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.

Vitti

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.

The Florida Department of Education just released the last batch of applications for state education commissioner, including Tony Bennett's.

In his cover letter to Board of Education Chairman Gary Chartrand, dated Nov. 29, Bennett notes his work in Indiana and says he would welcome the opportunity to continue in Florida. "Your state was the leader in starting this movement of making decisions based solely on kids," he writes, "and I would like to take Florida to the next level."

Bennett's resume highlights a long list of initiatives in the Hoosier State, including a number related to parental school choice. The statewide voucher program has garnered the most attention, but Bennett notes progress in other sectors, too: "Successfully defended against caps on the number of charter schools, implemented a virtual voucher pilot program and ushered the program from pilot to full implementation, and proposed and developed the Indiana Charter Board - all while bringing accountability to charter schools in the form of A through F grades."

Shock and buzz. Tony Bennett’s loss was last night’s big jawdropper in the ed realm. But shock is already giving way to welling speculation that Indiana’s loss will be Florida’s gain.

Education Week wrote that Bennett, the Hoosier State’s superintendent of public instruction, “could be a natural fit” for the opening in Florida. Education researcher Rick Hess said Bennett will land on his feet “given that folks are likely to be clamoring for his services (including the state of Florida, which is desperately seeking a new chief).” The Gradebook, the ed blog for the Tampa Bay Times, put this headline on its first post of the day, “Might Indiana superintendent stunner yield Florida commissioner candidate?”

Speculation that Bennett may be headed to the Sunshine State began well before last night’s loss. And it’s easy to see why. Bennett championed Florida-style reforms in Indiana, including implementation of a statewide voucher program. He’s part of the Chiefs for Change group formed by Jeb Bush’s Foundation for Excellence in Education. And he makes a lot of sense when he talks persuasively about new definitions of public education that aren’t either/or. “We have allowed our opponents to draw a caricature of us that says we’re against public schools,” Bennett said last spring at the American Federation for Children conference. “I’m not an adversary of public schools. I’m an advocate for public school children.”

Applications for the Florida commissioner post are due by Nov. 30. We called and emailed the Indiana Department of Education to see if we could find out about Bennett’s plans. If we hear back, we’ll let you know.

In the meantime, there’s also plenty of commentary today about why Bennett lost to Glenda Ritz, an elementary school media specialist. (more…)