Located in a county where only 17% of the population has a college education, all of the students in Roberts Junior Senior High School's graduating class are college-bound.

Florahome

Q.I. Roberts Junior Senior High School in Florahome, Florida, has achieved a notable milestone: every graduate is accepted into college. The school, located in rural Putnam County where most families have no college background, faces ongoing challenges in recruiting students and addressing skepticism about the value of higher education. 

Despite declining public confidence in college and rising questions about its cost and worth, the school continues to support students in pursuing higher education and broader opportunities. While not all students ultimately attend college, many receive scholarship offers and are encouraged to find the path best suited to their goals, whether that includes college or another route to success.

Florida high school helps all graduates get to college

At Q.I. Roberts Junior Senior High School in Floraholm, Florida, 100% of graduates are accepted into college. Teachers and students, please excuse this interruption. Yet each school year, Principal Joseph Theobald struggles with recruitment. Is it hard to get a number of students to enroll here? So each year, yes. Oftentimes, he finds himself on the phone with parents, making a pitch. I have had many conversations where I see some students that are really strong academically who are off in another school, following a different path. So I call, hey, I don't know how you feel about this, but your son is really intelligent. School really seems to be something that he's good at. Theobald's school is in Florida's rural Putnam County. Floraholm has one traffic light. The biggest private employers, a paper mill and power plant. About 80% of our students, their family didn't go to college, so they'll be the first generation. Case in point, college junior Talia Lowe, a Q.I. Roberts graduate. Her mother is a mail carrier, stepfather, and electrician, but most of Lowe's family are truckers. Specifically my grandmother, she kind of started that trend in our family. I remember she'd come home in her big red semi truck, and we'd always help her unload the truck, we'd help her pack it back up. She's enrolled as a health care major at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, with plans to one day open a clinical spa. I wanted to push myself. I love to have a challenge in my life. Mom always says she wants me to be better than her. She wants me to excel. Yet confidence in higher education has fallen from 57% in 2015 to 36% in 2023. A 2024 survey found 40% believe college is not important. There is this reckoning happening where people are asking, is college worth it? And to that, what do you say? I think that there's a really valid point. I think that college is way too expensive. But as an educator, I think that the most important thing about an education is that it opens up opportunities for a more enriched life. While more people are questioning whether college is worth it, research consistently shows college graduates earn much more over a lifetime than those who did not attend college. There is a growing wage gap, and on average, college graduates earn about a million more over a lifetime. It's part of what's motivated high school senior Keelan Williams to pursue a college degree. He sees a future outside Putnam County in the music industry. I'm thinking about going into music engineering or music business, maybe working with a label or working as a sound technician somewhere in a studio. Students at QI Roberts can dream big. Recent graduates have gotten into universities such as Duke and Cornell. Senior Mary Fishley isn't sure where she'll attend, but one thing she is certain of is that she's college bound. Education, when given the opportunity, should never be taken for granted. Do you feel like there's a stigma associated with college? In some cases, I do. I feel like people have lost the meaning of college. What's your message? I would say look at the bigger picture and don't close your horizons, especially if you're in a rural town and it feels like it's so easy to just stay here. Don't limit yourself. While all QI Roberts students are admitted, many with scholarship offers, not all go to college. Back to Lo, she says some family members have tried it out and realized it's just not for them. College is not a requirement in life. It's something that you pursue because you want to do it and it'll be beneficial for your future if you utilize it well. Theobald says that's what he tries to tell parents during those pitch phone calls when they seem skeptical about the idea of higher education. I think it takes less of a sales approach and more of a let's talk about what the future could be. The point isn't sending them to college. The point is sending them off into the world with a good plan to be a successful, happy, healthy person. Finding a path forward for all students. Let's go, let's fight! For CBS Saturday Morning, Cristian Benavides, Putnam County, Florida.

The man accused of killing conservative commentator and activist Charlie Kirk is being held without bail in a Utah jail. Meanwhile, vigils and memorials across the country honored Kirk as his widow made her first public remarks since his death.

Orem

Charlie Kirk shooting suspect held without bail

President Trump has backed down on his plans to send the National Guard to Chicago, for now. Instead, he told Fox News that federal troops will be deployed to a different city.

Chicago

Trump backs down on sending National Guard to Chicago

A suspect is in custody after the deadly shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Authorities say 22-year-old Tyler Robinson is being held at Utah County Jail, pending formal state charges, which are expected to be filed on Tuesday. CBS News' Andres Gutierrez and Anna Schecter have more.

What we know about the Charlie Kirk shooting suspect's arrest

The United Nations General Assembly has overwhelmingly voted to endorse a declaration outlining "tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps" towards a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians ahead of a meeting of world leaders.

New York

Middle East Conflict

UN endorses two-state solution declaration that condemns Hamas

In Tunisia, the humanitarian aid flotilla for Gaza is set to leave Tunis. About 40 boats will try to deliver aid to the Palestinians under blockade. In Tunisia the departure was not easy, as two boats from the flotilla were subject to reported drone attacks.

Tunis

Gaza aid flotilla prepares to set sail after reported drone attacks

Brazil's Supreme Court has sentenced firebrand ex-president Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years in prison for coup plotting at the end of a landmark trial that divided the nation and drew U.S. fury.

Brasilia

Brazil's ex-president Jair Bolsonaro sentenced to 27 years in prison

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed an agreement to push ahead with a controversial settlement expansion plan that would cut across land that the Palestinians seek for a state. "There will never be a Palestinian state. This place is ours," Netanyahu said.

Jerusalem

Netanyahu signs West Bank settlement expansion plan

The United Nations Security Council has condemned the Israeli attack on the Qatari capital Doha on Tuesday and called for de-escalation in a statement agreed by all 15 members, including Israel’s chief ally, the United States.

Doha

UNSC members condemn Israel over deadly strike on Qatar

Ryan Routh, accused of attempting to assassinate former President Trump in South Florida last year, is representing himself in court. As the trial opened, Routh forfeited his chance to deliver an opening statement, setting the stage for proceedings.

Fort Pierce

Trump assassination attempt suspect defends himself in trial

Photos of a "person of interest" in the assassination of Charlie Kirk were released by the Salt Lake City FBI. Authorities are searching for the person who shot and killed the conservative activist at an event at Utah Valley University.

Photos released of "person of interest" in Charlie Kirk assassination

Authorities shared new details about the suspect's movements leading up to the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The search for the suspect continued on Thursday.

FBI says it has good video of Charlie Kirk shooting suspect

President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he will award conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated during a campus event in Utah, the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously.

Washington

Trump says he'll award Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Authorities say the weapon used in the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has been recovered and law enforcement tracked the movements of the suspect.

Officials: Weapon in Charlie Kirk shooting recovered; suspect tracked

Trump vowed retribution in an Oval Office address after his close ally and conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot on a campus in Utah. A massive search for the killer intensified following Kirk's death, with police going door-to-door looking for the shooter.

Trump pledges to find killer of conservative activist Charlie Kirk

The UAE’s President Mohammed bin Zayed visited Doha a day after Israel’s strike, signalling Gulf solidarity. Qatar’s prime minister called the strike “state terror,” accusing Israel of killing hopes for a hostage deal and demanding Netanyahu face justice.

Qatar seeks ‘collective response’ to Israeli attack

Poland is rejecting the claim that Russian drones crossed into Polish airspace by accident and says the move is reckless and could lead to potential escalation.

Warsaw

Ukraine Invasion

Europe on edge after Russian drones invade Polish airspace

Prince Harry and King Charles had a private tea in London, Buckingham Palace. This marks their first meeting in nearly two years. Harry, the Duke of Sussex, last saw his father in early 2024, shortly after it was announced the King was undergoing cancer treatment.

London

King Charles, Prince Harry meet for the first time in nearly 2 years

U.S. President Donald Trump says rightwing political activist Charlie Kirk is dead after being shot in the neck at a university campus event in Utah. There is not a suspect in custody.

Conservative activist Charlie Kirk killed in shooting, Trump says

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Luiz Fux voted on Wednesday (September 10) to acquit former President Jair Bolsonaro of forming a criminal organization and voted to annul his trial over jurisdiction, breaking with peers and raising the odds of an appeal after the final verdict this week.

Brazilian judge votes to annul Bolsonaro case, breaking with peers

U.S. President Donald Trump urged EU officials on Tuesday to hit China with tariffs of up to 100% as part of a strategy to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a U.S. official and an EU diplomat.

Global Tariffs

Trump urges EU to impose 100% tariffs on China and India, sources say

Poland shot down drones that entered its airspace during a widespread Russian attack in western Ukraine, with the NATO member calling the incursion "an act of aggression." It marks the first time a member of the alliance has fired shots in the war.

Poland downs Russian drones in first shots fired by NATO member in war

Two Brazilian Supreme Court justices voted to convict former President Jair Bolsonaro of leading a criminal conspiracy to overturn the 2022 election, as they cast the first votes in the final phase of the ex-president's trial.

Two Brazil Supreme Court justices vote to convict Bolsonaro

Nepal’s prime minister has stepped down with at least 22 people dead, the country’s parliament in flames and its main airport shut down during a violent revolt. The unrest started over a social media ban and grew into a broader anti-corruption protest.

Kathmandu

Nepal’s parliament set on fire, PM resigns as protests spiral

U.S. President Donald Trump can't escape questions about Jeffrey Epstein as a congressional committee released a suggestive personal note to Epstein allegedly from Trump, for the convicted sex offender’s 50th birthday.

White House denies alleged Trump letter to Epstein is authentic

Israel's military said it "conducted a precise strike targeting the senior leadership of the Hamas terrorist organization," amid reports of large explosions in Qatar's capital city, Doha.

Hamas says none of its leadership killed in Israeli strike on Doha

French President Emmanuel Macron has named loyalist Sebastien Lecornu, a one-time conservative protégé who rallied behind his 2017 presidential run, as prime minister. Analysts say France is in the midst of a complicated political crisis.

Paris

France's Macron names loyalist Lecornu as new PM

Videos circulating online reveal a luminous flying object hitting the vessel. No crew members were harmed. Activists part of the flotilla say they will not be deterred by the attack, and that their mission will continue as planned.

Flotilla for Gaza ship struck by drone off Tunisia, organizers say

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said the U.S. labor market added 911,000 fewer jobs between April 2024 and March 2025. CBS News MoneyWatch correspondent Kelly O'Grady breaks it down.

U.S. jobs growth revised down by 911,000

A Michigan judge has dropped criminal charges against 15 people who were accused of trying to falsely certify Donald Trump as the winner of the 2020 presidential election. CBS News' Shanelle Kaul has the latest.

Breakdown