St. Petersburg Times – Staff Writer
“Florida’s graduation rate rolled to a record-high 79 percent this year, up nearly 3 percentage points from last year, according to numbers released today by the state Department of Education. The gains were especially strong among black students (up from 64.9 to 68.4 percent) and Hispanic students (up from 72.1 to 75.3 percent.) ‘Our reform efforts are making a difference,’ Gov. Charlie Crist said in a written statement.”(more)