Tony Bennett. The Orlando Sentinel hopes the new commissioner, who begins work today, “treads with discretion.” The Associated Press recalls his tenure in Indiana and ties to Jeb Bush.

Expand school choice now! Sort of. The Tampa Bay Times means options under district control: “The broader answer to improving public education in Pinellas is not a massive expansion of fundamental schools. It's raising the quality of all schools. But increasing the seats for fundamental schools and popular magnet programs to more closely match demand is a discussion district leaders should begin. Otherwise, they risk losing more families to charter schools and private schools — and further undermining broad support for public education.”

Slow down on charter schools. The Palm Beach Post says in one editorial that the Legislature should prioritize traditional public schools over charters. It says in another that the Palm Beach County district’s decision to transfer a troubled principal into administration will give lawmakers an excuse to continue favoring charters.

Checking out choice. In Alachua County, 600 middle school students turn out to see career academy options, reports the Gainesville Sun. In Duval, magnet students spread the word about their programs to prospective students, reports the Florida Times Union. In Miami-Dade, tens of thousands of parents are expected to apply for hundreds of magnet programs, reports the Miami-Herald. In Manatee, the Rock Your Robot Fair lets parents know about STEM options in public and private schools, reports the Bradenton Herald. (In Collier County, businesses urge students to explore STEM, reports the Naples Daily News.) The Tampa Bay Times annual school search section for Pinellas includes information about public and private options, including tax credit scholarships.

Amendment 8. The ACLU saw the proposed amendment, which despite perception had little to do with private school vouchers, as part of a "wide-ranging assault" on Floridians' rights last year by Gov. Rick Scott and the Republican-led Legislature, reports the Florida Current.

“Sagging schools.” Tampa Bay Times business columnist Robert Trigaux: “Beneath the top tier of students, our schools at all levels are struggling to educate our kids. Businesses need to help more. And the state needs to spend less time bragging about the educational system and admit it needs assistance.” (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.

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…)

Charter school attendance. The Palm Beach County school district plans to bring in a computer program to better track charter school attendance after one school overstated its numbers. Extra Credit blog.

“Magnet mania.” Duval puts on its first School Choice Expo. First Coast News.

ESA debate resurfacing? Gradebook.

Please raise our taxes. Some Brevard parents, upset about proposed school closures, are lobbying the school board to hold a special election to raise taxes. Florida Today. (Image from kceducationenterprise.org)

More school security. School districts will ask lawmakers for more money this year to beef up security in the wake of Newtown, the News Service of Florida reports. Its video interview with FSBA executive director Wayne Blanton here. Reactions range to a Lake County school board member’s proposal to arm teachers with guns, reports the Orlando Sentinel. More school safety coverage from the Fort Myers News Press, Naples Daily News, Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Pattern of behavior. Tampa Bay Times: “A Pinellas teacher accused of downloading child pornography on his home computer has a peculiar history of complaints against him, including allegations that he exchanged inappropriate emails with a young girl, according to records from the Pinellas County School District.”

Falling apart. A citizens group chronicles deteriorating building conditions in two Broward high schools that serve predominantly minority students. Miami Herald.

Cell phone waste. An audit finds $117,000 worth over two years in the Palm Beach district. Palm Beach Post.

Rick Scott. Visits an elementary school in Volusia. Daytona Beach News Journal.

Tony Bennett. Starts work Monday. SchoolZone.

StudentsFirst report card. Jacksonville Business Journal.

Critiquing the Florida Formula. Matt Di Carlo at the Shanker Blog is a critic to be taken seriously. In his latest post, he looks at the research that has evaluated different components in Florida’s reform effort, including the competitive pressures from vouchers, tax credit scholarships and charter schools. “As usual,” he writes, “it is a far more nuanced picture than supporters (and critics) would have you believe.”

Legislative wish list. What do education groups want from the coming legislative session? Florida Voices asks Ruth Melton at the Florida School Boards Association; Patricia Levesque at the Foundation for Florida’s Future; Mindy Gould at the Florida PTA; and Kathleen Oropeza at Fund Education Now. Lawmakers, Oropeza writes, are out to “starve public education” and have been “intentionally bringing districts to the brink of catastrophe.”

StudentsFirst report card. Coverage from Florida Today, Orlando Sentinel, StateImpact Florida, Education Week, Fort Myers News Press. Sherman Dorn’s take here.

Online testing problems. They’re still affecting the DOE’s FAIR system. Gradebook.

Jeb Bush headed to Arkansas. He’s scheduled to visit for National School Choice Week, reports Arkansasmatters.com.

More Newtown reaction. Tampa Bay Times. Palm Beach Post. Lakeland Ledger. In Lake County, a school board member wants teachers and principals to carry district-purchased guns, reports the Orlando Sentinel. In Manatee, the interim superintendent wants local law enforcement to inspect every inch of every public school campus, reports the Bradenton Herald.

Delinquency. In public schools, a Florida Department of Juvenile Justice report finds it's down by nearly half over the last eight years, reports News Service of Florida. (more…)

School funding. Gov. Rick Scott wants to spend additional revenue on public schools, reports the Florida Current. Funding and other education issues are woven through a mid-term progress report on Scott from the Tampa Bay Times.

Rezoning. The Seminole school district is swamped with proposals, reports Orlando Sentinel. Affluent parents respond with “snobbery,” writes Sentinel columnist Beth Kassab. (Image from coolsprings.com)

Florida gets a B- for ed reform policies, according to a StudentsFirst report out today, the New York Times reports. That ties it with Louisiana for the top grade. A dozen states get F’s.

Best year ever. 2012 was a year of unprecedented accomplishments for the Miami-Dade school district, writes Superintendent Alberto Carvalho in the Miami Herald.

Career and technical. The Manatee school districts spends $44 million on a new main campus for Manatee Technical Institute. Bradenton Herald.

School grading. Poor grades for Polk high schools should be taken seriously. Lakeland Ledger.

School security. Editorials from Tampa Bay Times, Tampa Tribune, Palm Beach Post. More coverage from the Tribune and South Florida Sun Sentinel.

School enrollment. It's up in public schools by 30,000 statewide, in part because of declines in private schools. Palm Beach Post. A district audit finds a Palm Springs charter school overstated its enrollment, resulting in a $160,000 overpayment, the Palm Beach Post also reports.

Home schooling. Enough with the stereotypes, writes Mike Thomas at the EdFly Blog. (more…)

Charter school performance. StateImpact Florida gives more ink to University of Central Florida Professor Stanley Smith. His latest analysis finds little difference in academic performance between charter schools and district schools in Florida.

Grad rates. The new, tougher federal formula could backfire if states ease up on their graduation requirements, writes the EdFly Blog. Declining rates in Citrus County are “a black eye for schools, but a gut punch for the community,” editorializes the Citrus County Chronicle.

Guidance counselors. Most of the state’s public schools would be required to hire more under a bill filed by Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, reports the Tallahassee Democrat.

Tony Bennett’s contract. Gradebook.

School security. Tampa Bay Times. Tampa Tribune. South Florida Sun Sentinel. Gainesville Sun.

Principal misconduct. A Duval principal is demoted over testing issues. Florida Times Union.

“Peaceful coexistence.” Sometimes there is tension when schools share campuses. Lakeland Ledger.

Don’t back up, don’t back down. “Compromise” may be a watchword for 2013, but it wouldn’t be a good thing for education reform, writes Jeanne Allen, founder and president of The Center for Education Reform, in the Huffington Post. She points to Florida as a state that hasn’t compromised on accountability and school choice – and, as a result, has seen rising student achievement.

Acknowledging progress. Pointing to the recent PIRLS results as a “crucial mark of excellence,” the Miami Herald editorial board says Florida schools are making gains but need more money.

Tony Bennett. His views on Common Core and teacher evaluations. Gradebook.

More on charter school closing. School Zone weighs in on the one in Flagler that shut down during the holiday break.

Say no to Robin Hood. Some Seminole County parents don’t like the idea of using family incomes as a factor in drawing new school boundary lines. “The school board needs to stop playing Robin Hood,” one said. School Zone.

Inappropriate. The Hernando school district’s CFO posts pornographic images and makes critical comments about the superintendent online during work hours, reports the Tampa Bay Times.

After Newtown. School district officials in Palm Beach County say metal detectors aren't the answer, reports the Palm Beach Post. Armed officers and deputies will be at every Hillsborough elementary school when students return Monday, the Tampa Tribune reports. School resource officers will be in every Alachua elementary, beginning today, reports the Gainesville Sun. Beefed up security in Marion, too, reports the Ocala Star Banner.

School choice battle. The Palm Beach Post sees one unfolding in the coming legislative session.

Charter school closing. Global Outreach Academy, citing financial problems, tells Flagler school district officials on New Year's Day that it's shutting down immediately, reports FlaglerLive.com. Another charter school closes mid-year in Lee County, reports the Fort Myers News Press.

2012: Year of pushback. Gradebook.

2013: Year of ... Common Core and parent trigger make the Fort Myers News Press list. Testing and Tony Bennett make the Gainesville Sun’s.

Algebra Nation. A new project from UF’s Lastinger Center for Learning offers an online resource to help students, teachers and parents with the Algebra I end of course exam. Gainesville Sun.

More school security. After Newtown, several mayors want metal detectors and guards at all Palm Beach County public schools. Palm Beach Post.

Financial boot camp. High school students learn to manage money through a partnership program with the business community. Miami Herald.

Tony Bennett on testing voucher students. From Gradebook: “I do believe we have a responsibility, be it at a public school or whatever, when we are spending taxpayer dollars - and I go back to what I believe we should do, set expectations, set standards and hold people accountable - that we should be able to prove that schools perform for the money they are given.” Full Q&A in Tampa Bay Times here.

More Tony Bennett. Lakeland Ledger: “Let's just hope he brings to the position a more inclusive management style than that of his predecessors."

“Life is combat.” From the Palm Beach Post’s Jac Versteeg: “Good morning, children, and welcome to your first day of first grade at Eddie Eagle Charter School. We will be piloting the new NRA curriculum the Florida Legislature has mandated for all public schools. My name is Mr. LaPierre.” Putting deputies in elementary schools makes more sense that arming teachers, editorializes the Northwest Florida Daily News.

Ed funding. The Gainesville Sun’s Ron Cunningham references the Legislatures “slash-and-burn approach to funding education” in his year-ahead column. The Ocala Star-Banner’s editorial board says the state’s “cheap route on education” is to blame for the Marion school district’s failure to meet class-size requirements. The Sun makes the same case for noncompliance in Alachua County.

On the right track. Broward Community College President J. David Armstrong notes how much academic progress Florida has made in the past decade. South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Career academies. Students in Palm Beach County’s career academies will get a chance to shadow professionals at their jobs, thanks to a partnership with the business community, reports the Palm Beach Post.

Rocky year in the rearview. A glance at the past year in Florida education from the Tallahassee Democrat. Some superintendents want a break from new mandates in 2013, the Democrat also reports.

School grades don’t show much. Editorializes the Palm Beach Post.