2008: Year in review

Greg Toppo takes a look back at education in 2008 in this morning's USA Today.

Last post of 2008 - Happy New Year!

In case you're perusing Flypaper to gather some interesting, timely info with which to wow fellow party-goers tonight?????? here are two interesting AP stories involving funding and schools:

Weighted student funding in Indiana?

An op-ed in today's Indianapolis Star??argues for a statewide weighted student funding (WSF) system to deal with the state's budget challenges.

NY: overfunding schools about to close

I feel like we've turned reporting on the shenanigans in the Big Apple into a weekly event. The latest? Overfunding schools that are slated to close in 2010.

Bennett interviews Checker

Fordham President Checker Finn discusses Fordham's Open Letter,??new research, school funding, and more Bill Bennett's Morning in America??radio show this morning, December 30.

More support for D.C. charter schools

In response to the Washington Post's unfair article about a pseudo-scandal at the D.C.

A $250 billion federal bailout for the schools?

No, that's not a typo.

President Bush, the hall monitor for the civil rights lobby

Rick Hess and I have a piece on National Review Online today about President Bush's education legacy. I guess you might say it's not really in the Christmas spirit. We argue that Bush??sold out??his principles when negotiating the No Child Left Behind act:

Eduwonk Andy misses a chance to claim victory

Andy Rotherham, the go-to New Dem on education for the better part of the last decade, doesn't seem to grasp the opportunity at his fingertips.

PA's teacher strike problem

According to an op-ed in this morning's Wall Street Journal, Pennsylvania has the highest incidence of teacher strikes in the country.

NOLA--50% charter and growing?

Usually school districts see themselves as competing with charter schools for students. Not the Recovery School District. Superintendent Paul Vallas plans on increasing the market share of charters in New Orleans by converting more schools to charter schools.

The Post makes amends

We lambasted WaPo last week for its inappropriate and overly harsh treatment of DC Charter School Board Chairman Tom N

Re: The Post makes amends

This weekend the Post also published a letter of support from D.C. Public Charter School Board member Will Marshall, whose day job is president of the Progressive Policy Institute.

Arne the secretary: A holiday song from Fordham

Today's announcement about "common state standards" an important milestone

They said it was an impossible dream.

NY may cut funds for private schools

Governor Patterson has proposed cutting nearly $88 million over two years in aid to private independent and parochial schools.

Reading Arne Duncan's tea leaves

What's the cosmic significance of the Arne Duncan pick???The Wall Street??Journal's Gerald Seib, channeling Checker, says that it proves President-Elect Obama's pragmatism:

Common standards a laudable goal, but watch for perils

Leaders here at Fordham praised the report Benchmarking for Success: Ensuring U.S. Students Receive a World-Class Education, released today by The National Governors Association, Council of Chief State School Officers and Achieve, Inc.

Mo' money, mo' problems

In light of this morning's release of Fordham's open letter, this article from Tuesday's NY Times seemed all the mo

The 'Fly is here

Sad news: the 'Fly is flying home for the holidays--and will remain out of your inboxes for two whole weeks! It's tough, we know, but that's why we made this week's edition such a humdinger.

21st century skills have been around for at least 21 centuries

That's one of the great points in this strong U.S. News and World Report piece by Eduwonk Andy Rotherham.

Introducing "Reform Realism"

Now that there's a Secretary-Designate for the Department of Education, we at Fordham are ready with some advice for him.

Holiday gifts for astute Flypaper readers

Surely you already know that Bethany Little was the uber-insider that first put bi

Sayonara SES and choice?

The one part of our "open letter" to the incoming Administration and Congress that seems to be surprising folks the most is our call to eliminate No Child Left Behind's public school choice and supplemental educational services (tutoring) provisions. Yes, this proposal is counter-intuitive.

Video: Mike explains education "Reform Realism"

Malicious muckraking

Shame on the Washington Post. A recent barrage of charter school coverage by said paper, including a front page story brazenly entitled "Public Role, Private Gain," has wrongly raked a civic minded business man over the metaphoric coals. He's Thomas A.

A holy plea

As the year of Catholic schools draws to a close, Rev. Donald Wuerl, archbishop of Washington, weighs in on the challenges facing inner-city Catholic schools. His take is noteworthy because only last year he shocked the Catholic community by announcing that seven D.C.

'Tis the season

A substitute teacher in Britain has landed on Santa's naughty list this year. Annoyed by her youngsters' rowdy excitement over the fat man's impending arrival, the teacher blurted out to the class: "It's your parents who leave presents on Christmas Day!" Imagine the instant transformation: pure glee to pitiful heartbreak.

Fourth and long

Here's a hypothetical that's sure to alarm a San Diego Chargers fan: What if Ryan Leaf had been granted tenure?