No Charlie

Posted Aug 24, 2010 by Sherri Ackerman

Updated Aug 24, 2010 at 11:00 PM

Gov. Crist’s office says he won’t make it to a Pinellas school today afterall to make the big announcement about Florida winning the Race to The Top grant.

The Sunshine State will receive $700 million during the next four years as a reward for putting in place education reforms that ultimately increase high school graduation rates nationwide.

Pinellas County schools Superintendent Julie Janssen says her district is still pulling together a plan that includes a pay-per-performance system for teachers and improved data collections. During Round One of the Race to The Top competition, Pinellas stood to receive $16 million to $20 million, Janssen said. She’s hoping for as much this time around - if her district is among the lucky ones chosen.

The state will keep 50 percent of the winnings at the state level and allow school districts to compete for the rest.

Hillsborough may have an edge. The district has already begun reforms thanks to a $100 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. New teacher evaluations will be based, in part, on student performance, but also on observations from principals and new teacher mentors and peers. A new pay scale is in the works, too, part of a seven-year plan to overhaul education.

Again, the goal is to make our students more successful.