Virtual schools. Florida Virtual School is battling proposed budget cuts, reports Associated Press. A state investigation finds online provider K12 Inc. employed three teachers who lacked proper certification to teach some subjects, reports StateImpact Florida.

Magnet schools. A Hillsborough high school best known for its football program starts an academic program heavy on dual enrollment. Tampa Bay Times.

Charter schools. Neighbors are upset about plans for a 2,000-student Academica charter school in East Kendall. Miami Herald.

District charter schools. The Polk district's Step Up Academies for struggling students (no connection to Step Up For Students, which co-hosts this blog) are being asked by district officials to be even more like schools within schools. Lakeland Ledger.

Common Core. Protesters at the Capitol, reports StateImpact Florida. Tony Bennett's thoughts on PARCC, also from StateImpact Florida. (more…)

Editor's note: This guest post is from Jesse L. Jackson, superintendent of Lake Wales Charter Schools in Lake Wales, Fla.

By early 2000, the once great tradition of outstanding local schools for Lake Wales’ citizens had reached a point of decline. It was at that time when concerned citizens, with the support of the Lake Wales Area Chamber of Commerce education committee, decided to do something to reverse that trend. What emerged was not only an accountability driven charter school system, but, unexpectedly, the town’s biggest employer.

Since 2004, when five Lake Wales’ public schools were converted to public charter schools, and with the addition of Bok Academy charter school and the International Baccalaureate program to Lake Wales High School, a significant reversal has taken place in terms of quality and participation in our local schools. Many families that had previously decided to seek other opportunities to educate their children outside Lake Wales have found favor in our system, which now serves approximately 4,000 students. While the majority live in Lake Wales, many come from surrounding towns. Lake Wales Charter Schools pioneers such as Robin Gibson, Clint Horne, David Ullman and many others could feel quite satisfied when reflecting on the impact of their effort.

However, when the details are analyzed, it becomes quite clear the system offers more than just a great education for this community. The mere shift of the schools’ management from district headquarters in Bartow to Lake Wales has profoundly impacted Lake Wales’ economy.

Our principals are chief executive officers. They have the autonomy and responsibility to make decisions regarding the most effective way to run their schools, including financial matters. With each school’s annual budget ranging from roughly $2.5 million to $6 million, managing the operations of our charter schools is a huge responsibility. The autonomy provides our principals the freedom to make decisions regarding their engagement with businesses. Along with this freedom, they and other members of our leadership team have the responsibility and are compelled to adhere to the strictest finance and accounting principles to ensure our system’s finances are managed properly.

Our success as an effective school system has enabled us to evolve into a locally based multi-million dollar enterprise with an annual budget of more than $30 million. (more…)

It’s an idea gaining momentum in Florida this legislative session: letting a few district schools choose curriculum, lease buildings and enjoy wiggle room when it comes to class size.

Sound familiar?

The concept, coined “district innovation schools,’’ would allow high-performing public schools to operate with some of the same freedom that has helped many charter schools succeed.

Assuming the legislation passes – and its odds look good at this point - it remains to be seen whether the innovation schools can carve out flexible terms during collective bargaining with teachers unions – like, say, having more power over hiring and firing. But even if that doesn’t happen, some observers said, the added leeway still could make a difference.

“We’ve learned a lot from charter schools,’’ Sen. Bill Montford, a Tallahassee Democrat and the bill sponsor, told redefinED. “They have been able to think outside the box.’’

Montford is a former Leon County superintendent and CEO of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents.

Charters are funded by taxpayer dollars, but have their own governing boards and power over personnel decisions. They also can meet the state’s stringent class-size mandate for core classes on a schoolwide average instead of class by class – something districts must do or pay hefty fines.

The result, some say, is charters can be more innovative, creative – and academically successful. (more…)

Charter schools. Tampa Bay Times columnist John Romano uses the specter of for-profit charter schools to slam state lawmakers who support parent trigger: "They say tomato, I say morons." Times columnist Bill Maxwell, meanwhile, highlights the success of Urban Prep Academies, a high-performing, all-male, all-black charter school in Chicago where, for four years in a row, every graduate was accepted into a four-year college.

The Palm Beach Post looks at lawmakers with charter school ties. The Lake Wales Charter School system is considering adding a second middle school, with the waiting list for the existing one at 360 and growing, reports the Winter Haven News Chief. The Athenian Academy charter in New Port Richey and the Pasco school district are clashing over whether the school has the right to expand, reports the Tampa Bay Times. A charter school in Miami Shores is getting better at private fundraising, reports the Miami Herald. The state's charter school appeals commission recommends approval of a proposed Orange Park charter school twice rejected by the Clay County School Board, reports the Florida Times Union. Lawmakers should limit charter school to districts with failing schools, editorializes the St. Augustine Record.

School choice lotteries. A lot of parents in Palm Beach County are about to get bad news:  They did not get their children into the district school  choice they wanted. According to the Palm Beach Post, "At more than half of the choice programs, less than 1 in 3 students that applied got a seat. At four of the 185 choice programs, fewer than 1 in 10 students won a seat."

Vouchers. The League of Women Voters asks if McKay vouchers and tax credit scholarships are constitutional in a Gainesville Sun op-ed.

Parent trigger. Former Board of Education member Julia Johnson responds to critics in this op-ed in the Tallahassee Democrat: "I don’t understand what a critic of parent empowerment meant when she recently wrote that it would use parents like “cheap napkins.’’ But I do know that low-income kids were used as a cheap paycheck and their schools were oftentimes used as a training ground for novice teachers and a depository for ineffective ones." The Tampa Tribune writes up the debate. Pensascola News Journal columnist Shannon Nickinson doesn't like it: "How about the state fulfilling its obligation to the public education system, rather than working to pass off that responsibility under the guise of “parental choice.”

Virtual schools. The Miami Herald writes up the bills that will expand digital education. (more…)

If you think the school choice debate in Florida is all us vs. them, maybe you’re not listening carefully enough. Here are three examples just from the past few days.

At Monday’s Senate Education Committee meeting, Sen. Bill Montford, a Democrat who heads the state superintendents association, introduced a bill that would give school districts the freedom and flexibility to create charter-school-like “innovation schools.” Along the way, he said this:

“We know that the vast majority of our charter schools in the state have done a good job. Usually what you hear of is those who don’t. But that’s like any – in public school, you hear about the bad stories. But we’ve learned a lot over 15 years. The charter schools have set the pace, if you will, for a lot of innovations and creative efforts. And they’ve been able to do that because they’ve been allowed to be creative. They haven’t been burdened quite frankly with some of the state rules and statutes.”

The only member of the public to comment at the hearing was Jim Horne, a former education commissioner under Jeb Bush who now heads the Florida Charter School Alliance. Both the alliance and Associated Industries of Florida, for whom he lobbies, support the bill, he told the committee. Then he said this:

“This is sort of a great partnership where we can benefit from what we’ve learned. We know charters started 15 years ago to be innovative, free from some of the bureaucracy. And we think districts ought to have that same opportunity, to be able to innovate and be able to be creative outside of the bureaucracy and some of the regulations that we hear choke innovation.”

The bill passed unanimously. But neither Montford nor Horne’s comments made the papers, which is too bad. Their positions not only made sense, but cut against the stereotypes that dog both the “education establishment” and the “school choice crowd.” Beyond the political theater, there’s a lot of that going on.

Here’s another example. The Ledger reported Tuesday that the Polk County School District may convert an elementary school and a middle school in Lake Wales into a K-12 arts magnet. The two schools are the only ones in Lake Wales that are not part of that community’s charter school system. So how did the charter system respond? (more…)

Parent trigger. Supporters of parent trigger, including Patricia Levesque, executive director of the Foundation for Excellence in Education, hold a press conference in an attempt to debunk myths. Sunshine State News, The Buzz, Gradebook, StateImpact Florida, Pensacola News Journal, Sarasota Herald Tribune.

Charter schools. Lawmakers appear lukewarm to Gov. Rick Scott's call to let charter schools expand at will, reports the Palm Beach Post. Pinellas school board members oppose the parent trigger bill and legislation that could turn unused district buildings over to charters, reports the Tampa Tribune. Parents at a middle magnet in Lake Wales worry their kids might not be able to attend the city's charter high school, reports the Winter Haven News Chief.

School closings. The Brevard school board should accept help from the Canaveral Port Authority to rescue three schools slated for closing, writes Florida Today's Matt Reed. Pasco Superintendent Kurt Browning backs off plans to shutter an aging school in the wake of opposition, but the building has serious problems, reports Gradebook.

School security. A consultant recommends armed officers at every Hillsborough elementary school. Tampa Bay Times. More from the Tampa Tribune. The Sarasota County sheriff tells district officials he's going to remove deputies from Sarasota city schools, reports the Sarasota Herald Tribune.

School spending. New Manatee Superintendent Rick Mills is proposing to eliminate 188 positions. Bradenton Herald. (more…)

Charter schools. The Tampa Tribune suggests a compromise is in the works on bills dealing with charter schools funding, facilities and accountability. Senate education leaders want a broader discussion about a proposal to give charter schools dibs on unused school buildings, reports Gradebook. Tampa Bay Times columnist John Romano lists support for "for profit charter schools" as another example of the Legislature not caring about popular opinion. A St. Lucie County School Board member raises the idea of converting a soon-to-be-shuttered school into a charter, reports TCPalm.com.

Private schools. The ones in Marion County are hurt by the recession, but the pain is mitigated by McKay and tax credit scholarships, reports the Ocala Star Banner. Unpaid volunteer teachers come to the rescue of a Brandon private school that experienced an enrollment dip. Tampa Bay Times.

Magnet schools. The Miami-Dade school district is looking to create a new MAST magnet school on one of the FIU campuses, but it hinges on funding from local communities. Miami Herald.

Parent trigger. The Panama City News Herald writes up Friday's vote in the House Education Committee.

The Florida model. Education Commissioner Tony Bennett and Patricia Levesque, executive director of the Foundation for Excellence in Education, are among those participating in Maine Gov. Paul LePage's education summit, reports the Kennebec Journal. More from WABI TV. (more…)

Parent trigger. The House parent trigger bill clears a second committee in face of growing opposition. Coverage from redefinED and The Buzz. The parent trigger is all about privatizing, editorializes the Bradenton Herald (though the piece appears to be word for word the same one that ran in the Palm BeachPost.)

School choice. Once again, there are far more applicants than slots at the "fundamental schools" in Pinellas, meaning lotteries will leave many parents unhappy. Gradebook.

Charter schools. Florida Virtual Academy, a network of online charters run by K12 Inc., will not seek to open three schools in Central Florida next years as it originally hoped, reports the Orlando Sentinel. A STEM-oriented charter on Marco Island is moving out of a church and into new digs, reports the Naples Daily News.

Graduation requirements. The Orlando Sentinel gives a thumbs up to plans for alternative diploma routes that tie into career education.

Teacher pay. Gov. Rick Scott takes a dig at House Speaker Will Weatherford for not supporting Scott's proposed across-the-board hike in teacher pay, reports The Buzz. More from the Associated Press. Lawmakers wrestle with how much to set aside and what constraints to put on it, reports the Tallahassee Democrat. Growing numbers of teachers are taking second jobs, reports the Sarasota Herald Tribune.

Testing. The Board of Education votes to create a task force to help districts reduce duplication as they create a massive number of end-of-course exams. Tallahassee Democrat. (more…)

Charter schools. The Senate Education Committee moves closer to agreement on additional charter schools accountability measures, but a divide lingers over facilities funding, reports The Buzz, which includes this quote from Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee: "The time for finger pointing between charter schools and regular public schools is over. We have to have the maturity to sit down and go over the data and discuss it." A legal timeline is set to determine the fate of an Imagine charter school in Sarasota County that seeks to sever its relationship with the parent company, reports the Sarasota Herald Tribune.

State colleges. They have a $26.6 billion annual economic impact, according to a new study. Coverage from Gradebook, StateImpact Florida, TCPalm.com, Lakeland Ledger, The Florida Current.

Parents. Angry parents keep the pressure on the Broward school district over the firing of a popular principal. South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Principals. A pending reshuffling in Broward is getting tense. Miami Herald.

School boards. Former Osceola County School Board Chair Cindy Hartig applied for unemployment benefits after her loss at the polls last August. Orlando Sentinel. (more…)

Charter schools. Supporters are trying a different approach this year to securing facilities funding for charter schools, reports the Tampa Bay Times. Lawmakers split along party lines on a charter schools bill, reports StateImpact Florida. A new charter schools network is eyeing the site of a former fundamental middle school in Pinellas, reports the Tampa Bay Times. Parents say Polk district officials aren't telling students at a district middle school that they're eligible to attend a charter high school in Lake Wales, reports the Winter Haven News Chief. An educator returns to his roots in Cocoa to start a charter school, writes Florida Today columnist Matt Reed. The Bay County school district is reviewing a troubled charter school's finances, reports the Panama City News Herald.

Magnet schools. A magnet in Flagler aims to help student who "aren't clicking in mainstream schools." Daytona Beach News Journal.

Parent trigger. Palm Beach Post: "The goal isn’t to improve schools, it’s to improve the bottom line for for-profit charters."

Graduation requirements. Lawmakers consider alternative pathways for career education, reports the Orlando Sentinel. More from StateImpact Florida.

Parents. Parents of two students assaulted at a Pinellas school for disabled students are planning to sue, reports the Tampa Bay Times. A small group protests alleged bullying by administrators at a Deerfield Beach elementary school, reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel. (more…)