Sarasota, Florida- Suncoast Polytechnical High School is now a Project Lead The Way Biomedical Sciences Certified School - the first and only high school in the state of Florida to earn the certification.

"We are excited to be part of this exciting program," said SPHS Principal Jennifer Putnam. "We look forward to working with Project Lead The Way to continue to develop the opportunities this program offers to students."

Putnam and a team of teachers, staff, students and members of the community conducted a self-assessment of the school's biomedical sciences program, culminating in a site visit by a national PLTW certification specialist. The certification team met with teachers, administration, counselors, students and community representatives and reviewed student work.

Sarasota, Florida -- U.S. News & World Report ranked New College of Florida the no. 6 public college in their annual rankings of the Best National Liberal Arts Colleges released this week. New College also ranked in the top tier of all National Liberal Arts Colleges, public and private, coming in at no. 94, up five spots from last year.

The 2012 ranking marks the seventh consecutive year New College has been ranked one of the nation's top 100 liberal arts colleges overall by U.S. News & World Report. It also marks the seventh year in a row New College has been ranked in the top six among public colleges, with military academies in the top four spots this year. New College is the only liberal arts college in Florida to be listed in the nation's top 100.

Last month, New College of Florida landed the no. 16 spot on Forbes' "Top 100 Best Buy Colleges for 2011" and was featured as one of the country's best colleges for the 10th consecutive year in The Princeton Review's Best 376 Colleges: 2012 Edition.