Most districts sign on to Race to TopBut teachers' union calls it a 'minefield'By Leslie Postal, Orlando SentinelFifty nine of Florida's 67 school districts will try to take part in the controversial Race to the Top reform program, though most of their local teachers unions are not committed to doing the same.
The lack of union support could hurt Florida's chances of winning a grant in the competitive, $4.35 billion federal program. But Education Commissioner Eric Smith said Wednesday he was pleased so many districts signed on to Florida's application and was optimistic more union support would follow.
By the late-night Tuesday deadline, all Central Florida districts but Seminole County's had sent in their required grant paperwork. None of them included a union signature on their memos, however.Read more
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Florida ranks eighth in new education report
Education Weekly's "Quality Counts" ranking surprises critics, who say it can be misleading
By Denise-Marie Balona, Orlando Sentinel
Florida public schools rank 8th in the nation - a huge leap from 31st just three years ago - in Education Week magazine's annual "Quality Counts" report released today.
The news surprised some education officials and parents - in some cases even more so than when the publication announced last year that Florida had made it into the nation's top 10.
Each year, Education Week puts together a state-by-state report card rating public-education systems in such areas as student achievement, academic standards, teachers and financing. The report uses available national data as recent as 2009 and as far back as 2000.
Overall, Florida earned a B-minus.
The Sunshine State jumped into the No. 7 spot in student achievement. That rating recognized that test scores have improved in Florida and that the state is closing the achievement gap between impoverished children and their more fortunate peers.
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