For two years, the fifth-grader with a flair for conversation has been a student in an all-boys classroom in Brandon, where teachers speak a little louder and encourage bursts of activity.

Classmates stand when responding to questions. They address each other formally, using last names.

Cameron Rodriguez loves it.

Cameron Rodriguez and his mom, Amy Jo, researched all of their options for middle school next year. Their top pick? Boys Preparatory Academy at Franklin Middle Magnet School in Tampa, Fla.

“I’m definitely more comfortable,’’ said the 11-year-old A-and-B student, who has a little sister and likes hanging out with girls – just not while he’s trying to learn. “Around girls, you would definitely be more nervous.’’Heading into sixth grade, Cameron doesn’t want the experience to end. So with mom’s help – and with a convenient prompt from a public speaking contest - Cameron began researching his school choice options last semester.

He started with his school district in Hillsborough County, which is home to two single-gender middle schools, one for girls and one for boys.

Cameron had heard about the Boys Academy at Franklin Magnet Middle School after a few of the school’s upperclassmen stopped by his school, Hugo Schmidt Elementary.

They boasted of “hundreds of activities’’ at the collegiate middle school, including a golf program and iPads for every student. They showed off uniforms of light blue oxford button down shirts, khaki slacks and striped ties. They said Cameron and the other boys would be called “men of distinction.”

Cameron, who plans to start his own business one day, liked being called a man - a lot.

He went online to the district’s website and found more about the school than even the academy’s lead teacher, Amanda Sheets, said she knew. “Here, the student hasn’t even set foot on the campus, yet, and we’ve already touched him,’’ said Sheets, who oversees tours at the academy.

Cameron channeled his fervor into a speech he delivered for an annual public speaking contest. He wrote about how boys and girls learn differently. How it’s easier to concentrate in class. How he’s not worried about giving the wrong answer.

He practiced reading his speech aloud, over and over.

That diligence earned him a shot at the Nov. 30 schoolwide competition, where Cameron went up against five other fifth-graders. In a room full of judges, teachers, peers and his dad, Cameron walked up to the microphone and gave it his all. (more…)

It’s only fitting: Florida, a trailblazer in expanding school choice, will be among the busiest states during National School Choice Week.

This year’s celebration, which officially begins Sunday, is by far the largest ever, with more than 3,500 events in 50 states, up from 406 last year. Florida has at least 134 events on the schedule.

One of the highlights will be here in Tampa - a panel discussion featuring two nationally recognized education leaders. One is new Education Commissioner Tony Bennett. The other is MaryEllen Elia, superintendent of Hillsborough County Public Schools, the third largest school district in Florida and eighth largest in the country.

The pair will join other panelists representing the charter, magnet, private, virtual and home-schooling sectors. The event is set for Tuesday at 3:30 p.m., at the Boys Preparatory Academy at Franklin Middle Magnet School, one of the state’s first single-gendered public middle schools.

Other speakers include selected students, parents and teachers who will talk about the need to provide all children with more access to educational options. The event is sponsored by the Florida Alliance for Choices in Education, a group of school choice advocates that includes Step Up For Students, the nonprofit that oversees Florida’s tax credit scholarship program and co-hosts this blog.

Organizers are calling this year’s National School Choice Week “the world’s largest celebration of education reform.” The idea behind it is to raise awareness about the value of school choice, the need for more of it and the broad coalition that backs it.

“A quality education can be the ticket to the American dream for children across America,” Andrew Campanella, president of National School Choice Week, said in a prepared statement. “We must fight to ensure that every child has the ability to go to a great school.”