Mini-Grants Available to  

PEN of Florida Members  

Each year, PEN awards several deserving teachers with a mini-grant.  These mini-grants help fund classroom projects, professional development opportunities and funding with classroom materials and supplies.   

Applying for a mini-grant is easy.  Just click here to learn more about how to become PEN's next mini-grant recipient.  

The following mini-grants were awarded to teachers this year.  

Marino Nardelli - Brevard County -  

Quest Elementary  - $274.88

Heather Sotolongo - Polk County -  

Purcell Elementary - $299.69

Nicole Pasqualitti - Polk County-  

Laurel Elementary - $298.98

Jeff Wax - Polk County -  

Auburndale High - $99.99

BY KATHLEEN HAUGHNEY THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

The chairman of the Senate's education committee is setting the stage for a lengthy debate over teacher pay by inviting former D.C. public schools chancellor Michelle Rhee to testify before his committee next week.

State Sen. Steve Wise, R-Jacksonville, who filed legislation late Monday that would partially base teacher salary bumps on test scores and allow school boards to put new hires on one-year contracts, has invited Rhee to appear before the Senate PreK-12 Education Committee to talk about her experience in trying to change teacher tenure and pay in the Washington public schools in an effort to boost student test scores.

"I'm interested in hearing from her," Wise said, noting that unlike him, Rhee is a Democrat. "It's kind of interesting because kids -- I don't think the kids are Republican or Democrat. They're just kids."

New merit pay bill filed in Senate

Florida teachers would be judged on their students' growth on standardized tests, and new teachers would be paid based on that test-score data as part of a new merit pay bill filed Monday in the Florida Senate.

Sen. Steve Wise, R-Jacksonville, chairman of the Senate's education committee, filed the "Race to the Top for Student Success" bill.

It is the first merit pay bill filed for the 2011 Florida Legislature session but is similar to plans floated in the past few months by both the Florida Education Department and an education advocacy group.

Continue reading this Orlando Sentinel article here.