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Dozens of public high schools in Florida are among the best in the country, according to a new ranking Tuesday from U.S. News & World Report.
In the 2024 Best High Schools list, Florida ranks fifth among U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Among the 647 ranked schools in the Sunshine State, 52 are in the top 5 percent nationally and 242 were in the top 25 percent.
In Sarasota County Schools, 15 high schools were included in the newly released report.
The rankings include data on nearly 25,000 high schools, looking at six key factors: college readiness, state assessment proficiency, state assessment performance, underserved student performance, college curriculum breadth and graduation rate.
Here are the top 10 Sarasota County high schools to make the list:
- Pine View School, Osprey, ranked No. 1 in Sarasota County and No. 1 in Florida.
- Suncoast Polytechnical High School, Sarasota, ranked No. 2 in Sarasota County and No. 37 in Florida.
- Riverview High School, Sarasota, ranked No. 3 in Sarasota County and No. 71 in Florida.
- State College of Florida Collegiate School, Venice, ranked No. 4 in Sarasota County and No. 137 in Florida.
- Venice Senior High School, Venice, ranked No. 5 in Sarasota County and No. 143 in Florida.
- Imagine School, North Port, ranked No. 6 in Sarasota County and No. 258 in Florida.
- North Port High School, North Port, ranked No. 7 in Sarasota County and No. 344 in Florida.
- Sarasota High School, Sarasota, ranked No. 8 in Sarasota County and No. 371 in Florida.
- Booker High School, Sarasota, ranked No. 9 in Sarasota County and No. 413 in Florida.
- Sarasota Military Academy, Sarasota, ranked No. 10 in Sarasota County and No. 442 in Florida.
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*Find the full list of Sarasota County schools on the list here:
Freedom Village of Bradenton was named one of the best retirement communities by the U.S. News & World Report.
Freedom Village of Bradenton is around 30 minutes from downtown Sarasota that offers “resort-inspired services, amenities, social activities, chef-prepared cuisine, and on-site care that includes assisted living, skilled nursing, memory care and rehabilitation services,” according to the communities website.
For its “2024 Best Senior Living” ratings, U.S. News said it looked at nearly 3,500 communities, judging them on criteria such as resident and family member satisfaction with safety, care, management and staff, value, and amenities offered.
“We’re thrilled to be named on this esteemed list of senior living communities by U.S. News & World Report,” said Freedom Village of Bradenton Executive Director Scott McAlister. “This acknowledgment highlights the dedication and effort of the Freedom Village team, as we strive to enhance the lives of our residents every day.”
U.S. News said they award the designation only to communities that score well over a two-year period and say those ratings reflect the views of more than 400,000 citizens.
“Best Senior Living reflects U.S. News’ commitment to helping families navigate the important – albeit time-consuming – decision of researching and choosing a senior living community through trusted, data-backed community ratings,” said Sumita Singh, general manager of Health at U.S. News. “We are proud to recognize those communities that stand out as ‘Best’ by providing exceptional care and satisfaction, as directly expressed by residents and family members of residents who live and thrive in these communities.”
Make Your Reservations for Mother’s Day at One of These Great Local Restaurants
Treat Mom to a delicious meal to show her how much she means to you. (And if going out feels like too much, breakfast in bed is always a great option.)
Mother’s Day is right around the corner on May 12. Whether she wants to be showered with gifts or have a day to herself, kick off the celebration with a special reservation. Make sure Mom feels loved and adored, just like she deserves. (And if going out feels like too much, breakfast in bed is always a great option.)
The Nest at Robin’s Apartments will bring 182 new residential units to Bradenton—but unlike other projects going up in the region, these will all be priced as workforce housing. The units will be on a vacant five-acre lot next to Robins Apartments, just south of U.S. 301 on First Street East and east of South Tamiami Trail. Even though groundbreaking is next month and the project will take roughly 18 months to complete, builder and developer One Stop Housing has already received more than 100 applications.
Soaring local rents have made national headlines in recent years and interest rates have increased, making affordable housing a hot topic. It’s gaining some traction with local and state governments, with legislation like the Live Local Act, which, among other points, allows for increases in density and height in exchange for the creation of affordable units. It was recently applied to a downtown Sarasota project that’s still in its early stages.
What’s different about The Nest is that 100 percent of the units will be—and remain—priced for working people, spanning 60 percent to 80 percent of the area median income (AMI).
Units will range from 300 square feet for a studio, (34), to 550 square foot, one-bedroom units (74) and 750 square foot, two-bedroom, two-bathroom units (74).
The studios will be priced at 60 percent of AMI, which amounts to a one-person household earning no more than $42,240 a year. The one and two-bedroom units will be priced at 80 percent of the AMI, which amounts to $64,320 a year for a household of two.
With terms like “affordable,” “attainable” and “workforce” floating around the topic of housing, Mark Vengroff, managing partner of One Stop Housing and a long-time veteran in producing affordable and workforce housing, explained the difference.
“Affordable housing” targets those earning 60 percent or less of the AMI, which amounts to $42,240 a year for a single-person household. “This is usually where you see the housing authority involved, or low-income tax credit builders, Section 8 and voucher systems—it’s often subsidized,” Vengroff explains. “True workforce housing is priced from 60 percent to 80 percent of the AMI.”
Meanwhile, “attainable housing” clocks in at 80 percent to 120 percent of the AMI. “Market rates” start at 120 percent of the AMI and more. For example, the new BaySide apartments coming to the Rosemary District utilize market rates to determine pricing (in that case, $2,500 per month and up).
Another way to measure affordability is to consider that 30 percent of an annual salary should include rent and utilities. Anyone who pays more than that is considered cost-burdened.
That benchmark accounts for more than half of all Floridians. And locally, “recent data shows that more than 60 percent of households in Bradenton spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing,” Vengroff says.
That means the wait lists for workforce housing are long. Vengroff says that every One Stop Housing property has roughly 100 applicants on its waitlist. “Since Covid, people just aren’t moving. Once they find affordability, they hang onto it for dear life,” he says.
As for the people applying to live at The Nest, they’re local government workers, law enforcement, nurses, teachers, hospitality workers, and lots of people who work at Safran and Tropicana, Vengroff says.
“It’s a huge cross-section,” he says. “Eight percent to 14 percent [of applicants] are retirees with limited incomes. They tend to babysit a lot for the single parents, which makes for a nice little micro-community. Five percent to 10 percent are students; another 5 percent to 10 percent are disabled and unable to work. And 60 percent to 65 percent are families who work nearby and need to not commute the long distances they’ve had to.”
Within a few months, scientists at the Manatee County-based Roskamp Institute plan to start administering a new drug to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease.
While not a cure, Leqembi, an FDA-approved Alzheimer's drug, has been shown to slow the rate of decline in patients. Alzheimer's is a common form of dementia that progressively worsens a patient's memory, thinking and language ability.
Clinical trials showed a significantly lower rate of decline for patients receiving Leqembi than patients receiving a placebo.
On Wednesday, Dr. Fiona Crawford, president and CEO of Roskamp Institute, 2040 Whitfield Ave., announced a $9 million campaign for a 10,000-square-foot expansion of the campus to host the infusion clinic and other programs.
But the launch of the infusion program won't be delayed because of fundraising efforts.
Infusions could start by late summer and groundbreaking for the expanded facilities could come later this year. Completion should be within two years of the start of construction, Crawford said.
Roskamp Institute plans expansion
The Bishop-Parker Foundation provided a $1.5 million grant to the Roskamp capital campaign. A $100,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Sarasota and donations from the Roskamp family and friends helped push the total collected to more than $4 million, Crawford said.
Thursday, Safe Children Coalition kicked off its annual two-day conference, bringing together hundreds of child welfare and youth mental health experts and practitioners.
It took place at the Hyatt Regency in Sarasota.
Attendees had the chance to hear from numerous experts on various topics and network with peers in the field.
“The conference, which is the premier conference in the state of Florida, has about 35 different sessions, up to 60 speakers that come in to provide these educational opportunities, as well as a keynote speaker who kind of gives an overall focus of what it is we should be doing in the child welfare system to make life easier for children and for families,” said SCC VP of Communications & Community Engagement Jacqueline House.
The conference covers a range of topics including the foster care transition into adulthood, behavioral impacts of Autism, understanding the cycle of domestic violence, fatherhood engagement, the link between human trafficking and substance abuse, trauma screening and assessment, the science behind self-care, worker safety, trauma-informed care, and fostering safe spaces for LGBTQ+ youths in child welfare, among others.
Trophies and titles are starting to become normal thing for at Community Day School in Sarasota for the cheerleading team.
The girls are hoping to bring home some more hardware when they compete in the East Coast Grand National Championships. This comes after competing in the East Coast Championships in Lakeland, Fla., back in March of this year.
The team took home the first place prize and earned the title of Grand Champions. The girls also recently competed in the Florida Cheer & Dance Association’s Show of Champions, which was in Orlando, and took home the top prize in the Elementary School Division. Their head coach, Anna Griffitts says she is filled with joy.
“I am feeling so good,” Griffitts said. “I am so excited. We made a lot of changes from our last competition. So, I’m hoping the girls just pull it out and have a lot of fun at this competition.”
This is also the team’s first year as a competitive team and that makes this even more impressive. The girls are excited too, but they know there’s much work to be done. “I never thought in my cheer career that we would get a bid to nationals,” Reese Browne, a student and cheerleader, said. “I’m just really excited to perform with my team. They’re just all my best friends and I’m really excited to perform with them.”
The thing that Coach Griffitts tells me she loves more than winning are the girls themselves and she’s grateful to be in her position. “I absolutely love these girls,” Griffitts said. “I can’t stress it enough how much I love them. I’ve had a handful of them since they were in first grade and now they’re in third grade. I’ve got [the chance] to see them grow into these superstars and competitive athletes.”
The East Coast Grand Nationals Championships for the girls is this Saturday in Orlando.
Nearly 80 students across Sarasota County were recently recognized during the 26th annual STRIVE Awards Celebration.
The STRIVE Awards were started by H. Jack Hunkele, a philanthropist who believed in honoring students who have overcome significant challenges to succeed.
The Education Foundation of Sarasota County has continued to support Hunkele's dream for the last 35 years, offering students and teachers personalized resources to enhance their potential in education.
STRIVE Awards honors those who show perseverance in reaching that potential.
This year, the STRIVE Awards honored students at schools including North Port High School and Venice High School, all nominated by school counselors, teachers and principals.
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