Unionizing charters... maybe not?

We were all sort of shocked a few weeks ago when KIPP AMP and another KIPP school in New York reached out the New York United Federation of Teachers.

Saving (more) Catholic schools

We wrote yesterday in the Gadfly??that??four New York City Catholic schools will be saved by going charter.

Better late than never

I dallied yesterday in announcing the BIG NEWS: Gadfly is (and has been for almost 24 hours) out. (I hope I have not caused you undue pain and suffering in my tardiness.) In the top spot, find??Mike and Checker's advice for Arne.

Targeting for-profit charter schools

Happy birthday, Charles Darwin!

According to this New York Times column, the father of modern biology, who was born 200 years ago today,??would be "pleased,??but not surprised" by the developments in genetics and other fields that have furthered our understanding of evolution and natural selection.

Massachusetts miracle

This letter to the editor is worth reading: To the Editor:

Advice for Arne

Checker and I have some, about how to implement the stimulus package,??in this week's Gadfly. Here's a snippet:

Re: Happy birthday, Charles Darwin!

Americans may be skeptical on evolution, but Darwin would surely not approve of this solution: "Darwinism Must Die So That Evolution May Live."

On the outside looking in

As tough economic times spread from coast to coast, a glance at the evening news offers images of hardship and despair. Down-on-their-luck workers standing in unemployment lines; small businesses shuttered; foreclosure notices on house after house. But here's another sorry sign of the times: more schools slamming doors shut to keep certain children out.

Trends in preschool lead exposure, mental retardation, and scholastic achievement: Association or causation?

Rick Nevin, National Center for Healthy HousingJournal of Environmental ResearchJanuary 2009

Bloomberg bails out Brooklyn's Catholic schools

Will New York's mayor henceforth be known as Michael "Noah" Bloomberg? Perhaps, if the bishop of the Brooklyn diocese, Nicholas DiMarzio, could rename him. DiMarzio recently likened the former financial guru to the Ark's captain for throwing the diocese a "lifeline" after the two agreed on a plan to convert four struggling Catholic schools to charters.

Report Card on American Education: A State-by-State Analysis, 15th Edition

Andrew LeFevreAmerican Legislative Exchange Council2008

Still going strong

In case you were curious about last week's Gadfly email title ("Time to retire"), we are here to assure you: neither we nor Mr. Gadfly are planning to superannuate. Our email server, which tends to have a mind of its own, snipped off the last half of our feature editorial's appellation.

Green valentines

Traditionalists often lament the disappearance of letter-writing, personal notes, and other niceties of a time gone by. But have they ever considered the environmental impact of all that stationery? Ruth Loucks's fourth and fifth graders at Brant Central School in Southwestern Ontario have such matters on their minds.

Million dollar teachers

Calling all recent unemployed college grads! Hundreds (yes, hundreds!) of teachers in the Anne Arundel County, Maryland school district earn over $100,000 per year in salary alone, not to mention extremely generous benefits and a guaranteed pension that can bank as much $2 million buckaroos for a person of normal life expectancy.

More charter school unionization

If the decline of Catholic schools is disturbing trend number one, this is disturbing trend numero dos: highly celebrated and successful charter schools being unionized.

Advice for Arne

At press time, your boss's stimulus package was hurtling toward final passage. We still don't know how much you're getting of what you wanted. But one thing is certain: you're going to have more discretion over more federal dollars than any education secretary in history. Which is not entirely a blessing. Remember the adage, "be careful what you wish for"?

Win one for the Gippar?

Gadfly must have been thinking fondly back to the days of yore when he misspelled the first name of one of our guest editorialists. The Center for American Progress's Mr. Miller spells his first name Raegen not Raegan.

Reform-o-Meter update: The Obama Administration so far

After last week's bursts of Reform-o-Meter ratings, it's been all quiet on the Southwestern (Maryland Avenue) front.

Stimulus deal

Get the minute-by-minute at Education Week's Politics K-12??blog.

Pushing for teacher pension reform

Perhaps the only thing related to K-12 education that Ohio's governor and lawmakers aren't talking about ???????fixing??????? is the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS). Odd, as few things are more outdated and in need of reform than the pension system.

How conservatives can avoid saying 'no'

AEI's Rick Hess (our Gadfly Show co-host) picks up on some themes elaborated at last week's ???Left at the Altar???

A jobs bill worth supporting

Regular Flypaper readers know that I've been skeptical of the stimulus package moving through Congress, at least as it relates to education.

Stand up for yourselves! says Rick

This morning on National Review Online, AEI's Rick Hess urges Republican lawmakers not to roll over when it comes to education spending in the stimulus bill. The package has lots of fat for states and districts but, explains Hess,

Students of the world, unite!

So says Benjamin Berrafato, a fifth grader at??New Lane Memorial Elementary School in Selden, New York. This young man composed an open letter to his classmates recently (reprinted by the New York Daily News, no less) urging them to resist "illegal" homework.

What a difference $1 billion makes

Senate strips some education funding from the stimulus bill

As President Barack Obama might have said, I screwed up on Friday afternoon when I reported that Senate moderates had agree to strip "most" education funding from the bill. There are cuts, to be sure, but??the majority??of the money remains.

I'm in a New Hampshire state of mind

I'm sitting in my downtown Washington office but I'm thinking of snowy trails in the White Mountains. That's because I'm participating in "The Exchange with Laura Knoy," a public radio show out of New Hampshire.

Michelle defends herself?

The lady with a mission has a soft side. This morning's Washington Post featured an editorial from DC Chancellor of Schools herself. I couldn't help but hear a sharply defensive tone throughout and be somewhat mystified by the whole thing.

In support of alternative teacher certification

A new report from the U.S.