Teachers. Either masochists or saints. StateImpact Florida.

Teacher conduct. The Gilchrist County teacher  of the  year is put on leave following allegations of inappropriate conduct with female students. Gainesville Sun.

Teacher pay. The chair of the Marion County School Board says 160 first-year teachers will be spared their jobs if all teachers forgo their state bonus money. Ocala Star Banner.

Teacher protest. Two Manatee High teachers unveil a mural replica of Edvard Munch's "The Scream" - their version made from garbage because the district did not have money for materials - to protest budget cuts. Bradenton Herald and Sarasota Herald Tribune.

Subs. Recent graduates from a Palm Beach County high school give back - by returning as substitute teachers. Palm Beach Post.

Charter schools. A struggling charter in Deland is fighting to stay open. Daytona Beach News Journal.

Common Core. Will Common Core state standards undermine school choice? Jay P. Greene: Yes. Checker Finn: No.

School spending. Small towns in Miami-Dade chip in to pay for a school nurse. Miami Herald.

School districts. Manatee is in a crisis "more dire than anticipated," new Superintendent Rick Mills says, according to the Bradenton Herald. District officials release an economic recovery plan, reports the Sarasota Herald Tribune. (more…)

Teacher evals. Governing looks at whether teachers unions in other states will file suits similar to Florida's.

Teacher conduct. A veteran Broward County teacher is suspended for 13 days without pay for allowing an "overly permissive" classroom environment in which, among other things, she talked about her sex life. Her reassignment to a school for at-risk kids prompted a board member to ask, "How long are we going to continue to pay people to fail kids?” Miami Herald.

School spending.  Hernando projects a $4 million budget deficit, reports the Tampa Bay Times. Pinellas should be getting $37 million more next year, reports Gradebook. The Flagler school board considers cutting paraprofessionals in an effort to fill a budget gap, reports the Daytona Beach News Journal. Broward is considering outsourcing its facilities department, reports the Miami Herald. The Volusia school board votes to outsource custodial services for an estimated savings of $30 million over five years, reports the Daytona Beach News Journal. The Miami-Dade district auditor says a health care firm may have overbilled the district more than $1 million, the Herald also reports.

School choice. Pasco Superintendent Kurt Browning talks about expanding district choices. Tampa Tribune.

Rick Scott. The Republican Party of Florida unveils two ads supporting Gov. Rick Scott's education record. StateImpact Florida.

Jeb Bush. The next Foundation for Excellence in Education summit will be in Boston in October. EdFly Blog. (more…)

Graduation requirements. Gov. Rick Scott signs into law the bill that creates additional diploma options that emphasize career education. Coverage from Tampa Bay Times, Orlando Sentinel, Associated Press, News Service of Florida, Northwest Florida Daily News, Tallahassee Democrat, Sarasota Herald Tribune, StateImpact Florida, WFSU.

Magnet schools. Parents are pushing the Palm Beach County school district to expand a popular arts magnet. Palm Beach Post.

IB. Largo High in Pinellas gets official certification for its IB program. Tampa Bay Times.

Students with disabilities. StateImpact Florida writes up the bill that would give parents more power over their child's IEP. Some experts say the Hillsborough school district is unique in not allowing parents to make an audio recording of IEP meetings, reports the Tampa Bay Times.

Teacher pay. Palm Beach County teachers and district official remain skeptical about potential raises coming from the state, reports the Palm Beach Post. Gov. Scott says he's going to the mat for his proposal for across-the-board raises, reports the Tampa Tribune.

Teacher evals. Hernando Teacher of the Year highlights flaws in the new system. Tampa Bay Times. (more…)

Editor's note: This is the latest installment of an ongoing dialogue between Doug Tuthill, president of Step Up For Students, and John Wilson, a former National Education Association official who writes a blog at Education Week.

Doug Tuthill: John, on your John Wilson Unleashed blog, you recently wrote that “there are really two groups of poor children” - a group that benefits from effective parenting and other sources of social capital, and a second group that does not. You said to pigeonhole these high poverty/low social capital children “into a ‘one size fits all’ school model is malpractice.”

You concluded by saying we need “new policies and new practices that are customized to ensure that this group of children can succeed in our schools.”

I agree with you, and I know you have decades of experience working with these high poverty/low social capital children. Would you elaborate on what you think some of these new policies and customized practices should be?

John Wilson: Thanks, Doug, for giving me the chance to elaborate. First, let me say that equity in our schools gets a lot of rhetoric, but not much action. If there is one thing we should learn from Finland is that they made equity the focus of their transformation and excellence followed. In the United States, we have more challenges to overcome to achieve equity so we have to be bolder and smarter. Here are a few of my thoughts.

1. End segregation by socio-economics. I believe this is the civil rights issue of this century. The few school systems that have done this through creative student assignment plans and choice programs like magnet schools have seen student achievement for all rise, parent engagement increase, and opportunities for their students' future expand.

2. Provide every poor child with little or no social capital an education advocate. If we can provide children/juveniles in the court system with an advocate, would it not be smart to provide this for children in that pipeline as an intervention? I always tell friends don't enter the health care system without an advocate, and I would be remiss not to recognize the same need in education for poor children.

3. Strengthen career and technical education to provide more opportunities for all students. This pathway needs to be as strong as the college pathway so students can switch successfully. We could learn a lot from Finland and other European countries.

4. Provide wraparound services to all schools with the first priority being for the poorest. Health, housing, nutrition, safety and after- school programs affect academic achievement. We have seen the difference that Communities in Schools has made. It is time to replicate them.

I invite you to add to my starter list or challenge my ideas. (more…)

Tutoring oversight. In the first part of a two-part series on a requirement initially mandated by No Child Left Behind, a  Tampa Bay Times investigation finds at least 36 of 456 tutoring companies in Florida are headed by people with criminal records. In part two, the Times traces last year's last-minute legislative push to keep the mandate in place.

Educator oversight. Sarasota Herald Tribune: "As Bradenton police investigate allegations that a Manatee High School assistant football coach groped a female student, they are also trying to determine who knew about the girl's claims and why no one notified law enforcement as required by law."

Teacher bashing? A StateImpact Florida story headlined "Teachers Question Why Proposed Pay Raises Come Before Teacher Evaluations" quotes a single teacher who says, “For a while now we’ve been hearing how bad we are. [That] we need to weed out bad teachers, there’s so many bad teachers.” Ocala Star Banner editorial page editor Brad Rogers writes in this column: "There are so many wildly talented, caring and dedicated teachers in Marion County’s schools that unfairly take abuse and blame and criticism for what is wrong with our schools and our society, when in truth they represent what is most right and bright and promising about our schools and our society."

Teacher pay. Sen. Bill Galvano, chair of the Senate Education Appropriations Committee, suggests Gov. Rick Scott's proposal for across-the-board raises clashes with performance pay, reports the Florida Current. The South Florida Sun Sentinel also writes up the debate over proposals for higher teacher pay.

Strange bedfellows. The Florida Education Association plans to join the Florida Department of Education in fighting the Florida Times-Union's request for teacher evaluation data.

Tony Bennett. He talks to North Florida superintendents about teacher evals and notes he encouraged his daughter to become a teacher: "“I don’t want it written on my headstone: ‘Here lies the man that ruined the career his daughter chose.’ ” Tallahassee Democrat.

Teachers unions. The United Teachers of Dade will elect a new leader this week. Miami Herald. (more…)

Common Core. To conservatives: "I suggest you give up the bashing of a critically important reform simply because your political enemy endorsed it." EdFly Blog.

Charter schools. The highly successful Pembroke Pines charter school system says it deserves a share of the Broward school district's capital improvement dollars, reports the Miami Herald. The Pinellas school district will vote yet again Tuesday on whether to shutter the long-troubled Imagine charter school in St. Petersburg, reports the Tampa Bay Times. A Palm Coast charter hopes to bounce back from an F, reports the Daytona Beach News Journal.

Teacher evaluations. Senate President Don Gaetz says the new evals may be too complicated and, combined with other big changes in education, could put the system at risk of imploding, reports the Florida Current. Washington Post ed blogger Valerie Strauss uses Gaetz's comments to tee off on Florida ed reform.

More on teacher pay. Gov. Rick Scott's proposal runs up against competing demands, reports the Tampa Bay Times. It "would provide welcome relief" but doesn't make up for "all of the damage this governor has done to public education," writes the Times editorial board. Cash shows respect, writes Times columnist Dan DeWitt. It'll help show teachers are valued, writes the Pensacola News Journal. Give Scott credit for supporting merit pay and across-the-board raises, writes the Daytona Beach News Journal. His commitment needs to be more than a one-time gimmick, writes the Palm Beach Post. A good thing no matter the motivation, writes the Gainesville Sun. Transparent pandering, writes the Panama City News Herald. "Met with skepticism," reports the Tampa Tribune. Lawmakers should be careful about both teacher raises and a proposal to transform the state retirement system, writes the Ocala Star Banner.

Satanists. They like the school prayer bill Scott signed last year. Really. Coverage from Tallahassee Democrat and Associated Press. (more…)