Science: The next generation of scientists and inventors compete in the Thomas Alva Edison Kiwanis Science and Engineering and Inventors fairs, joining about 700 other Southwest Florida students. Fort Myers News-Press. The Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa helps teach students about science, engineering, art, technology and math through a new STEAMpunk program. Tampa Bay Times.

Conflict?: Rep. Manny Diaz, R-Hialeah, has been named dean of new private university run by the state’s largest for-profit charter school management firm - and, at the same time, leads the charge for a proposed bill that looks at streamlining the charter application process. Miami Herald. More from the Associated Press.

School choice: A Palm Beach County school board members wants the district to allow all students to apply to attend almost any school they want, regardless of where they live. Palm Beach Post. Education is no longer one size fits all, writes Florida Virtual School teacher Esilda Ross for the Pensacola News-Journal. 1.5 million students in Florida last year attended something other than their assigned neighborhood school. That’s 42 of every 100 students in PreK-12. redefinED. The best solution to our nation's failing education system is empowering parents, writes former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush for the National Review.

Education budget: Florida Gov. Rick Scott asks state legislators to boost spending on public schools this fall by $542 million. Associated Press.

Common Core: Educators are wrong to pretend that Common Core State Standards are not coming to schools, writes the Palm Beach Post. We’re pretty much talking about the same standards, writes the Fort Myers News-Press.

Teaching: Those hoping to teach in Florida schools will face a tougher road to the classroom in March when increased passing certification scores go into effect. The Ledger. More from the Associated Press. Special needs teachers aides are among the lowest paid and have few requirements beyond a high school diploma and the passage of a math and reading assessment, finds a Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers investigation. TC Palm. Hernando teachers urge school board members to act on raises. Tampa Bay Times. Three Pasco teachers vie for educator of the year. The Tampa Tribune.

Creationism: According to Slate, 164 private schools that accept the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship teach creationism.

Standardized tests: Let's hear some solutions from the anti-test crowd, writes Beth Kassab for the Orlando Sentinel. (more…)

Traditional schools: Broward County revamps several struggling schools and sees a boost in technology use and enrollment. Sun Sentinel. Duval's superintendent tells residents that approval of a bond issue could result in students of the highest-poverty schools gaining wireless Internet and greater access to laptops and computers. Florida Times-Union. Five struggling schools in Pinellas County have made significant improvements during the year, the state Department of Education says, but they still aren't up to par. The Tampa Tribune. Hillsborough's schools security chief retires. The Tampa Tribune. Hernando County schools prioritize spending. Tampa Bay Times. Manatee County elementary students learn about energy conservation through a traveling theater program. Bradenton Herald.

Magnet schools: A Broward County middle school starts a pre-law program next school year that will offer a class to teach students how to argue. Sun Sentinel.

STEM: Students from Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties compete in a Lego robotics contest. Palm Beach Post. 

Common Core: The Department of Education's effort to rename the Common Core State Standards does little to end Florida's education debate. Miami Herald. Teachers and principals adjust to the state's continual educational changes. Tampa Bay Times. The proposal deserves a fair hearing next month, writes the Tampa Bay Times.

MLK Day: Meet the man who helped integrate Sarasota High School. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Desegregation occurred slowly in Sarasota County. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Blake High student prepares to recite "I Have a Dream'' speech. The Tampa Tribune.

Smart Cities: Tom Vander Ark names Miami as one of the Smart Cities in his blog series that looks at what communities are doing right to improve education. Getting Smart.

Zero tolerance: New federal school-discipline guidelines for school districts released this month are desperately needed — and school districts must take the voluntary advice to heart, writes Darryl E. Owens for the Orlando Sentinel. (more…)

Single gender: StateImpact Florida talks to the principal of an all-girls public school in Hillsborough County.

Vouchers: From the Gradebook blog: A husband and wife whose private Milwaukee voucher school abruptly closes last month move to Florida and open a new school in Daytona Beach. Journal Sentinel.

Pay raises: About 2,000 Palm Beach County administrators and other nonunion school employees will receive raises this year. Sun Sentinel. More from the Palm Beach Post.

Teachers: Orange County's Dorina Sackman is recognized as one of the best teachers in the nation. Orlando Sentinel. Five teachers are up for suspension in Hillsborough County for performance reasons. Tampa Bay Times.

Restructuring: Hernando County schools superintendent Lori Romano will soon submit a proposal to restructure the district's administration. Tampa Bay Times.

Say no: Inspired by his loved ones' struggles with drug addiction, a Cooper City middleschooler wins a national contest to dress up his home with a drug-free message. Sun Sentinel.

School audits: An independent auditor finds problems in bookkeeping practices at 98 percent of Polk County schools reviewed last school year. The Ledger. (more…)

Magnet schools: A new Polk County policy guarantees current students at Winston Elementary a spot next year at the magnet school, Winston Academy of Engineering. The Ledger.

Digital learning: The Hillsborough County School Board moves closer to allowing students to use their own Internet devices while at school. Tampa Bay Times. More from The Tampa Tribune.

School choice: With a marketing campaign and several new middle school options, Pinellas County schools see a dramatic increase in the number of students applying for choice programs. Tampa Bay Times.

Private schools: Tampa's Jesuit High is ranked No. 1 among all boys athletic programs in Class 5A as the Florida High School Athletics Association's Academic Team Champion. The Tampa Tribune. Tampa's Hillel Academy students create their own tech projects. The Tampa Tribune.

Common Core: Will Florida continue to be part of the Common Core initiative? The answer isn't clear. The Gradebook. Florida Department of Ed officials propose changes to the standards, from requiring fourth-graders to master cursive writing to re-codifying learning requirements for calculus. Tallahassee Democrat. Many questions focus on copyright issues and the so-called “15 percent” rule for adding changes to the standards. StateImpact Florida. More from The Florida Current.

Class size: The penalties may soon be less severe for school districts that fail to meet state-mandated class-size limits. The Buzz. The Broward school district expects to pay a $200,000 penalty for not meeting the caps, even after the state allowed schoolwide averages for magnet schools. Sun Sentinel.

STEM: Educators from across the country visit a Sarasota County school STEM program. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (more…)

Charter schools: The Legislature considers proposals that would make it easier for the nontraditional public schools to open and provide more oversight. Sun Sentinel. Renaissance Charter Inc., one of the largest charter school operators in the country, is growing in North Florida despite a mixed record of achievement. Florida Times-Union. Lawmakers look at changes to the charter school process, including state review of applications. The Tampa Tribune.

Magnet schools: Turning three Polk County schools into magnet schools next fall leaves some students traveling farther to a new school. The Ledger.

Same-sex schools: WLRN in Miami looks at the latest legislative proposal to create more single-gender classrooms in Florida.

Teachers: In a year when Florida's public school teachers are getting substantial raises, substitutes will see no bump in their paychecks. Orlando Sentinel.

School safety: St. Lucie County School District students will see new deputies in their schools, thanks to a national grant allowing the school resource officer program to expand. TC Palm. School mental health workers grapple with the best way to offer students such services in a patchwork, underfunded system. Daytona Beach News-Journal.

Common Core: Republican Party of Florida activists vote  to oppose the Common Core education standards in a sign of growing anger over the national school benchmarks. News Service of Florida. Gov. Rick Scott says the state will unveil its revisions to the standards next week. News Service of Florida. More from The Florida Current.

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Charter schools: A Florida House subcommittee looks at having the state Department of Education review charter applications before they go to the districts for approval. redefinED.  More from The Buzz.  Lawmakers also talk about possible legislation looking at allowing charter schools access to underutilized district buildings. Herald/Times. The draft bill may help ease the way for out-of-state charter groups that want to open high-performing schools in Florida. Tampa Bay Times.

Digital learning: Miami-Dade County school district plans to roll out 100,000 laptops and tablets to students by August 2015. Miami Herald. K12 Inc. focuses on expanding and using technology-based learning programs from pre-kindergarten through college on a global basis. Businessweek.

Homeschooling: Palm Beach County homeschoolers participate in National Geographic Bee. Sun Sentinel.

School construction: Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam will launch a statewide awareness campaign next week to create a new revenue source for construction and renovations at schools, colleges and universities. The Buzz.

Petition: Civil rights groups target Florida with a petition drive and grassroots movement to overturn the state's race-based educational achievement goals. Reuters.

Common Core: Cursive writing could survive in Florida schools after all, thanks to newly implemented education standards. Sun Sentinel. Students in Hillsborough County schools will field test the multi-state Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers test this year, despite state leaders rejecting the exam. StateImpact Florida.

Extended day: A new state report finds that a majority of selected schools that added an extra hour of reading instruction in 2012-13 showed improvement. Tampa Bay Times.

Teachers: The Education Foundation - Champions for Learning names its 25 Teachers of Distinction in Collier County. Naples Daily News. State funding helps Polk public schools and USF put on a two-day training program to entice minority and male college students to become local elementary teachers. The Ledger.

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Charter schools: A tumultuous year for Pembroke Pines charter schools leaves the system on rocky ground and facing major challenges in the new year. Sun Sentinel. South Tech Academy's first Rock and Roll Academy class in Broward County is learning the music business and building self-confidence. Sun Sentinel. Golden Gate Scientific Leadership Academy in Polk County is appealing the school board's denial of its charter. The Ledger. Five years ago, there were seven charter schools in Pinellas County. Now, there are 23 charters that have been approved by the school board. Tampa Bay Times.

Dual enrollment: Some seniors at Lely High in Collier County are logging in college credits and flight time through a dual-enrollment program with Emory-Riddle Aeronautical University. Naples Daily News.

District schools: The wife of Duval County's schools superintendent makes her own mark on educational and human rights issues. Jacksonville Times-Union. During the winter break, Santa Rosa students are grappling with the murder of one teacher, her son charged in the slaying and another student gunned down by police. Pensacola News Journal. For four years, the Hillsborough County school district has been the subject of a federal review of its sexual harassment practices. Tampa Bay Times.

Lobbyists: A lobbyist who until recently represented a host of charter-school organizations is hired to do political work for the Senate’s top education budget-writer. Florida Times-Union.

School boards: Rodney Jones, an official at State College of Florida, files to run for the Manatee County School Board. Bradenton Herald. More from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Education matters: Accountability looms large in the New Year. Tampa Bay Times. More from StateImpact Florida.

Early learning: The Lew Williams Center for Early Learning in Pinellas County is on track to open in August. Tampa Bay Times.

Schoolhouse: Hernando Historical Museum Association members break ground on a one-room schoolhouse in Brooksville. Tampa Bay Times.

School choice: Pinellas County schools Superintendent Mike Grego pushes to expand educational opportunities to woo back parents and students. Tampa Bay Times.

Magnet schools: A Polk County middle school for the arts class tries seating kids on bouncy exercise balls instead of a traditional desk and chair to help them focus better. The Ledger. 

Private schools: Academy of the Holy Names in Tampa invests in technology to foster better collaboration and critical thinking among students. Tampa Bay Times.

Certificates of Completion: The not-quite-a-diploma certificate cripples career opportunities, writes the Fort Myers News-Press. Hillsborough County students look to the ACT to get their diplomas. Tampa Bay Times.

Common Core: The new education standards, state grades and teacher evaluations and pay are among the education issues to watch for in 2014. StateImpact Florida.

School funding: The Palm Beach County School District should lobby legislators to restore the 50-cent millage rate, writes Rick Christie for the Palm Beach Post.

Teacher evals: The TC Palm looks at the state's new system of rating teachers. (more…)

Dual enrollment: Florida school superintendents want to convince the Legislature to stop charging school districts tuition and other state college costs for dual-enrollment students. Tampa Bay Times.

Virtual school: Florida Virtual School's full-time high school was two points away from earning an A this year, netting a B the first time the online school qualified for a grade under Florida's annual A-to-F report card. Orlando Sentinel.

Charter schools: Hillsborough school officials meet to discuss options to head off a charter school on MacDill Air Force Base. The Tampa Tribune.

School grades: Schools superintendents for Escambia and Santa Rosa counties are among those weighing in on Florida’s current accountability system before the state’s education commissioner. Pensacola News-Journal.

School safety: Leon County teachers and district officials seek to end rumors about school violence. Tallahassee Democrat.

Teacher pay: The hearing that may resolve the impasse between the Orange County teachers union and district over raises gets off to a rocky start. Orlando Sentinel.

Class size: All Central Florida traditional public schools met the state's class-size rules this year. Orlando Sentinel.

After school: The Salvation Army of Naples acquires 3 acres on Airport-Pulling Road South for a new youth center and gymnasium to provide at-risk children with a safe after-school environment. Naples Daily News.

School calendar: The Pasco County School Board signs off on next school year's calendar, which includes the entire week off for Thanksgiving. The Tampa Tribune.

Lawsuit: The Lake County School Board faces a federal lawsuit again accusing the district of violating students' freedom of speech and federal rights by not allowing a middle-schooler to start a gay-straight club. Orlando Sentinel.

Conduct: A Tampa police school resource officer who had sex at least eight times over nearly two months with a teenage student is arrested and fired. Tampa Bay Times.

Charter schools: The Hillsborough school district should expand its elementary on MacDill Air Force Base to accommodate middlerschoolers, and satisfy needs of a growing military population, writes Dan Ruth for the Tampa Bay Times. Leaders of The Schools of McKeel Academy say they do not need to rush into hiring a new superintendent. The Ledger. Officials with the JAX Chamber make an agreement with the Duval County school district to help find paid internships to high school juniors and seniors. Florida Times-Union.

Magnet schools: Pinellas school board gives its initial approval to a district plan to reopen two shuttered schools as technology magnets. Tampa Bay Times.

Digital learning: Students at two Orange County elementary schools will begin toting their own laptops and tablets to school in January as the district tries out a "Bring Your Own Device" program. Orlando Sentinel. Collier County's implementation of Bring Your Own Device has been deemed a success by administrators. But some parents still are resisting the move. Naples Daily News.

IB: Another Sarasota County high school will offer an International Baccalaureate diploma program. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

District schools: Manatee County looks to streamline its operations. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

School safety: A year after 20 children and six adults were murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., Central Florida school districts say their heightened security efforts have become the new normal. Orlando Sentinel.  Rhema Thompson honors those who lost their lives at Sandy Hook by remembering the "acts of love by individuals in our community.'' Pensacola News-Journal.

Audits: The latest review of Manatee County school district's finances turns up more problems. Bradenton Herald.

Tony Bennett: ACT hires former Florida education commissioner Tony Bennett as a consultant for the new test tied to Common Core standards the company is developing. Education Week.

Student arrests: Pinellas school officials follow their Broward counterparts and look at a new policy that results in fewer students getting arrested. The Tampa Tribune.

Teacher awards: Pinellas County Schools announces 10 finalists for the annual teacher of the year award. Tampa Bay Times.

Teacher raises: The Palm Beach County School District and its teachers finally reach a tentative agreement to give teachers raises averaging about $2,200 this year. Palm Beach Post.

Conduct: A Santa Rosa County high school is arrested for bringing a toy handgun on campus that leads to a lockdown. Pensacola News-Journal. A Lee County middle school student is suspended after another student reports that he touched her inappropriately. Fort Myers News-Press. A Manatee County substitute teacher is arrested after he allegedly grabbed a student and dragged him out of a classroom. Bradenton Herald.