Gov. Jeb Bush’s trip to the Bahamas Monday was designed to highlight Florida’s ties to the Caribbean Basin and stressed the importance of continued economic, cultural and educational partnerships.
In making the trip, Bush officially launched “Global Florida – Classroom Connections”, an educational exchange program between Florida and the Bahamas.
Through the initiative, students in Florida will be linked with students in the Bahamas and other nations to provide an interactive opportunity to learn more about the geography, history and customs of other countries, a release said.
Bush met with Prime Minister Perry Gladstone Christie and officials at the Bahamian Ministry of Education to announce the partnership between schools in Florida and the Bahamas. The program will use technology to increase reading proficiency, raise awareness about the culture and history of Florida and the Bahamas and assist the Ministry of Education in developing teacher-training programs.
In the program’s early stages, three Florida schools will pair with three Bahamian schools. Each pair will form sister classrooms, sharing culture, educational concepts and technological innovation and strengthening reading skills. To start the process, the classes are swapping books and will connect online in the spring, a release said.
While in the Bahamas, Bush also attended a luncheon co-hosted by the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club of Nassau to encourage greater economic partnerships between businesses in Florida and the Bahamas.
The Bahamas has two-way trade with Florida valued at $1.1 billion in 2004, an increase of 13.2 percent over the previous year. The Bahamas is the state’s 14th-largest export destination. Florida’s total merchandise trade with the Caribbean amounted to $9.4 billion in 2004.
Source: Tampa Bay Business Journal
