A lot was said during the more than five hours of testimony about Common Core in Tampa Tuesday. We thought we’d try to fact-check some of the statements and add some of the missing context. The point isn’t to shame the speakers or to play “gotcha,” but to add some clarity to the debate. Education […]
For our story this week about all the pressure facing Florida’s education commissioners we spoke with two former education commissioners — one elected and one appointed. Florida elected education commissioners until 2003, when a state constitutional amendment made the job appointed. Gov. Jeb Bush appointed Jim Horne as commissioner in 2003. Now, the governor appoints […]
The State Board of Education removed the first word from interim Education Commissioner Pam Stewart’s title last week. But Board member Kathleen Shanahan had a strange question for a job interview: Tell me again who you work for? “And I just want to make sure from Pam, that she understands – with full clarity – […]
Pam Stewart twice stepped in to replace departing Florida education commissioners. Today she got the job long-term. The State Board of Education unanimously chose Stewart to be the state’s education commissioner. She follows Tony Bennett, who resigned from the post last month. Board member John Colon said he wanted the continuity Stewart brings to the […]
Why are three dozen parents, teachers, principals, business leaders and others spending three days in Clearwater talking about education? That’s what reporters asked interim Education Commissioner Pam Stewart about this week’s summit called by Gov. Rick Scott. During a break Monday, Stewart took questions from reporters. What exactly did she hope to accomplish? Stewart said […]
Three words reporters didn’t expect to hear during a conference call with state education leaders last week: Full frontal assault. The words were uttered several times in the midst of a 45 minute call about results from the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. In this case, the speakers were talking about Common Core State Standards – a […]
The State Board of Education will hold an emergency conference call next week to consider extending the deadline to accept applications for a Commissioner of Education. The current application deadline is Thursday, September 27, but the Iowa search firm Ray and Associates recommended an extension because of a lack of highly qualified applicants. The firm, […]
Gov. Rick Scott says he wants to reduce the burden on teachers by cutting down on paperwork and unnecessary regulations. During Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, Scott said he wants teachers spending as much time as possible teaching. He’s convening a group of five superintendents to recommend ways to cut the red tape. “We’re asking everybody to come […]
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