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Governor spotlights America250 statue series and expands civic-education programs
Summary
Speaking in White Springs during America250 events, the governor unveiled a statue honoring Alexander Hamilton and described statewide civic initiatives — including a K–12 civic seal for teachers, a high-school civic literacy assessment and debate scholarships — framing them as investments in civic knowledge.
The governor spoke in White Springs to mark Florida’s America250 celebrations, unveiling a statue honoring Alexander Hamilton and outlining several statewide civic-education initiatives intended to boost knowledge of American government.
He said the statue honors the county’s namesake and is part of a broader program placing monuments for historical figures across Florida. "Most Americans may recognize from the $10 bill Alexander Hamilton," he said, calling Hamilton’s writings and federal-service record foundational to the nation’s early institutions.
The governor framed the statues program as an educational tool for young people and tied it to classroom reforms. He described a high-school civic literacy assessment the state introduced a few years ago "to be able to measure whether they know the basics," and said the state had revised K–12 civics and government standards so civics is integrated across grades.
To bolster classroom instruction, he outlined a "civic seal of excellence" for K–12 teachers that requires 50 hours of instruction and provides a $3,000 bonus to participating teachers. "We've paid nearly $60,000,000 to Florida teachers," he said, and added that about 20,000 teachers have opted into the program. He also described a civics-and-debate initiative that the state launched to expand critical-thinking and speech-and-debate participation.
The governor said those programs include scholarships tied to America250 events: an essay contest with Florida Prepaid scholarships and speech-and-debate prizes including a $50,000 first-place award, $25,000 for second place and $15,000 for semifinalists. He characterized the broader effort as part of long-term education priorities, citing what he called improved civic-literacy outcomes and Florida's recent graduation-rate achievements.
Next steps the governor announced include additional statues—Washington, Madison and others—to be installed in counties across the state and continued promotion of America250 activities leading up to July 4.
The event concluded with local remarks and further details about the yearlong America250 schedule.
