Teachers. Either masochists or saints. StateImpact Florida.

Teacher conduct. The Gilchrist County teacher  of the  year is put on leave following allegations of inappropriate conduct with female students. Gainesville Sun.

Teacher pay. The chair of the Marion County School Board says 160 first-year teachers will be spared their jobs if all teachers forgo their state bonus money. Ocala Star Banner.

Teacher protest. Two Manatee High teachers unveil a mural replica of Edvard Munch's "The Scream" - their version made from garbage because the district did not have money for materials - to protest budget cuts. Bradenton Herald and Sarasota Herald Tribune.

Subs. Recent graduates from a Palm Beach County high school give back - by returning as substitute teachers. Palm Beach Post.

Charter schools. A struggling charter in Deland is fighting to stay open. Daytona Beach News Journal.

Common Core. Will Common Core state standards undermine school choice? Jay P. Greene: Yes. Checker Finn: No.

School spending. Small towns in Miami-Dade chip in to pay for a school nurse. Miami Herald.

School districts. Manatee is in a crisis "more dire than anticipated," new Superintendent Rick Mills says, according to the Bradenton Herald. District officials release an economic recovery plan, reports the Sarasota Herald Tribune. (more…)

More Jeb Bush summit. Checker Finn’s a fan. EdWeek writes up Arne Duncan’s speech. More from Bloomberg, Stateline, the Getting Smart blog.

New ed leadership. John Legg, the former state rep and new state senator from Pasco is the new chair of the Senate K-20 Education Policy Committee, reports Gradebook. (The post also includes a listing of all committee members.)

Weeding out low-performing charters. EdWeek. StateImpact Florida.

Per-pupil spending by state. A new federal report shows Florida at No. 42, at $8,863 per student in the 2009-10 school year, reports the Orlando Sentinel School Zone blog.

More on $10,000 degrees. The Daytona Beach News-Journal editorial board likes Gov. Rick Scott's idea. The Sentinel's Beth Kassab does not. More from the Lakeland Ledger.

More on low grad rates. Palm Beach Post.

Voucher accountability. A problem private school in Manatee County should prompt more oversight from the state, editorializes the Bradenton Herald.

ALEC to remain neutral on Common Core. Report from EdWeek. As we noted last week, Jeb Bush’s Foundation for Excellence in Education weighed in against the ALEC resolution. Thumbs up from Checker Finn. More from EdFly Blog.

Speaking of Common Core … Education Week writes about the dispute between the Florida Department of Education and a private vendor over a website that was supposed to prepare teachers and students for the new standards.

Teacher evals. The FEA holds a press conference to step up its criticism. Coverage from Orlando Sentinel, Gradebook, The Florida Current, First Coast News.

Agenda for ed conference. The fifth annual Excellence in Action National Summit on Education Reform, put on by the Foundation for Excellence in Education, is next week. Full agenda here.

Private school problems. Both the Bradenton Herald and Sarasota Herald-Tribune take a look at issues with The Prep Academy.

Oh how the blog gods have smiled down upon redefinED.

The 2012 Republican National Convention will be held in downtown Tampa this month – six blocks from the building that houses Step Up for Students and our humble blog. I received press credentials to cover the convention. And next week, as a lead-up to the event, we’ll be posting essays from some of the leading voices in school choice and education reform.

Here’s the line up: former U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings; Chester E. Finn, Jr., president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute; Robert C. Enlow, president and CEO of the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice; Joe Williams, executive director of Democrats for Education Reform; Michael B. Horn, executive director for education at the Innosight Institute; and Eva S. Moskowitz, founder and CEO of Success Academy Charter Schools.

With the RNC and November elections as a backdrop, we asked our contributors what – if anything – the federal government can do to promote school choice. It goes without saying that the responses are thoughtful, insightful and informative. They’re also diverse. They’ll give you plenty to think about – and even a few things to laugh at.

First up Monday: Secretary Spellings.