School recognition funds. About 1,700 schools will get about $134 million, reports Gradebook. More from SchoolZone, Miami Herald, South Florida Sun Sentinel, TCPalm.com, Florida Times Union, Naples Daily News.

Charter schools. Palm Beach Post: "Palm Beach County has pledged to help a nonprofit charter school sell $10.5 million in mostly tax-exempt bonds so it can open a new campus in Juno Beach — a move that has upset County Commissioner Paulette Burdick, who questions whether the county should aid privately run charters that pull students away from the public school district." More on Cape Coral charter schools asking the Lee County school district for facilities funding from NBC2.

Pre-K. Florida's pre-K isn't the reason its students are surging ahead of Nevada's. Heartland Institute.

Parent trigger. Lakeland Ledger weighs in.

Zero tolerance. Despite changes in the law, thousands of students are still arrested in Florida schools every year for minor infractions. StateImpact Florida.

FCAT. Time again for students to "brace" for the "dreaded" test, reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel. This year, teachers and students better prepared for tougher writing standards, reports the Orlando Sentinel.

Grad rates. Another report notes Florida's rate is low but improving. SchoolZone. (more…)

Digital learning. Lawmakers are set to consider a digital education bill that would allow school districts to create "innovation schools" similar to charter schools. Gradebook.

Parent trigger. House version is filed, reports SchoolZone. Democrats concede they probably don't have the votes to stop it this year, reports Naked Politics.

Magnet schools. The Orange County School Board has a wide-ranging discussion about the district's offerings. SchoolZone.

Charter schools. The governing board of a charter school in Sarasota County votes to end its management contract with the Imagine charter network, but the company immediately files suit. Sarasota Herald Tribune.

Common Core. Having a Plan B is not a bad idea, writes EdFly Blog. Education Commissioner Tony Bennett notes the politics of CC are tricky, too, reports StateImpact Florida.

Teacher evaluations. Contrary to perception, charter schools have to abide by the new teacher evaluation law just like district schools. StateImpact Florida.

Wall of Shame. Teachers at Tampa's Jefferson High get an F for word choice, writes Tampa Bay Times columnist Sue Carlton.

Teacher shortage areas. Tallahassee Democrat. (more…)

Grad rates. Not good for Florida, according to this new report from the U.S. Department of Education. In 2009-10, the state’s rate was 70.8 percent, putting it No. 44 among all 50 states and Washington D.C. And unlike other estimates, the federal numbers show modestly improving trend lines rather than strong gains.

For what it’s worth, the U.S. DOE says the formula used for this report isn’t as accurate as others – and, in fact, is being phased out and replaced by a more precise formula. Coverage from Gradebook and StateImpact Florida. Nationally, the rate reached its highest point in decades. Coverage from Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Huffington Post.

Teacher pay raises. Gov. Rick Scott will seek them in his budget proposal, with an announcement set for today. Karen Aronowitz, president of United Teachers of Dade in Miami, tells the Tampa Bay Times, “Tell him to send the money, but no one is fooled by this. He’s just restoring money that was already stolen from teachers." More from South Florida Sun Sentinel and News Service of Florida.

Teach for America. EdFly Blog: “Teach for America recruits bright, motivated university graduates and puts them in classrooms with low-income, disadvantaged kids. Normally, liberals would latch on to such a notion – think Peace Corps in urban neighborhoods.” But no.

Teacher evaluations. The new system is on the right track, but it needs more work to be meaningful, editorializes TCPalm.com.

Guts. Somehow, Florida’s decision to participate in PIRLS and other international assessments is being spun in some circles as a negative. The Quick and The Ed blog credits Florida for not shying away from what could be unflattering comparisons.

Tony Bennett. He'll be in the spotlight this legislative session. Sunshine State News.

Parent power. Florida still ranks No. 2 in the Center for Education Reform’s revised Parent Power Index. SchoolZone.

Charter schools. After two F's in a row, Lee Charter Academy in Fort Myers will have to close. Fort Myers News Press. (more…)

Quality Counts. Florida ranks No. 6 this year in Education Week’s annual report. Coverage from redefinED, Associated Press, Miami Herald, Gradebook, Orlando Sentinel, StateImpact Florida, Fort Myers News Press, Naples Daily News, WCTV, News4Jax. More from Huffington Post.

Charter school access. SchoolZone takes a critical look at the first policy paper from the Center for School Options, a new think tank chaired by former Education Commissioner Jim Horne. It grades the 10 biggest districts in the state on charter school access. The Fort Myers News Press writes up Lee County's top grade.

Charter school attendance. Palm Beach district officials suggest tighter controls are needed after a Mavericks charter school overstated its attendance and received $160,000 more in per-pupil funding. Palm Beach Post.

Career and technical. Tampa Bay school officials are headed to Germany to learn more about programs there. Tampa Bay Times.

Suspension and grad rates. A Johns Hopkins University study of Florida ninth graders finds much higher graduation rates for those who were never suspended as freshmen versus those who were suspended even once or twice.Education Week.

Rick Scott. Visits Fort Lauderdale High School. South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Superintendent searches. Interim education commissioner Pam Stewart applies for the superintendent’s opening in Manatee County, reports Gradebook. St. Lucie County gears up to replace retiring Superintendent Michael Lannon, reports TCPalm.com.

School security. Hillsborough is going too far, editorializes the Tampa Bay Times. So is a Lake County School Board member who wants to arm teachers and principals, writes Orlando Sentinel columnist Lauren Ritchie.

Rezoning angst in Seminole. Orlando Sentinel.

Charter school performance. StateImpact Florida gives more ink to University of Central Florida Professor Stanley Smith. His latest analysis finds little difference in academic performance between charter schools and district schools in Florida.

Grad rates. The new, tougher federal formula could backfire if states ease up on their graduation requirements, writes the EdFly Blog. Declining rates in Citrus County are “a black eye for schools, but a gut punch for the community,” editorializes the Citrus County Chronicle.

Guidance counselors. Most of the state’s public schools would be required to hire more under a bill filed by Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, reports the Tallahassee Democrat.

Tony Bennett’s contract. Gradebook.

School security. Tampa Bay Times. Tampa Tribune. South Florida Sun Sentinel. Gainesville Sun.

Principal misconduct. A Duval principal is demoted over testing issues. Florida Times Union.

“Peaceful coexistence.” Sometimes there is tension when schools share campuses. Lakeland Ledger.

Tony Bennett has a tough, tough job ahead, and the way education in Florida is covered is not going to make it any easier. The big news last week is a case in point.

Besides Bennett’s selection as the state’s new education commissioner, the top story was how Florida fourth-graders scored on a respected international test called PIRLS , which stands for the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study. In case you missed it, Florida students ranked second in reading, behind only their peers in Hong Kong. Virtually none of the state’s major daily newspapers (the Orlando Sentinel being a notable exception) covered this development, but CNN did. It interviewed interim Education Commissioner Pam Stewart live, next to an all-caps headline that read, “FLORIDA STUDENTS SCORE BIG.”

This wasn’t a one-time oversight. Over the past 10 to 15 years, Florida students and teachers – its public school students and teachers - have made impressive academic gains, whether it’s on national math and reading tests, or on college-caliber Advanced Placement tests, or in graduation rates as determined by credible, independent experts. For four years running, Education Week, looking at both performance and progress, has ranked Florida among the leading states in K-12 achievement (to be specific, at No. 7, No. 7, No. 6 and No. 12 over that span). And yet, flattering reports about Florida’s progress rarely get more than passing mention, while those who oppose the state’s accountability and school choice initiatives are often allowed to deny that such progress even exists. Even stranger, the more outrageous their statements get, the more often they seem to get quoted. (more…)

Financial irregularities. Eighty-five percent of district schools in Palm Beach County show financial irregularities, an audit finds, with some cases involving “thousands of missing dollars, spotty tracking of fundraising cash and outstanding deficits in school funds,” reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Teacher turnover. The Pasco district knows it must find ways to slow the revolving door in high-needs schools. Tampa Bay Times.

Inconvenient truths. Florida Voices columnist Rick Outzen says it’s an “inconvenient truth” that Florida’s grad rates are so low. (It’s also an inconvenient truth, not mentioned in the column, that they’re among the fastest-rising in the country.)

Construction money. Supporters of traditional public schools say charter school funding is leaving them in a bigger bind, reports the St. Augustine Record. Says Colleen Wood with 50^th No More (and Save Duval Schools): “It seems to be the idea that parental choice is the guiding principal (for charter schools) as opposed to (students getting) the best education possible.”

Rubio and tax credit scholarships. Florida offers a model for a federal program proposed by U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, writes the Choice Words blog. (Step Up For Students, which co-hosts this blog, administers the Florida program.)

Evals. The ones for administrators came out last week, too. StateImpact Florida. But there's a disconnect between the new evals and school grades, writes Naples Daily News columnist Brett Batten.

Early learning funding formula. Gov. Rick Scott says the state won’t change it this year, drawing praise from early learning coalitions, reports Gradebook.

Stuck in the '70s. In an editorial about the three finalists for ed commish, the Tampa Bay Times likens the DOE to "an old pinball machine" and asks: "At what point does the privatization of the public school system go too far? And what will you do move the focus off of vouchers and back to the heart of Florida's future - its traditional public schools?" Orlando Sentinel columnist Beth Kassab says go with Tony Bennett.

Tony Bennett. He’s in the mix for Florida education commissioner. Coverage from Orlando Sentinel, Indianapolis Star, StateImpact Florida. A list of all candidates on Gradebook here.

Welcoming competition. New Duval Superintendent Nikolai Vitti is recommending the school board approve 12 of 14 charter school applications up for a vote today, reports the Florida Times Union. He also tells the board the district has to compete and “dominate the market” so “when a charter school tries to set up shop they will find themselves unable to compete with us because we are that dynamic and innovative.”

More on grad rates. Orlando Sentinel. AP. The Ledger.

More on remediation. StateImpact Florida.

Cherry picking. EdFly Blog calls out Reuters for last week’s story about Florida’s academic gains.

Union news. Karen Aronowitz won’t seek another term as president of United Teachers of Dade, reports the Miami Herald.

Grad rates rising: Florida’s grad rate jumped nearly 4 percentage points in 2012, to 74.5 percent, the biggest one-year jump since 2003, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Full DOE report for districts and individual schools here. The DOE press release announcing the news was sent out at 5:42 p.m. Friday and that, unfortunately, may have limited coverage. Coverage from Gradebook here and here. Sherman Dorn’s take here.

College remediation rates still too high. StateImpact Florida, first in a series.

That charter school again. NorthStar High School, the same failing Orange County charter school that gave its principal more than $500,000 as it was closing its doors, also paid her husband more than $460,000 over a five-year period, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

Praise for Florida’s reforms. And bipartisanship. Julia Johnson, a former state Board of Education member, writes on both in USA Today.

Zoning woes in Palm Beach. One parent upset about proposed boundary changes for a popular elementary schools tells the Palm Beach Post: “We moved specifically to put our daughter into a better school.” A school board member who represents the school, meanwhile, says dozens of parents are “faking” their addresses so their children can attend.

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.