V.

Education and Cultural Institutions

A.

Education

Before the American Civil War (1861-1865), Florida had few public schools. The development of public education in the state was given impetus after the war, when the federal government established schools for freed slaves. In 1868 a new state constitution included a provision authorizing a statewide system of public education. In 1869 a state board of education was created.

A great effort to improve the public school system was begun in 1947 with the adoption of the minimum foundation program. The program makes state funds available to each county that needs money to provide a minimum school term of 180 days and a satisfactory minimum quality of education for each child.

School attendance in Florida is compulsory from age 6 through 16. Most of Florida’s private and parochial schools are maintained by the Roman Catholic Church. Some 12 percent of Florida’s children attend private schools.

In the 2002–2003 school year Florida spent $7,773 on each student’s education, compared to a national average of $9,299. There were 17.9 students for every teacher (the national average was 15.9). Of those older than 25 years of age in the state, 85.9 percent had a high school diploma, while the nation as a whole averaged 82.8 percent.

A.1.

Higher Education

The University of Florida, in Gainesville, one of the oldest and largest schools of higher learning in the state, was started in 1853 at Ocala as the East Florida Seminary. It is now part of the state system of higher education. This system also includes Florida State University, in Tallahassee; the University of South Florida, in Tampa; Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, in Tallahassee; University of West Florida, in Pensacola; Florida Atlantic University, in Boca Raton; University of Central Florida, in Orlando; University of North Florida, in Jacksonville; and the Florida International University, in Miami. A tenth state school, Florida Gulf Coast University, opened in 1997 near Fort Myers.

In 2004–2005 Florida had 40 public and 123 private institutions of higher learning. Noted private schools included Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach; Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne; Jacksonville University; Rollins College in Winter Park; Stetson University in De Land; and the University of Miami in Coral Gables.

B.

Libraries

The first public library in the state was the Jacksonville Public Library, which was established in 1905. There are now 72 tax-supported public library systems. Each year the public libraries circulate an average of 5.3 books for every resident. Many libraries are maintained by colleges and universities, professional institutions, and historical and other associations. Noted collections on Florida history are held by the State Library of Florida, in Tallahassee; the P. K. Yonge Library of Florida History, at the University of Florida; and the Saint Augustine Historical Society.

C.

Museums

The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, at Sarasota, has a noted collection of works by Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens and other European masters. It also houses a Museum of the Circus, in honor of John Ringling, the famous circus owner. There are also art galleries and art museums in West Palm Beach, Clearwater, Miami, and Saint Petersburg. The Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida, in Gainesville, has numerous historical and scientific exhibits and houses the noted Key Marco Collection of Native American artifacts. A number of small museums throughout the state are devoted to special subjects, such as marine life, seashells, archaeology, and Native American artifacts. The Salvador Dalí Museum in Saint Petersburg exhibits works reflecting impressionist and cubist styles, Dalí’s transition period, the famous surrealist works for which he is best known, and his later “classic” works, which show his preoccupation with religion, history, and science.

D.

Communications

Some 43 daily newspapers are published in Florida. The East Florida Gazette, founded at Saint Augustine in 1783, was Florida’s first newspaper. The Florida Union, founded at Jacksonville in 1864, is now the Jacksonville Florida Times-Union, and it is the oldest continuously published newspaper in the state. The Miami Herald, a nationally prominent newspaper, is known for its extensive coverage of the Caribbean. Other major newspapers include the Sun-Sentinel, published in Fort Lauderdale; the Orlando Sentinel; the Saint Petersburg Times; the Tampa Tribune; and the Spanish-language Diario Las Américas, published in Miami.

The first radio station in Florida, WQAM, was established in Miami in 1921. The state’s first television station, WTVJ, began broadcasting in Miami in 1949. In 2002 there were 151 AM and 172 FM radio stations in the state and 66 television stations.

E.

Music and Theater

Several of the larger cities and most of the colleges and universities in Florida support symphony orchestras. Among the most popular music festivals held each year in the state are the Bach Festival, at Rollins College in Winter Park, and the Florida International Festival, in Daytona Beach, featuring the London Symphony Orchestra.

Community theater groups are found in most of the state’s larger cities, and there are professional theaters in Miami, Daytona Beach, and Palm Beach. The Florida State University Center for the Performing Arts, in Sarasota, is home to the Asolo Theatre Company.