Florida's statewide teachers union discouraged local affiliates from endorsing the state's application for up to $700 million in federal stimulus grant money that would require the adoption of merit pay plans. ...more

December 20, 2009

Florida is linking its application for $700 million in federal education grant money to the adoption of local merit pay plans, which have been unpopular among teachers in the past although that could be changing. ...more

December 12, 2009

Here in Hillsborough County our school district is entering into a bold, long-term partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop new ways to improve teaching. Our ultimate goal is to dramatically increase student achievement, raise graduation rates and ensure college and career readiness. The way to do that is to ensure that our teachers are adept, inspired and have the support they need. ...more

December 10, 2009

The real secretary of education, the joke goes, is Bill Gates. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been the biggest player by far in the school reform movement, spending about $200 million a year on grants to elementary and secondary education. ...more

November 1, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) — The real secretary of education, the joke goes, is Bill Gates. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been the biggest player by far in the school reform movement, spending around $200 million a year on grants to elementary and secondary education. ...more

October 26, 2009

President Barack Obama embraced merit pay for teachers Tuesday in spelling out a vision of education that will almost certainly alienate union backers. ...more

March 10, 2009

Barack Obama picked Arne Duncan, CEO of Chicago public schools, as his man to be Secretary of Education. ...more

January 14, 2009

Mr. Gries and Mr. Embarquer: Your responses to my questions signified to me that you both ought to be skating for the "Holiday on Ice" team. You both skated around my questions exquisitely. ...more

December 16, 2008

How Do We Properly Educated Our Children? Mr. Gries' letter defending his wife and the teaching community was a perfect example of the meaning of my letter to the editor! Forget the kids, save my wife. ...more

December 7, 2008

As in many other areas, the biggest education debates are happening within the Democratic Party. On the one hand, there are the reformers like Joel Klein and Michelle Rhee, who support merit pay for good teachers, charter schools and tough accountability standards. On the other hand, there are the teachers' unions and the members of the Ed School establishment, who emphasize greater funding, smaller class sizes and superficial reforms. ...more

December 7, 2008