offers to finance what would amount to a $2.6 or $2.8 million purchase of 16 buses that would be delivered during the 2024-25 school year. That would replace 16 buses that are today 15 years old.
End Legacy Admissions
Who will benefit from the Supreme Court’s recent ruling striking down race as a factor in college admissions? Mostly, just wealthy white people. That’s because the ruling refused to touch so-called “legacy admissions.” Colleges are free to continue giving preferential treatment to the children of alumni, donors, and other well-connected, privileged people.