Florida finally is first in something education related.

This year, it has the most teachers newly certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. The 1,675 teachers who successfully completed the rigorous program bring Florida's total to 10,875, second only to North Carolina.

Florida also had 11 of the nation's top 20 districts when it comes to new National Board certified teachers. They include Hillsborough, sixth with 131, and Pinellas, thirteenth with 65. Pasco wasn't far behind, adding 35 teachers to its group.

Broward has more National Board certified teachers, 1,283, than any other district in the country.

"The basis of a quality education begins with the teacher in the classroom," Gov. Charlie Crist said in a news release. "As we grow the number of National Board Certified Teachers, more students will have access to quality teaching and learning."

There's still some dispute over whether teachers who have this certification get any better results from their students than those who don't. But there's no real dispute as to why they seek it - a combination of self-improvement and a state-offered bonus.

To read the press release, click here. Lists of teachers should be available later today.

UPDATE: To see the list of Hillsborough teachers, click here. To see the list of Pasco teachers, click here.