(Sorry, I thought this got posted yesterday ... still learning the system here)
Regarding this new study, [which found that students in New York City Charters outperform students in the broader public system](//www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/01/05/18charter.h29.html?tkn=ZRPFdLyCyDsMimEKQBelDKrazs%2FxtAL34LvX):
-- This should not come as a surprise. One of Joel Klein’s first actions was to lure the highest performing charter operators into New York -- Uncommon Schools, Achievement First and KIPP. In some cases, the bait was $1 a year leases in existing public schools. Not all charters are alike. These three spun off excellent schools. I like to compare New York to Chicago, which leaned toward the home grown charter approach. When it came to charters, Klein proved to be shrewder than Arne Duncan, especially after considering that the presence of these elite charters in New York led to creation of Teacher U, a win-win for both charters and regular public schools.
-- These schools are great for boys because they refuse to let any student slip behind, especially in literacy skills. For my book, Why Boys Fail, I tracked boys through two high performing charters, Excellence Boys Charter School in Bed-Stuy and the Kipp DC: Key Academy in Washington. Excellence of one of the best schools I’ve visited anywhere. At the Key Academy, boys end up doing as well as girls in literacy -- despite entering KIPP school behind the girls.