Good news: A Tampa cat stays on a roof, and more psychologists in schools
USF training psychologists. The University of South Florida is addressing a national crisis with its plans to launch a degree program to train school psychologists. The three-year program, based in USF’s College of Education, will provide students with the educational focus and credentials they need to enter this challenging profession. The timing couldn’t be better: According to the National Association of School Psychologists, the ideal ratio of school psychologists to students is 1 to 500; yet across the country, that ratio is about 1 to 1,127. In Florida, it’s worse — one school psychologist for every 1,856 students, according to a presentation to USF’s board of trustees. The program comes as the need for enhanced counseling services has become acutely clear. The National Center for Education Statistics reported in 2022 that 69% of public schools saw an increase in the percentage of students seeking mental health services at school since the start of the pandemic, with young Americans struggling with grades, the campus environment, social lives and their health. “The benefits that school psychologists can provide in terms of students’ academic, mental and behavioral health are just kind of unparalleled,” said Evan Dart, a USF education professor and school psychologist. “We’re required to wear a lot of different hats.” Indeed. USF is helping fill a national void that serves both society and the workforce.
Tampa’s rooftop cat. The property has changed hands again but the landmark remains. We’re talking, of course, about the cat on the roof of Adams & Jennings Funeral Home in Tampa. After Michael Guinn purchased the property recently, the queries poured in: What are you going to do about the cat? As Times reporter Paul Guzzo reported this week, the porcelain kitty was first fastened to the roof in 1948 by a cat lover who owned an antique store on the Seminole Heights property. Edward Jennings (a dog lover) kept the cat after buying the land in 1962 to operate Jennings Funeral Home. Mike Adams, Jennings’ longtime manager, kept the cat after taking over the business. So did Stacy Adams after taking over from her dad, Mike — as did a major cemetery chain that later bought Adams & Jennings. The funeral home closed in 2023; as word spread that Guinn was buying the property, “people all over the country,” he said, made clear that cat must remain. The building has another life — this time as the Guinn Center, a community space for events and meetings. But the cat will stay perched on the roof, a testament to a succession of community-minded owners who respected this slice of Tampa history. If you’re at the intersection of Sligh and Nebraska avenues, look up.
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