Straight Up Conversation: New Fla. Commissioner Tony Bennett
by Frederick M. Hess • Dec 14, 2012 at 8:55 am
Cross-posted from Education Week
Cross-posted from Education Week
The alternative headline here would've been, "Denver Got P. Manning, Florida Gets T. Bennett." After all, it's been a tough year for Indiana; they keep shipping homegrown stars elsewhere. This spring, the Indianapolis Colts cut ties with all-world quarterback Peyton Manning, with the Denver Broncos outbidding several other franchises for his services. Last month, Indiana's voters turned out an iconic school reformer, state superintendent Tony Bennett, setting off another, though less glamorous, scrum. Indiana's loss turned out to be Florida's gain, as the State Board voted unanimously Wednesday to select Bennett as Florida's new education commissioner.
Bennett moves to a big state with an outsized reputation when it comes to education reform, but one that's been struggling to keep a strong state commissioner in place amidst concerns about politics and relations with the governor and the State Board of Education. Florida is also wrestling to implement Senate Bill 736, the nation's most radical effort to overhaul teacher evaluation, tenure, and pay. It's going to be messy because, while 736 got some big things right, it also got some big things really wrong. Florida is also where school reform icon Jeb Bush built his reputation and based his massively influential foundation, and it's no
