Media hits: COE In the News
The University of Florida’s College of Education–through its office of news and communications–strives to be the “source of choice” for general news media outlets and “education beat” reporters and bloggers seeking information and expert sources on education trends and issues, and on information and news about the College’s programs in education teaching, research and public service.
Below is a sampling of recent news media reports and selected blog posts concerning College activities and its faculty, students and alumni, or featuring expert sources from our distinguished faculty. Many of the media “hits” were generated by news releases or direct contact with reporters and editors, or resulted from media inquiries “triaged” by our news and communications office. . .
2011
May 12, 2011
Bay News Ch. 9 (Tampa Bay area): Lastinger Center-Pinellas schools showcase
Pinellas County teachers lead the state in classroom research projects, and on Wednesday they had the chance to showcase their work at an event sponsored by the school district and UF’s Lastinger Center for Learning. Bay News 9 covered the story.
May 10, 2011
Clearwater Current: Lastinger Center’s statewide inquiry showcases
Old Northeast-Downtown St. Pete PATCH (e-newsletter)
insideEDGE (Pinellas County Schools monthly newsletter)
State of Florida Facts (news highlighting website)
More than 1,300 public school educators are presenting 1,100 problem-shooting research projects this month at University of Florida showcases around the state. Pinellas County educators will present 746 of the projects at a showcase scheduled at Ruth Eckerd Hall, Wednesday, May 11 beginning at 3:45 p.m. The UF Lastinger Center for Learning is staging the showcases with its partner school districts around the state. (The Clearwater Current is an online newspaper for Clearwater Beach, Old Clearwater Bay and Dunedin communities.)
May, 2011
insideEDGE (Pinellas County Schools monthly newsletter): TLSI graduate degree
The graduate degree component (Teacher Leadership for School Improvement) of the Florida Master Teacher Initiative, offered to Pinellas teachers at area schools partnering with UF’s Lastinger Center for Learning, received the 2011 Distinguished Program in Teacher Education Award by the Association of Teacher Educators.
April 11 & 12, 2011
Gainesville Sun: Dorene Ross (STL)
Professor Dorene Ross was quoted extensively in segments one and two of a five-part series in the Gainesville Sun about the value and impact of standardized testing in Alachua County public schools.
March 19, 2011
South Florida Sun Sentinel: Catherine Emihovich (dean)
Dean Emihovich is quoted in a March 19 article in the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting how the sweeping merit pay bill passed recently by the Florida Legislature has many teachers worried about the future of their jobs and profession. Said Emihovich: “We’re already hearing students raise questions about, ‘What is my long-term future as a teacher?’ ”
March 17, 2011
Education Week: Wendy Drexler & Cathy Cavanaugh (education technology)
Wendy Drexler and Cathy Cavanaugh are quoted in research article weighing the pros and cons of technology-driven personalized learning. Article appeared in Education Week’s annual Technology Counts report for 2011.
March 15, 2011
Gainesville Sun: COE national rankings
As reported in this Gainesville Sun story, the UF College of Education rose slightly in the U.S. News and World Report’s national rankings of graduate schools released online this week, with five individual academic programs within the college placing in the top 20.
March 7, 2011
Gainesville Sun: Elizabeth Washington (social studies education)
Professor Elizabeth Washington was quoted in a March 7 Gainesville Sun story about a local grassroots group attacking social studies textbooks used in area schools for having pro-Islam and anti-Christian, Jewish or Israel leanings.
March 3, 2011
Education Week: Paul Sindelar (special education)
Sindelar was quoted in an this Education Week article about instruction in Response to Intervention techniques, saying: “I do think that general education [teacher preparation] has an orientation toward kids who are living in poverty, don’t speak English, who are culturally and ethnically different. What I’m less sure about is whether that concept of difference includes students with disabilities.The expectations are upped in [an RTI] system. Teachers can’t simply refer kids to special education and expect them to be removed from their watch.”
March 1, 2011
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Sondra Smith-Adcock (counselor education)
Smith-Adcock, associate professor in counselor education, is quoted in a Radio Free Europe report analyzing the apparent mental-emotional state of Kolya Lukashenko, son of Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenko.
Gainesville Sun: Christopher Sessums (education technology)
Christopher Sessum, a postdoctoral associate in educational technology, was quoted in a March 1 Gainesville Sun story about proposed Alachua County School Board policies that would discourage teachers from engaging students on social media networks without administrative approval.
Feb, 18, 2011
St. Petersburg Times: UF Lastinger Center for Learning’s national Teacher Education Award
The St. Petersburg Times education blog featured the national 2011 Distinguished Program in Teacher Education Award recently won by the graduate component of the Lastinger Center’s Florida Master Teacher program.
Feb. 17, 2011
Gainesville Sun: Michael Testa (alumnus)
UF COE alum Michael Testa (MEd ’05, social studies ed, EdS ’09, ed admin/leadership), a history and government teacher at Gainesville Buchholz High School, was featured in a Feb. 17 Gainesville Sun story about his selection as 2011 Alachua County Teacher of the Year.
Feb. 15, 2011
Republica (Kathmandu, Nepal newspaper): Cathy Cavanaugh (education technology)
Associate professor Cathy Cavanaugh was quoted in this English-language Nepalese newspaper about the Asian nation’s national science fair, where Cavanaugh was a speaker. Cavanaugh is a Fulbright Senior Scholar spending the spring semester in Kathmandu, Nepal, working on a Fulbright learning project.
Feb. 14, 2011
Gainesville Sun: P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School
WUFT-FM Radio
A Feb. 14 story in the Gainesville Sun reported the start of a 172,000-square-foot rebuilding project that will replace all but five buildings on the P.K. Yonge school campus, starting with a $9 million elementary wing. P.K. Yonge is the College of Education’s renowned K-12 laboratory school. WUFT-FM Radio (Gainesville) also covered the event.
Jan. 28, 2011
Gainesville Sun: Gordon Lawrence (retired professor emeritus)
The Jan. 28 edition of the Sun featured an obituary for Gordon Lawrence, a professor of instructional leadership in UF’s College of Education for more than 25 years. He died Dec. 14, 2010, at age 80.
Jan. 21, 2011
edutopia (George Lucas Educational Foundation blog site): UF teacher preparation program
The innovative practices of UF’s teacher education program were showcased Jan. 21 in edutopia, the national blogging site of The George Lucas Educational Foundation. In a piece titled “Innovations in Teacher Prep Programs,” blogger Anne OBrien, deputy director of the Learning First Alliance, described UF’s program as a national model for “grounding the pre-service teacher experience in clinical practice.”
Jan. 13, 2011
Salisbury (N.C.) Post: Gov. Beverly Perdue (COE alumna, governor of North Carolina)
Raleigh (NC) News-Observer
GovMonitor.com
PressZoom
An article in the Jan. 13 edition of the Salisbury Post reported the selection of North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue to receive UF’s 2011 Distinguished Alumnus Award. Perdue holds two degrees from UF’s College of Education. She is North Carolina’s first women governor. Story also carried by PressZoom global news service, the Raleigh (NC) News-Observer, GovMonitor (online gobal public-sector news service),
Jan. 11, 2011
Florida (Magazine of the Gator Nation): Gene Chizik (BAE ’85 alum)
Auburn football coach Gene Chizik (BAE ’85), a UF education alum, was featured in an article in UF’s alumni magazine for receiving the Coaches Trophy after his Tigers won the 2011 BCS National Championship game Jan. 10.
2010
Dec. 22, 2010
WUFT-FM RADIO: Lastinger Center Master Teacher Gloria Jean Merriex
North Florida’s NPR station recently profiled the late Master Teacher Gloria Jean Merriex. In an radio news report titled “Learning math through hip hop will live on at Duvall Elementary and beyond,” reporter Dan Katz speaks with UF Lastinger Center officials who’ve worked with Merriex and family members.
Winter 2010
UF Today magazine: Pat Snyder (early childhood studies)
In the Winter 2010 edition of UF Today alumni magazine, Pat Snyder, COE Dean Catherine Emihovich, graduate student Tara McLaughlin and others were quoted in a story about the college’s early childhood education initiatives, including UF’s new Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Studies.
Dec. 18, 2010
WCJB-TV-20: Jean Crockett (special education)
Local ABC affiliate TV-20 interviewed Professor Jean Crockett about the comparison of U.S. student test results with that of other leading industrial nations. She cited the greater diversity of students in American schools, the inclusion of American students with exceptional learning needs and the higher percentage of U.S. children living in poverty.
Dec. 15, 2010
Gainesville Sun: Pat Snyder (UF Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Studies)
WCJB-TV 20 (ABC affiliate)
Early childhood studies scholar Pat Snyder was quoted in a Dec. 15 Gainesville Sun story about UF’s creation of a university-wide Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Studies. Snyder and other COE faculty and administrators were instrumental in the center’s formation. Local TV-20 also covered the story.
Dec. 14, 2010
Learning First Alliance: Buffy Bondy (School of Teaching and Learning)
The Learning First Alliance website held a Q&A conversation with Elizabeth “Buffy” Bondy, interim director of the college’s School of Teaching and Learning, citing UF’s teacher preparation program as an education school that has “been on the right track for years.” Bondy cited UF’s clinical approach to teacher education. The Alliance is a partnership of 17 leading U.S. education associations, with more than 10 million members.
Dec. 10, 2010
WUFT-TV 5: Don Pemberton (UF Lastinger Center for Learning)
The University of Florida’s PBS television station, WUFT ran a video news report about the Lastinger Center’s statewide Master Teacher program.
Nov. 17, 2010
Independent Florida Alligator: Phil Poekert & Magdalena Castaneda (Lastinger Center for Learning)
UF Lastinger Center “professors-in-residence” Phil Poekert were quoted Nov. 17 in an Independent Florida Alligator story about the center’s Florida Master Teacher Initiative, which offers tuition-free, on-the-job graduate degree programs for teachers in high-need schools in five Florida counties.
Nov. 15, 2010
Naples News: Lastinger Center’s school-improvement activites in Collier County
In his “Class Notes” article, Naples News columnist Joe Landon praised the UF Lastinger Center’s school-improvement efforts in Collier County. The center has had a close relationship with the school district dating back to 2004. The program gives teachers in participating high-need schools the chance to pursue master’s or specialist degrees with the help of full-tuition scholarships. So far, 31 teachers in Immokalee have completed their graduate work thanks to the program, and another 30 are hard at work following in their footsteps.
Nov. 12, 2010
WUFT-FM Radio (NPR): Don Pemberton (UF Lastinger Center for Learning)
UF’s public radio station interviewed Lastinger Center Director Don Pemberton on the center’s revolutionary efforts to upgrade education in Florida’s public schools. To hear audio report, please click here.
Nov. 9, 2010
Independent Florida Alligator: Diane Archer-Banks (UF Alliance)
Diane Archer-Banks, interim director of the UF Alliance, was quoted in a Nov. 9 story about the program’s 10th anniversary celebration. The UF Alliance helps six struggling Florida high schools improve their educational standards and college acceptance rates.
Fall 2010
Explore magazine: Florida Master Teacher Initiative (Lastinger Center for Learning)
The UF Lastinger Center’s groundbreaking Florida Master Teacher Initiative was the featured cover story in the Fall 2010 edition of the magazine, Explore: Research at the University of Florida, published by the UF Office of Research. The article describes the initiative as “one of the most promising programs in American education and an emerging national model.”
Nov. 4, 2010
Independent Florida Alligator: Tom Dana (COE academic affairs)
Tom Dana, associate dean for academic affairs, was quoted in a Nov. 4, 2010 story about UF joining the Science and Mathematics Teacher Imperative, a national initiative committed to preparing a higher number of quality high school math and science teachers. Dana is UF’s liaison to the SMTI. The imperative is a program of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities.
October 2010
Urban Educator (Council of the Great City Schools): $6M USDOE-Kellogg grants
The Urban Educator newsletter reported the $6 million in federal and foundation grants funding the collaborative effort of UF’s College of Education, Miami-Dade Public Schools and the Early Childhood Initiative Foundation. The organizations have joined forces to create a free, on-the-job graduate degree program for 100 early-childhood teachers in 25 high-need elementary schools.
Oct. 27, 2010
Independent Florida Alligator: Cathy Cavanaugh (education technology)
In a story headlined “E-books get mixed reviews on campus,” Associate Professor Cathy Cavanaugh was quoted as saying she encouraged the incorporation of e-texts into the learning experience. “I’m not advocating for an automated course experience,” she said. “But society is moving toward e-texts and it makes sense.”
Independent Florida Alligator: Dorene Ross (teacher education)
While some are pessimistic about iPad’s usefulness in the classroom, others, such as UF COE Professor Dorene Ross, is quoted in this Alligator article as saying she believes the iPad may have a place in academia.
Sept. 29, 2010
KAET-TV Horizonte (Phoenix, AZ): Luis Ponjuan (UF Institute of Higher Education)
Luis Ponjuan appeared on this Phoenix PBS public affairs television program, which focuses on Latino issues. Ponjuan discussed his research on the plight of the “Vanishing Latino Male” in higher education.
Sept. 27, 2010
Education Update blog: Catherine Emihovich (dean, UFCOE)
Dean Emihovich wrote her inaugural blog for this popular education blog site. In a column titled “Not Your Mother’s College of Education!”, Emihovich wrote that many policymakers and legislators “have no idea of the ways many contemporary COEs have completely restructured their practices and programs, or what role they can and should play in the national debate on improving education.” Education Update is an award-winning newspaper with 100,000 readers and 2 million monthly hits on the Web.
Aug. 9, 2010
Gainesville Sun / South Florida Business Journal / WRUF-AM 850 (Gainesville): Alyson Adams (UF Lastinger Center for Learning)
Alyson Adams was quoted in story carried by these 3 media outlets about $6 million in grants the UF Lastinger Center for Learning landed to team with Miami-Dade Public Schools and the Early Childhood Initiative Foundation on a local teaching program. Miami-Dade early education teachers will get free, on-the-job graduate education from UF professors-in-residence in a program designed to train master teachers in early childhood education.
Summer, 2010
Florida Trend magazine (UF “Explore” magazine insert): Harry Daniels (counselor education)
UF counselor education researchers, led by Professor Harry Daniels, have documented a profound correlation between home location, family lifestyles and students’ achievement on state standardized tests. Their study was a hot-button topic in Tallahassee during the debate over Senate Bill 6–the teacher-compensation proposal that Gov. Charlie Crist subsequently vetoed.
July 25, 2010
Chronicle for Higher Education : Luis Ponjuan (UF Institute of Higher Education)
Luis Ponjuan, director of the college’s Institute of Higher Education, was quoted in a Chronicle for Higher Education story about the rising pressure associated with the year-to-year increase in standards for tenure at major research universities.
May 16, 2010
Daytona Beach News Journal: Sevan Terzian (social foundations of education)
In an article on the various forms of high school education teens can choose from today–charter schools, home-schooling, dual enrollment, etc.–Sevan Terzian pointed out that the original civics-instruction mission of high schools is not as prominent anymore due to heightened promotion of academic achievement.
April 23, 2010
Education Week: Cathy Cavanaugh (education technology)
E-Curriculum Builders Seek a Personalized Approach. Cavanaugh was quoted in Ed Week’s online special report, “E-Learning 2010: Assessing the Agenda for Change.” She said she doesn’t consider an online offering that is solely computer-based, with no teacher support, a true course. “For K-12 students…the instructor is a key element.”
April 21, 2010
Tampa Bay Newspapers (weekly: Beacon, Leader, and Bee): Catherine Emihovich, dean
Dean Emihovich was quoted in a story about the college’s recent awarding of a 2010 Scholarship of Engagement Award to Pinellas County Schools Superintendent Linda Janssen. The dean called Janssen “instrumental in forming a multi-partnership with the UF Lastinger Center.”
April 19-20, 2010
Virtual School Meanderings (Web blog): Cathy Cavanaugh (education technology)
Cavanaugh’s appointment as a Fulbright Scholar was reported, as was a recent COE news release about UF’s virtual school internship program. (VSM is a Web blog about K-12 online learning, written by a Wayne State University I.T. professor.)
April 15, 2010
WDBD-FM Radio (Orlando): Harry Daniels (counselor education)
UF counselor education researchers, led by Professor Harry Daniels, have documented a profound correlation between home location, family lifestyles and students’ achievement on state standardized tests. The nationwide media splash created in March by their report carried over into April. Their study reportedly was a hot-button topic in Tallahassee during the debate over Senate Bill 6–the teacher-compensation proposal that Gov. Charlie Crist subsequently vetoed.
