To counter the impact of poverty, they stress early childhood education

Bianca Soler | NNB Many youngsters enter elementary school already lagging behind children from other neighborhoods, says Angela Merck, who is better known to her students as Ms. Peaches.

BY BIANCA SOLER NNB Student Reporter ST. PETERSBURG – Shortly after the doors opened at 6:30 on a recent morning, a 5-year-old girl was playing with plastic figurines of marine wildlife – confident she may be a marine biologist one day. Two other children were trying to fix a frozen computer program. Others worked on… Continue reading To counter the impact of poverty, they stress early childhood education

University strives to be ‘beacon of hope’ for Midtown students

Lauren Hensley | NNB Some of the youngsters at the camp, shown here with camp leader Lindsey Hosier (in blue T-shirt), have never been to the beach or to downtown St. Petersburg.

BY LAUREN HENSLEY and SHELBY BOURGEOIS NNB Student Reporters ST. PETERSBURG – From atop the new College of Business building going up at the University of South Florida, Fred Bennett says, you will be able to see some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods. They are places where unemployment and crime are high, opportunities and ambition… Continue reading University strives to be ‘beacon of hope’ for Midtown students