School safety. Superintendents and lawmakers talk about more funding for more security. Coverage from Gradebook, St. Augustine Record, Sarasota Herald Tribune, Daytona Beach News Journal.  Some are worried about “open campuses,” reports SchoolZone. A bill is filed that would require private schools to get safety alerts, just like public schools, from police departments and other emergency response agencies, reports redefinED.

The chairman of the Osceola County School Board, Jay Wheeler, writes in this Orlando Sentinel op-ed that the federal government should tax guns and bullets to pay for school guards: “When 26 students and school staff get killed by a crazed gunman in a public elementary school, it is a sad wake-up call for all of us that we have to do a better job protecting ourselves from our own freedoms.”

In Palm Beach County, mayors plead with the school board to install metal detectors in every school, reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel. More from the Palm Beach Post. In Lee County, deputies begin patrolling elementaries, reports the Fort Myers News Press. More from the Naples Daily News.

Test score limbo. If high school students fall short on the FCAT, he or she can still graduate if they get a high enough score on the ACT or SAT. But the state has yet to set new concordant scores for the other tests since upgrading the FCAT, leaving many students in limbo. Tampa Bay Times.

Charter school laws. SchoolZone notes the Center for Education Reform’s annual report card.

Why grading schools is good. EdFly Blog.

Vouchers and creationism. A Jacksonville school is among those highlighted in this MSNBC op-ed by student activist Zack Kopplin.

Privatization. The Bay County school district moves towards privatizing bus service. Panama City News Herald. (more…)

Florida reform duel. At Jay P. Greene’s Blog, researcher Matthew Ladner responds to a recent critique of Florida’s reforms from Matt Di Carlo at the Shanker Institute. If you want a serious discussion of what’s working or not in Florida, including the impact or not of school choice, these guys are among the ones to read. Ladner’s conclusion: “The problem for Florida reform skeptics, in short, is that there simply isn’t any other plausible explanation for Florida’s gains outside of the reforms. … With large aggregate gains and plenty of positive research, the reasonable course is not to avoid doing any of the Florida reforms, but rather to do all of them.”

School security. Superintendents discuss the issue with the Senate Education Committee, reports the Tampa Bay Times. More from SchoolZone. Committee chair John Legg says he’s not hot on the idea of arming teachers, reporters News Service of Florida. Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gaultier says he's not hot on the idea of armed officers in every elementary school, reports the Tampa Bay Times. Broward school board members worry about the cost of extra school resource officers, reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Cape Coral charter schools hire one, reports the Cape Coral Daily Breeze. The Hillsborough school board shoots down Superintendent MaryEllen Elia’s plan for armed guards in every elementary school, with some calling it overboard and too expensive, reports the Tampa Tribune. More from the Tampa Bay Times.

Charter school growth. Florida adds 67 charter schools this year, helping the national number top 6,000, according to new numbers from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, reports SchoolZone. More from StateImpact Florida.

Better Burger vs. Bigger Burger. School boards have too big a conflict in interest in approving charter schools. EdFly Blog.

Sushi. Culinary students at Coral Gables High learn how to make it. Miami Herald.

Teacher evaluations. The Pinellas school board tweaks its state-mandated system, but still doesn’t like it. Tampa Bay Times.

Teacher pay. More on the merit pay court challenge. Tallahassee Democrat.

Teacher input. Get more of it. Tampa Bay Times.

Teacher turnover. Too much of it. Fort Myers News Press. (more…)

Years ago, the powerful director of a local teachers union told me in no uncertain terms: Differential pay for teachers in high-poverty schools wasn’t a good idea and wouldn’t help poor kids. He called it, and I quoted him, “a glitzy solution.”

So what a jolt it was to learn, after the union leader’s passing, that the big school district he helped shape for decades actually had a differential pay plan – a lucrative benefit he signed off on for a handful of teachers in the district’s elite magnet programs.

I bring this up now because of a new report that touches on teacher views about differential pay. And also because of the backdrop it brings into focus on so many ed reform issues, including expanded school choice. Too often – and I say this as respectfully as I can - school boards and teachers unions appear to lack the will to do the right thing for low-income kids.

Differential pay obviously isn’t all that and a bag of chips. But it is a tool that can be used to attract and/or keep high-quality teachers in high-needs schools. Survey after survey shows the vast majority of teachers agree.

In the latest, an Education Sector report that asked teachers about all kinds of things, 83 percent said they supported more money for teachers in low-performing schools. That’s up from 70 percent in 2008 and 80 percent in 2007. With young teachers, the results were even more lopsided: 88 percent of them liked the idea.

And yet, with few exceptions, school districts have not tried differential pay in a meaningful way. In Florida, this has been true even though state laws and rules have required it. Many districts abide by the letter of the law, offering minimal amounts that don’t make a difference, and so the vicious cycles that could be mitigated instead swirl on.

The district in Pinellas County, Fla., is no exception. That’s the district whose longtime union chief, Jade Moore, I was referring to above. (more…)