Back in May, Gov. Rick Scott took a victory lap after the Florida Legislature approved $480 million for teacher pay raises. “It’s a great day for teachers. It’s also a great day for students,” he said at the time. Seven months later, Scott’s wheedling school districts to actually spend that money. The raises—intended to start […]
Nearly 98 percent of Florida teachers earned a top rating, according to initial statewide teacher evaluation data released Tuesday, a slight increase over last year’s results. About one-third of teachers earned the top rating of “highly effective,” up from 23 percent of teachers last year. About 66 percent were rated “effective,” the largest category this […]
Editor’s note: Names of teachers and students have been changed. How often do budding investment bankers leave the field in their mid-20s to try their hand at teaching? Not often.  And that’s only one of the things that makes Henry Rodriguez special.  We met him earlier in this series as he helped a disengaged student […]
We all agree that every student should have good teachers. I think we also agree that there are three ways to improve the teaching force: We must get “bad” teachers who cannot or will not improve out of the classroom We must help “mediocre” teachers improve. We must keep “good” teachers in the classroom. Now, […]
Editor’s note: Names of teachers and students have been changed. Are search engines really more complicated than children? That question occurred to me last week when the annual earnings report for Yahoo! came out and it became clear that CEOs are cut a lot more slack than teachers are. New Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer was […]
The Republican Party of Florida is out with a new web ad featuring teachers praising Gov. Rick Scott. The teachers aren’t identified, but appear to have been recorded at the recent teacher summit Scott hosted in Tallahassee. Most of the teachers thank Scott for investing in education, particularly his push for across-the-board raises. “I think […]
Editor’s note: Names of teachers and students have been changed. Professionals should be responsible for their job performance and should be evaluated and retained accordingly. Who doesn’t agree with that? My problem isn’t with accountability or evaluating teachers.  My problem is with the schemes I’ve encountered so far in my career that have been designed […]
A lot of teachers must be wondering exactly how the state plans to dole out $480 million in newly approved educator raises. The governor’s office has created a list of frequently asked questions about the salary increases. The answers make it clear that the districts must negotiate the pay hikes with the local teachers union […]
It was a big year for education policy in Florida. The state changed high school graduation requirements, started phasing out FCAT with tests based on new national standards, expanded online education options and approved a one-time teacher pay raise. But as the school year comes to a close, we want to know: What did you really learn in school this […]
As the school year is winding down, Florida school districts are looking ahead to next year and the additional funding coming their way. Almost half a billion dollars is available to boost the salaries of teachers and other personnel. Plus, spending is going up by more than $400 per student. Legislative leaders have repeatedly said “education […]
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