Sarah Gonzalez
Sarah Gonzalez is the multimedia education reporter for WLRN's StateImpact Florida project. She comes from NPR in D.C. where she was a national desk reporter, web and show producer as an NPR Kroc Fellow. The San Diego native has worked as a reporter and producer for KPBS in San Diego and KALW in San Francisco, covering under-reported issues like youth violence, food insecurity and public education. Her work has been awarded an SPJ Sigma Delta Chi and regional Edward R. Murrow awards. She graduated from Mills College in 2009 with a bachelorâ
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The mayor of Fort Lee, New Jersey, says he's taking Governor Chris Christie at his word, that Christie was not involved in the lane closures to the George Washington Bridge that turned Fort Lee into a parking lot. But not all residents are convinced.
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As mayor, Booker brought lots of attention and investment to the New Jersey city. But now that he's a U.S. senator, will the trend continue? Booker helped change Newark's perception, but the city still faces persistent crime. Mayoral candidates are taking that issue — and their ideas for solving it — to voters. -
As the East Coast sweats its way through another heat wave, not everyone has the luxury of air conditioning. In the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan, the mostly Dominican population has moved their lives outside, where the city has kept the parks open and turned on water sprinklers.
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Janitors suffer some of the highest rates of injury on the job. That costs employers millions of dollars in compensation and lost work time. A Florida school district decided to address the issue by instituting a fitness test for prospective custodians. But the test is so tough the district is having a hard time filling positions.
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Some of the positions vacated over summer break still haven't been filled permanently, and this isn't the first time that's happened. Part of the problem is last-minute resignations, leaving school districts in a lurch. -
The school year has begun for most Florida students, but some are still trying to finish summer school. After years of budget cuts, many districts have eliminated or cut back summer school classes, leaving online school as the only option for students trying to make up courses they failed. Many have struggled with the online format and are entering the new school year still behind.
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In parts of Florida and around the country, paddling kids who misbehave is considered traditional discipline — and schools are the only public institution where that's allowed. But parents don't always get a say in whether their kids can be disciplined with spankings. -
A StateImpact Florida/Miami Herald investigation shows that despite state and federal laws requiring charter schools to give equal access to students with severe disabilities, most charter schools in Florida have few of these students on their roster.
