14 Jun

"For three long year,s we fought for daily recess for elementary school students – for our own kids, for your kids, for ALL kids. Angie Gallo joined us early on, stood by our side through thick and thin and continues to advocate on recess with us even today. We can say with 100% certainty that we would not have a recess mandate without Angie. Yes, this was a grassroots effort led by regular moms, but we needed guidance, advice, cheerleading, experience and someone to pound the pavement for our kids when we couldn't be in Tallahassee. Angie was that person,...

03 Jun

"It would be hard to imagine a better school board member than Angie Gallo.  Angie has worked tirelessly for the last 15 years both inside and outside the classroom.  Probably what is most impressive to me is that most of her time was spent lobbying to improve education for all students - not just her own children.  I believe that's a rare quality as most people get involved in education when something affects their own children.  I've seen Angie go to bat to make things better for children all over our state.  She is also on top of what teachers...

07 May

TALLAHASSEE — Unwilling to turn school staff into gun-packing “guardians,” some officials across Florida are turning to a controversial alternative to meet the demands of a state law approved after the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Read the full story here. The Duval County School Board recently became the second in two weeks to approve hiring and training dozens of new, modestly paid, armed “safety assistants” to protect classrooms. Polk County school officials endorsed hiring 90 “safety specialists” a week earlier — while a host of other counties are now considering the idea. Lawmakers passed a bill this year requiring armed...

24 Apr

PARKLAND, Fla. — Shannon Fest has a modest goal for her 15-year-old daughter this semester: to make it through a full day of school.  See the original article here.   Two months after a gunman killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, going to class is still a struggle for freshman Lauren Fest. She arrives late every morning and skips lunch because the crowds and loud noises trigger her anxiety attacks. The reminders of what happened — the empty desks in class, the shuttered freshman building where the shooting took place — are inescapable. She goes to therapy both at school...

13 Apr

Orange County, Florida - Today, Angie Gallo announces the endorsement of the Orange County Classroom Teacher Association (CTA). The CTA represents thousands of instructional personnel in Orange County. “As our endorsee, we believe that Angie shares our goals to fight to strengthen public schools, improve employees’ working conditions and salaries, and work to make sure we have the tools and resources needed to ensure student success,” said Wendy Dormal, Orange County CTA President. “I have worked with Wendy and the Orange County CTA for many years on education. We have fought long and hard together to improve education and I am...

03 Apr

Squad cars raced into the school’s parking lot just minutes before dismissal. Hernando County deputies spread out around the campus, and classrooms went into lockdown mode. by John Romano, Time Columnist, Tampa Bay Times.  See the original article here. For about 30 minutes, even beyond the school’s final bell, teachers and students huddled in rooms while parents were forced to await word outside. Turns out, last week’s scare at the Explorer K-8 school in Spring Hill was a false alarm. Someone in a hoodie had been seen scaling a fence, but apparently was just taking a shortcut across campus. This is the aftermath of...

22 Mar

Local parents and some school advocates are pushing back on a proposal to move Florida into Daylight Saving Time permanently. “It’s adding fuel to the fire and endangering children’s lives unnecessarily," said Josephine Amato. Amato, a mother of three Hillsborough County students, says children walking to school already have enough to worry about. She showed ABC Action News a frequently traveled area students take to get that she believes is hazardous. “In a drainage ditch, without a crosswalk, without lights, without a 4-foot path, all the way to Newsome High School and Randall Middle School.” This year, in an effort to shave millions from the...

08 Mar

The Florida House began talking about School Safety and Guns before lunch today, and is expected to continue the discussion into the early evening, but as Mike Vasilinda tells us, a final vote is not expected until tomorrow.  Read the original article here. House members asked probing questions about arming teachers. Rep, Kionee McGee (D-Miami) asked: “Where in your bill does it prevent a school guardian from possessing an AR-15? In response, House Speaker-to-be Jose Oliva said many of the questions were more about delay than information. “But the idea of guarding in a classroom, and having the last line of...

30 Jan

Opponents outnumbered supporters in the crowd but where it mattered most, among those with the power of the vote, HB 1 proponents had a 2-to-1 advantage.  Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Naples, listened patiently while 21 citizens registered opposition to his idea to spend $40 million on private-school vouchers for bullied students. “We are giving parents the information needed to make decisions that are best for their child,” Donalds told an education appropriations subcommittee after the public had a chance to testify. “That’s options. Those are choices. That’s what governing should be about, creating guidelines and creating a system where the people of this...

21 Jan

Over in District 1, candidate Angie Gallo keeps slowly pulling in money. She raised $4,925 in December, bringing her campaign haul to $10,275. So far, Gallo is the best-financed candidate in the race. Behind her is Heather Traynham. This is her second report, and for the month of December and the totality of the race, Traynham has raised $3,000. UPDATE Traynham raised $5000 after providing her report for December. Excerpted from the Orlando Political Observer.  See the full original article here....