All Florida Teachers to Get Laptops

Governor Bush of Florida announced a new plan yesterday for recruiting and retaining teachers for Florida schools. No, the name of the campaign is NOT "7 Hurricanes in 2 years? What are the chances that will happen again?" but will attempt to attract and retain teachers by providing financial incentives, beefing up the education offerings at state colleges and universities, and an ambitious plan to spend $188 million on laptop computers for every teacher in the state. Tied to those computers will be some new tools for accessing student information and records and new systems that will make it easier for teachers to work electronically.

It's a bold step into the 21st century for a state that has been funding education with a decidedly 1950's mentality for far too long. The Governor's proposal has a long way to go in obtaining legislative approval, but it appears that the funding sources are in place and that in the near future teachers will have some important new tools for getting their work done.

Read the full press release here.