Top Rank Schools

From my colleague Leslie Postal at the Orlando Sentinel:

Florida has been granted a waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind law, which will free it from the constraints of complicated school accountability rules and allow it to use its school grading system as the sole judge of public education.

A state official confirmed this morning that Florida is one of the states granted a waiver and that an announcement by the White House is expected later today.

Read the rest of the developing story here.

What do you think? Is this good news for the state’s schools? Do all of the changes to our accountability system make it more or less meaningful?

Warning, this blog is about to get sappy and sentimental. I am going to lay my heart out on the table for the internet to devour. Please, attempt to be nice.

This is going to be a direct message to my mother. You are welcome to comment as always, but this is going to mainly be a one on one with me and her that happens to be in a public forum. This is something that I should be able to discuss with her openly, but I’m bad at that. I have always been more comfortable writing how I feel, and maybe some publicity of the issue will help motivate her.

Mom, please stop smoking.

This is something I have asked you to do all of my life; sense I was old enough to talk. It has always bothered me. The smell and look of the evil toxic gas that permeates the house. The disgusting greasy ash trays. It all makes me want to vomit.

I don’t think any less of you, of course, and I never will. The

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Photo Courtesy of Flickr

The Eagle Ford Shale sits along the southern tip of Texas. It is responsible for producing over a billion barrels of oil a year, and is estimated by many oil companies and experts to be highly productive for many years to come. The prediction that this oil shale will be active for many years makes it a prime place to seek employment, as there will be a high demand for employees to fill vacancies and new positions in or around the Eagle Ford Shale.

Many jobs around the Eagle Ford Shale are directly under various oil companies. However, there are a handful of unique jobs that allow people to work in or around the Eagle Ford Shale without having to work directly on the oil reserve or oil rig. Read more…

If you are running a company, regardless of its size or specialization, having the right IT staff is of vital importance. Whether you have a large full-time IT staff or various freelance contractors, the team that you put together for the IT department of your business needs to drive the entire information technology front in your company. It simply means that you, as the manager of your company, ultimately need to make your decisions and selections wisely.

Here are some considerations to make when putting together an IT team for your business:

Image via Flickr

• Hire potential candidates through a reputable staffing agency. Hiring a staffing agency, such as the Modis IT staffing agency, is a great way to get access to a pool of potential IT employees.

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North Carolina has long been one of the national leaders in biotechnology jobs, ranking in the top three in the field.

Despite that, there hasn’t been a big push to educate students at the high school level. One high school in Franklin County is changing that.

Thanks to the support of a local biotechnology company and the foresight of school system leaders, students at Franklinton High School have been learning since 2006 about the field many of them will end up working in.

The class, introduction to biotechnology, was the first of its kind in the state and allows students to do research and get hands-on experience in a field used to grow food, make medicines and create alternative energy fuel.

Taught by Winn Clayton, the all-in-one class that combines biology, anatomy and chemistry currently allows 18 students to get invaluable experience.

“It’s a lot more hands-on work,” Clayton said.

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