Florida's status. Matt Reed, Florida Today's editorial page editor, takes a look at NAEP data and the most recent Education Week Quality Counts report and concludes: "We obviously have room to improve. But our system is neither starving, as educators always say. Nor is it “broken” or “failing,” as reformers keep telling us."

Florida's status, Part II. Diane Ravitch's latest take, after quoting a Florida teacher at length: "There is no Florida miracle. Education has only gotten worse over the past few years, no matter how schools, districts and the state itself game the system. And, contrary to what the media will tell you, it is NOT teachers’ fault, unions’ fault, and I won’t even blame it on the kids or their parents this time. It is the fault of education “reform” led by Jeb Bush et al."

Charter schools. The South Florida Sun Sentinel writes up the bill that would require school districts to share unused or underused facilities with charter schools. Bad idea, editorializes the Palm Beach Post.

Gays and lesbians. The Lake County School Board considers rules that would keep a Gay-Straight Alliance from forming at a middle school. Orlando Sentinel.

Teacher evaluations. Tampa Bay Times on one impact (or not) of the new system in Hillsborough: "After years of planning and training, observation and deliberation, the first wave of firings has begun under a teaching-improvement project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The tally: Three teachers." (more…)

It's National School Choice Week. SchoolZone and StateImpact Florida.

Grade inflation? The Palm Beach Post writes there is less to Florida's No. 6 ranking in the latest Education Week Quality Counts report than education reform supporters suggest, and encourages teachers and politicians "to dig into the details."

Teacher evals. Despite concerns raised by Senate President Don Gaetz, the Shanker Blog says it wouldn't make sense if school grades and the new teacher ratings were too closely associated. The Tampa Bay Times interviews David Steele, who's in charge of the Gates-funded teacher evaluation project in Hillsborough.

Teacher pay. More on Democratic bills to raise teacher pay to the national average. Palm Beach Post.

School security. Bills are filed to use taxes from gun sales for guidance services, and to expand gun-free zones around schools, reports SchoolZone. The superintendents association releases a district-by-district SRO survey, reports the Northwest Florida Daily News.

Technology. StateImpact Florida writes up what to expect at the Florida Educational Technology Conference, where 10,000 educators will gather. Senate Education Committee Chairman John Legg says he's putting together a proposal that aggressively invests in new technology, reports Gradebook.

$10,000 degrees. All 23 state colleges accept Gov. Scott's challenge, reports the Associated Press. More from Miami Herald, Lakeland Ledger, Pensacola News Journal, Bradenton Herald, Sarasota Herald Tribune, Gradebook. (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.

At the EdFly Blog today, former Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike Thomas asks a reasonable question: Why isn't the Florida teachers union trumpeting the dramatic gains of Florida teachers? This morning's Education Week ranking is just the latest in a long string of credible reports that finds Florida making steady academic progress. Shouldn't Florida teachers, doing more with less and under enormous pressure to produce results, get credit from those who portray themselves as their biggest supporters? Here's Thomas:

Florida scored another impressive victory with the state finishing sixth in the Education Week “Quality Counts’’ rankings.

This follows news from last month that Florida fourth graders finished second in the world on international reading assessments. In October, Miami-Dade won the prestigious Broad Prize for urban school districts because of progress in closing the achievement gap. Florida kids ranked second in the nation in learning gains dating back to the 1990s. I could go on.

Alas, Florida’s good news is not celebrated by all, even by its own teachers’ union. The Florida Education Association has been silent on all of the above, even though its teachers are on the front lines of these successes. Repentant reformer Diane Ravitch actually compared student achievement in Florida and Massachusetts. Of course Massachusetts kids perform better. Look at the student demographic and income data, Diane. Are you serious?

The reason for this denial is that Florida did not achieve its success by acceptable means. By that, I mean if the state had achieved these results by tripling education spending and eliminating its accountability provisions and school choice options, the above victories would have been trumpeted from the rooftops by the FEA and Diane as well.

Continue reading Thomas' post here.

Top 10 again. Education Week ranks Florida No. 6 this year in its annual Quality Counts report. redefinED. Orlando Sentinel. Associated Press.

Teacher evals. StateImpact Florida writes about the new Gates study on the best way to identify the best teachers. SchoolZone notes it. Jay P. Greene rips it. District officials in Palm Beach County don’t feel good about the new, state-mandated system, reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Common Core. Reformers have to win the messaging battle, writes Mike Thomas at the EdFly Blog: “Our success in passing school reforms has had more to do with prevailing in legislative bodies than prevailing in the public arena. This has led to a dangerous neglect of the need for marketing. We now are paying the price for that as our opponents vigorously fight back, defining reform as an attack on public schools that is degrading the quality of education. That this isn’t true doesn’t matter. Sound bites often trump data.”

Rezoning retreat. After affluent parents complain, Seminole district officials back away from plans to equalize the number of low-income students at each school. Orlando Sentinel.

Fire them. Hillsborough Superintendent MaryEllen Elia recommends firing two aides and demoting a principal and assistant principal in the aftermath of the drowning of a special needs student. Tampa Bay Times. Tampa Tribune.

More school safety. Tampa Bay Times. StateImpact Florida. Panama City News Herald. (more…)