Earlier this year, when a lawsuit by the Florida Times-Union forced the release of evaluation data for thousands of Florida teachers, Daniel Woodring saw an opportunity.

The release of value-added model, or VAM, scores meant that for the first time, the public had access to a trove of quantitative data on the effectiveness of teachers all over the state.

Woodring, a Tallahassee attorney whose clients include charter schools, used the data to create a website, myflteacher.com.

The site uses the unprecedented release of data to help people find the most highly rated teachers. Woodring (who also provides legal counsel to Step Up For Students, which co-hosts this blog) hopes the data could also change the way charter schools recruit top teachers.

Parents can search the site by school to see which teachers are among the top 30 percent. But the more intriguing aspect of the project may be the password-protected area for charter schools, where they can log in and find the top teachers in surrounding schools.

The idea is charter schools could search the data for top teachers in their area. Since they are not unionized and not bound by collectively bargained salary schedules, charters could, in theory, look up the teachers with the highest ratings in the database and offer higher salaries to lure them to their schools. (more…)

Tax credit scholarships. The Tampa Tribune comes down in favor of the expansion bill. The testing issue for tax credit scholarships is complicated. Gradebook. As she has many times before, Jacksonville's Julie Delegal says valid comparisons to public school students can't be made when tax credit scholarship students take similar but not the same standardized tests. Florida Today. GTN TV does a story on the bill. So does Watchdog.org. News Service of Florida asks Gov. Rick Scott about what he said last year regarding scholarship students and testing. (The scholarship program is administered by Step Up For Students, which co-hosts this blog.)

Charter schools. A Q&A with the new principal of the University Prep charter school in St. Petersburg. Tampa Bay Times. WMNF's "Urban Cafe" show interview the principal of Seminole Heights High School, a charter school for 16- to 21-year-old males who want a "fresh chance" at earning a high school diploma. (Starts about the 8 minute mark.) A Palm Beach County School Board member suggests a multi-million dollar marketing campaign to stem the tide of students leaving for charter schools. Palm Beach Post.

Common Core. Despite claims, many textbooks are NOT aligned to Common Core. Tampa Bay Times. Common Core standards are in use in art classes, too. Tampa Tribune. How the Common Core rollout is going in Florida middle schools. StateImpact Florida.

Pre-K. Kids who participate are more ready for kindergarten than those who don't. School Zone.

School choice.  Parents, choose carefully. Tampa Bay Times. Probably better, for now, that the Palm Beach County school district expand its existing choice programs rather than go to "full" district choice. Palm Beach Post.

Parents. They must be challenged to help, early and often. Pensacola News Journal.

Accountability. EdWeek logs in Sen. Bill Montford's "pause" bill.

Teacher evals. VAM scores could lead to unfair ratings. Florida Times Union. The state should chuck its eval system and let districts come up with something better. Tampa Bay Times.

Testing. Some teachers didn't appreciate the ed commish's letter on testing for special needs students. Gradebook. Conflict between FCAT and Passover. Gainesville Sun. (more…)

Tax credit scholarships. The Orlando Sentinel editorializes against the proposed expansion, largely using the editorial written by its sister paper, the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Tampa Bay Times columnist John Romano calls it a continuation of the "systematic decimation of Florida public schools." The Tampa Tribune gives it a thumbs up, writing: "Supporting school choice is a smart policy that by no means diminishes the Legislature’s responsibility to adequately fund public schools, which will remain the first choice of most families." (Full disclosure: the program is administered by Step Up For Students, which co-hosts this blog.)

School choice. In an Associated Press rundown of Florida education legislation this year, the Florida PTA takes aim at bills to expand charter schools and tax credit scholarships, saying they amount to "chunks being broken away from our public school system."

Charter schools. The Orange and Seminole school districts consider whether to continue to try and fight the opening of four proposed Charter Schools USA schools in their districts. Orlando Sentinel. Broward Superintendent Robert Runcie ushers in a "new era of collaboration and cooperation" with charter schools. Education Week.

Catholic schools. Several schools in the Diocese of Venice system are looking for new principals. Fort Myers News Press.

School grades. Pasco Superintendent Kurt Browning pitches a more complicated system, not a simpler one. Gradebook.

School boards. Gov. Rick Scott fills a vacancy on the Broward board. Miami Herald. South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Superintendents. Interim super Hershel Lyons throws his hat in to the ring for the Alachua opening. Gainesville Sun.

Legislature. The Sarasota Herald Tribune highlights the major ed issues for the session that starts Tuesday. In their roundups, the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times erroneously report (as other outlets have in recent weeks) that lawmakers are for the first time proposing that tax credit scholarship students take standardized tests. (They've been required by law since 2006 to take state-approved standardized tests.) (more…)