This would change high school as we know it. It lets students have more choice. It lets them play to their strengths.

The school board is going to have to make a decision about how to turn these failing schools around.

I really think this is groundbreaking. We’re trying to change the culture of high school.

Sad to say, with few exceptions, the circling vultures are left-leaning women.

and no state income tax.

I did it in Virginia and Minnesota. I don’t think that will be an issue. I think certainly everyone in the nation has been keeping tabs on what Florida is doing over time, and in...

I was asked by Governor Bush. What an honor to be asked to serve under Jeb Bush. Everything Florida is doing is right. You’ve got strong accountability, and you’re closing the achievement gap.

With accountability, … teachers can’t spend time in exercises in political correctness, or fun and games in the classroom. When there’s a more focused academic effort, some of the fluff goes.

We were disappointed to see the numbers so low. There has to be a good-faith effort [by school districts] to implement the program.

God created heavens and the earth … but my personal belief has no bearing on what should be taught in the schools.

We had a limited amount of time to make a big difference, … That’s why we hit the ground running.

The challenge that we face is maintaining the quality of Florida’s teaching force while increasing the quantity. This is a huge challenge.

We’re doing it my way. I’m right.’

What we see from our state university system is no growth. It has remained static over time.

We would prefer that students in the earliest grades have the benefits of a smaller class taught by a qualified teacher, and we are striving to make this happen.

There is no other education model today that can take kids and bring them a minimum of six academic years in four years of education.

Where are the feminists?

But I’d seen what children could do in Virginia, … and I had full confidence that Minnesota educators could add rigor here, too.

How do we keep effective teachers in the classroom and encourage effective teachers to come into the classroom?

[As commissioner, Yecke was a big supporter of the No Child Left Behind law, which requires schools to test students every year and slaps penalties on schools where students don’t meet test score goals.] Right...