Charter schools. Brooksville's first charter school, one with a STEM focus, will open this fall, reports the Tampa Bay Times. Competition from charter schools is forcing the Palm Beach County school district to think harder about its needs and priorities, reports the Palm Beach Post. Charters are also sparking debate among Palm Beach school board members about how much help they should give struggling charters, the Post also reports. An op-ed in the Miami Herald raises concerns about charter schools' diversity and financial incentives. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune profiles the principal of the Imagine charter school that is trying to break free from the parent company.

Magnet schools. The Tampa Tribune applauds the Hillsborough school district for creating a magnet tied to the maritime industry.

Alternative schools. Troubled girls get a fresh start at a sheriffs' youth  ranch in Polk County. Orlando Sentinel.

Tax credit scholarships. Great back-and-forth between scholars Kevin Welner at NEPC and Jason Bedrick at Cato, with Florida's program a big part of their debate. Cato at Liberty.

School choice. It's often partisan. Sunshine State News.

Parent trigger. Education Commissioner Tony Bennett raises a constitutional question. The Florida Current. (more…)

State of the State. Gov. Rick Scott gives props to teachers and pushes for a boost in ed funding. Coverage from Gradebook, Tampa Bay Times, Orlando Sentinel, SchoolZone, Palm Beach Post, Gainesville Sun, Tallahassee Democrat, The Florida Current, StateImpact Florida. A special spotlight for a Temple Terrace teacher, reports the Times/Herald Capital Bureau.

More on the legislative session. An education issue overview from StateImpact Florida. A roundup of school choice bills from redefinED.

Virtual schools. Pasco drops a challenge to a proposed Florida Virtual Academy charter. Tampa Bay Times.

McKay vouchers. Another reason Texas should adopt them. EdFly Blog.

AP tests. Should Florida students get paid for passing them? Gradebook.

School spending. The Brevard school board revises its $30 million list of cuts in response to community input, reports Florida Today. The Flagler school board moves towards putting a tax referendum on the ballot for next spring, reports the Daytona Beach News Journal. An audit committee in Manatee sees progress in how the district is responding to budget errors that led to a $3.4 million deficit, reports the Bradenton Herald. More from the Sarasota Herald Tribune. (more…)

Charter schools. The Tampa Tribune writes up the latest report on charter laws from the National Association of Public Charter Schools and quotes Robert Haag, president and CEO of the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools: "You want choices for your child's education, just like anything else in life. You don't want to be stuck just going to Publix. You want to be able to go to Winn-Dixie or Whole Foods or any of those places."

The Pembroke Pines charter school system is battling the Broward school district for funding, reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel. An F-rated charter middle school in Orlando plans to ask the Orange County school district for designation as an alternative school, which wouldn't be graded, reports SchoolZone. The Orlando Sentinel editorial board doesn't like the idea of more construction money for charter schools - or the possibility of a parent trigger.

School spending. The Manatee school district's Fitch bond rating is downgraded from stable to negative, reports the Bradenton Herald. The district posts thousands of documents from the forensic audit into a $3.4 million deficit, the Herald also reports. The documents show a school board member forced former superintendent Tim McGonegal to resign after he learned of the deficit, reports the Sarasota Herald Tribune.

Following Florida: Nevada should adopt Florida's ed reforms, particularly its expansion of school choice options, says this op-ed in Nevada Business Magazine.

Rick Scott. As the governor woos teachers, the Tea Party scratches its head. Tampa Bay Times.

Exposed, again! Another news outlet gives space to the Jeb Bush corporate-connections-conspiracy story.

Teacher evaluations. The Tampa Bay Times offers an update on the Gates-funded effort in Hillsborough. A Flagler teacher will focus on teacher evaluations as a fellow with the Hope Street Group, a national public policy outfit, reports the Daytona Beach News Journal. (more…)

Next steps. Florida should adopt parent triggers and education savings accounts to keep the reform momentum going, writes William Mattox at the James Madison Institute. Florida Voices.

More on teacher raises. Gov. Rick Scott’s proposal is “long overdue,” writes the Miami Herald. Teachers deserve it, writes the Tampa Tribune. Agreed, writes the Florida Times Union. A "major leap in his new commitment to education," writes the Tallahassee Democrat. A good deal if it’s part of a long-term commitment, writes the Fort Myers News Press. A "naked political ploy," writes the Orlando Sentinel: "The best teacher in Florida will get the exact same raise as the worst teacher in Florida. We're having trouble seeing the merit in that."

It clashes with other items on the education wish list, notes StateImpact Florida. "A lot of details need to be worked out," writes Sunshine State News. A tradeoff for pension ruling? asks Education Week. State Rep. Kevin Rader, D-Boca Raton, has filed legislation for a constitutional amendment that would push teacher salaries to the national average, notes SchoolZone. Florida PTA likes the idea, SchoolZone also notes. Scott talks up his plan at Twin Lakes Elementary in Tampa, reports the Tampa Bay Times, and at Gainesville High, reports the Gainesville Sun.

Teacher evals. Gradebook: Work in progress, lawmakers say. StateImpact Florida: Districts have flexibility, a DOE official tells lawmakers. Associated Press: Race and poverty have little impact on evaluation scores, a DOE official tells lawmakers. SchoolZone: SB 736 may need some work, Gov. Scott says. Florida Times Union: A Duval middle school principal accidentally emails evaluation ratings to her entire staff.

Teacher quality. Gradebook logs in the NCTQ report that gives Florida a B- on teacher prep. So does the Associated Press.

School spending. An audit finds the Broward school district’s transportation department is missing about $1 million worth of equipment, including “two 2009 Ford Explorers worth $20,000 each, six generators worth $300,000, a forklift valued at $20,000 and 250 radios each priced at more than $1,000,” reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel. The Franklin County school district's financial crisis could mean 19.5 percent pay cuts for employees, reports the Tallahassee Democrat. (more…)

Message from Florida. Skeptics in Louisiana shouldn’t fight expanded school choice and other reforms that boosted student achievement in Florida, writes Patricia Levesque, executive director of the Foundation for Excellence in Education. Some especially notable lines from her post on the new EdFly Blog: “No amount of regulatory compliance can hope to match a system of decentralized parental choice. Compliance models focus on school and grade-level average results, while empowered parents focus on the particular needs of their children.”

Ed reform group shuts down. Communities for Teaching Excellence, a group that supports the revamp of teacher evaluations and has a presence in Hillsborough County, is closing shop. The Los Angeles Times reports the Gates Foundation ended its financial support. It paraphrases Amy Wilkins, the group’s chairwoman, as saying CTE “was not hitting its marks in terms of generating press coverage and building community coalitions.”

Rick Scott tries to build bridges with teachers. Story from StateImpact Florida here.

High school meets boot camp. The Florida Times Union profiles an alternative school on the fringes of Jacksonville that gives at-risk teens a second chance with structure: “The cadets begin a highly regimented day at 4:45 a.m. with physical training then breakfast and inspection followed by classes starting at 8 a.m. The classes are segregated by gender except for special assemblies. They participate in tutoring, mentoring, counseling and do chores such as their own laundry or cleaning up the barracks and academy grounds. Lights out is 8:45 p.m.”

Superintendents put tax credit scholarships on list. The Tampa Bay Times Gradebook blog posts the ideas being considered by a committee of seven superintendents charged by Gov. Scott with finding ways to reduce red tape for teachers. Times reporter Jeff Solochek notes, “Many of the ideas under consideration have little to do with teachers and bureaucracy, though.” On the list: “Repeal of the state corporate tax credit scholarship program.”

Capping his week-long education "listening tour," Florida Gov. Rick Scott had dinner last night with Florida Education Association President Andy Ford and other teachers union officials. Tucked into this Palm Beach Post blog post about the first-ever get-together was this quote from Scott:

“I believe parents ought to have choice, I believe that’s good for them,” Scott said. “I believe in the public school system. I grew up in the public school system. It was good for me. The teachers had a dramatic, positive impact on the my life….Is choice good? Yeah. But let’s make sure we do it the right way. Is competition good? Sure, but let’s make sure we do it the right way.”

Without further details, it's hard to know what Scott was suggesting, if anything (but who could disagree with being thoughtful about school choice?). For what it's worth, it joins other interesting word choices from Scott in recent weeks, including one about "teaching to the test" and another about working with teachers.

After the dinner, Scott issued a statement saying he wanted to maintain if not increase state funding for education: (more…)

As part of his education "listening tour"  this week, Florida Gov. Rick Scott outlined his guiding principles on education in a letter yesterday to Steven Halverson, chairman of the influential Florida Council of 100. Especially coming after Scott's recent comments about "teaching to the test," the letter includes some interesting language about teachers. Like this:

"We cannot declare war on teachers and simultaneously ask them to drive our students toward success," wrote Scott, who signed legislation last year that ended tenure for new teachers and changed the way teachers are paid and evaluated. "We must work with teachers to declare war on failure."

The letter also includes a nod to parental empowerment and school choice: "Choices and competition in educating students in college and careers should be encouraged and held accountable to ensure the best options are available to Florida students regardless of where they live. Just as in business, competition drives innovation and improvement. Programs that succeed should be replicated and feel pressure to constantly improve."

Full letter here.

School districts spent nearly $15 billion in the 2007-08 school year to pay teachers extra for earning master's degrees, up 72 percent from four years prior, concludes a report released this week by a left-leaning think tank.

The Center for American Progress suggests money for the so-called "master's bump" was not well spent because research shows there is little difference in effectiveness between teachers who have master’s degrees and those who don’t.

“This increase, which outstripped inflation many times over during the same time period, is music to the ears of those institutions of higher education that cater to teachers and their academic pursuits,” the report says. “But for the nation’s primary and secondary schools, this increase strikes a discordant note and underscores the need to uncouple teacher compensation from the earning of advanced degrees.”

Illinois paid out the most for the average bump, coming in at $11,910. The District of Columbia was second ($11,280), followed by Minnesota ($10,090), Ohio ($8,760) and North Dakota ($8,550). Utah paid the least, at $2,010.

Florida was among the lowest per bump, at $2,850. But in 2007-08, the report shows, that extra pay added up to $197 million.

That total is likely to fall in coming years as a result of Senate Bill 736, which was signed into law last year by Gov. Rick Scott. Among other changes, it mandates that extra compensation cease for teachers whose advanced degrees are not in their certification area.

The report describes the cost for the master’s bump as a “lost opportunity" because, in its view, the money could be better spent on teachers who mentor other teachers, work in high-poverty schools, teach hard-to-fill subject areas like math and science or demonstrate "extraordinary instructional impact."