Advertisement
Marlene Sokol - Education Reporter
Marlene Sokol

Education Reporter

I’ve been a journalist since 1983 at newspapers all over Florida. After 15 years as an editor in the Tampa suburbs I was assigned to cover the Hillsborough public school system, the same one that gave my two children a great education. That last part didn't happen by itself. I was an active volunteer and believe schools should accommodate parents' busy schedules. I’m not a fan of the 3 p.m. parent conference or 10 a.m. PTA meeting! On weekends I play tennis and volunteer at a youth soccer program. Call or email me with your tips about the schools. I use Facebook for family and Twitter for self-promotion. But I prefer my conversations one-on-one.

  1. Hillsborough school board: Instead of closing schools, make them better
    Mar. 9• The Education Gradebook
    Hillsborough County School Board members entered a workshop Thursday to discuss a cost-saving plan to change attendance boundaries, but instead came away with ideas for potentially costly enhancements to the system.
  2. After 2 failed challenges, Hillsborough school board to rule on ‘This Book Is Gay’
    Mar. 3• The Education Gradebook
    The text "This Book Is Gay" by Juno Dawson is the subject of a challenge in the Hillsborough County school system. After a parent complained about content in the book, two school district panels approved it. Now it is headed for final consideration before the school board.
  3. Hillsborough school board again delays vote on changing attendance boundaries
    Feb. 28• The Education Gradebook
    “While I believe in my heart that we have to do something … I have to recognize that the board feels that you may need more time to have conversations with each other,” Hillsborough County School Superintendent Addison Davis said at a meeting Tuesday.
  5. Hillsborough school board to consider another new boundary change plan
    Feb. 24• The Education Gradebook
    McLane Middle School in Brandon is one of six under-enrolled schools in Hillsborough County that would close and become repurposed under a proposal now before the Hillsborough County School Board.
  6. DeSantis targets 4 Tampa Bay area school board members in 2024 election
    Feb. 22• The Education Gradebook
    Gov. DeSantis speaks during the Moms for Liberty National Summit in July. He has asked the group's leaders to help identify school board members across Florida to oppose in 2024 elections.
  7. Hillsborough school board talks of delay as key vote nears on boundary plan
    Feb. 22• The Education Gradebook
    Hillsborough County School Board member Lynn Gray, right, talks during a meeting on Jan. 10, 2022, while board member Jessica Vaughn listens. On Tuesday, both board members raised doubts about moving forward with a major proposal to change school boundaries and consolidate school district buildings.
  8. Hillsborough school board voices doubts about new attendance boundary plan
    Feb. 13• The Education Gradebook
    Hillsborough County School Board members meet in a workshop to discuss new attendance boundaries for district schools on Monday, Feb. 13, 2023.
  9. Hillsborough superintendent proposes a more ‘sensitive’ school boundary plan
    Feb. 9• The Education Gradebook
    People react when Hillsborough County Public Schools Superintendent Addison Davis answers a question during a community meeting at Plant High on Jan. 11 to discuss school boundary changes. A revised proposal would keep the Plant student body intact.
  10. What 4 new Hillsborough teachers said about the job: It’s hard ‘and I love it.’
    Feb. 7• The Education Gradebook
    Wharton High teachers Michelle Both, left, and Ashanti Foresyth address a group of teaching interns in January.
  11. Florida’s House speaker intervenes in Hillsborough school book challenge
    Feb. 3• The Education Gradebook
    Florida House Speaker Paul Renner, center, is asking for documents and questioning the book selection process in Hillsborough County Public Schools.
  12. Hillsborough’s Teacher of the Year is Oak Park Elementary’s Nicolette Barone
    Jan. 27• The Education Gradebook
    Nicolette Barone, a fifth-grade teacher at Oak Park Elementary, reacts, after she receives 2023 Teacher of the Year award during the Excellence in Education Awards ceremony at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, in Tampa.
  13. Hillsborough delays school boundary decision with new schedule
    Jan. 25• The Education Gradebook
    Residents hold signs protesting a Hillsborough County proposal to change school boundaries during a meeting at Plant High on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023, in Tampa.
  14. Hillsborough approves principal changes at 3 schools
    Jan. 24• The Education Gradebook
    Wimauma Elementary School has a new principal. The Hillsborough County School Board appointed Karen Fletcher to the job on Jan. 24, 2023.
  15. Accounts of testing advice in Hillsborough schools led to allegations of wrongdoing
    Jan. 24• The Education Gradebook
    Tampa Heights Elementary School, where three employees accused a Hillsborough County school district leader of state testing improprieties in 2021.
  16. Puzzled by new law, Hillsborough eyes cutting the term ‘institutional racism’ from school policy
    Jan. 17• The Education Gradebook
    The Hillsborough County School Board meets on Tuesday for a workshop where members discussed whether the district's racial equity policy violates a new state law.
  17. Hillsborough reaffirms its sex education curriculum after challenge fails
    Jan. 12• The Education Gradebook
    Audience members listen during a Nov. 17, 2022, public hearing on Hillsborough County's sex education curriculum. The curriculum was later upheld by a judge and approved Thursday by the school board.
  18. Hillsborough has ‘a long ways to go’ in selling its school boundary plan
    Jan. 11• The Education Gradebook
    Audience members at Plant High hold signs protesting proposed school boundary changes in Hillsborough County while Superintendent Addison Davis answers a question on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023, in Tampa.
  19. Hillsborough names new principals for Sligh, Giunta middle schools
    Jan. 10• The Education Gradebook
    The entrance to Giunta Middle School in Riverview, which will get a new principal later this month.
  20. Parents air concerns as Hillsborough begins forums on new school boundaries
    Jan. 10• The Education Gradebook
    Residents discuss maps displaying proposed school boundary changes during a public forum held by the Hillsborough County school district at Middleton High in Tampa on Monday.
  21. Hillsborough faces questions, critics as school boundary meetings approach
    Jan. 6• The Education Gradebook
    A sign in front of a South Tampa home on Thursday, January 5, 2022, protests a proposal to change the attendance boundaries for Plant High and Coleman Middle School. Public forums on the Hillsborough County school district's plan to change boundaries are scheduled for Jan. 9-13.
  22. PTA leaders raise concerns as Hillsborough explores new school boundaries
    Jan. 1• The Education Gradebook
    The school board's regular meeting at the Hillsborough County school district headquarters at 901 E Kennedy Blvd. in Tampa, pictured here, will coincide with early community meetings on a plan to change school boundaries.
  23. Hillsborough middle school teacher’s dance-off goes viral on social media
    Dec. 30, 2022• The Education Gradebook
    Screenshot of tweet of Hillsborough County teacher Yolanda Turner dancing.
  24. Brandon High moves in new directions to stay competitive
    Dec. 28, 2022• The Education Gradebook
    Sasha Fowler (standing) works with students, from left: Terriel Terry, 14; Khushi Patel, 14; Oriana Tarrant, 14; and Leah-Marie Thomas, 15 in her critical thinking class at Brandon High on Dec. 16.