Not content with prodding California to tear down its data fire wall, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is apparently throwing his weight around the fight over whether, and how, to continue mayoral control of New York City’s schools.

And, over at Flypaper, Mike Petrilli takes the temperature of Duncan’s tenure so far: It’s a “warm” on the blog’s trademark Reform-o-meter. Which, sadly, won’t be a regular feature anymore, Mike says.

At Swift & Change Able, Charlie Barone has an interesting update on the implementation of growth models and No Child Left Behind. And if you were wondering why there hasn’t been more talk of NCLB renewal lately, it’s because this and this are sucking up most of the oxygen.

ProPublica has a good take on how the stimulus will help (or not so much) schools in South Carolina and elsewhere.

And, for your feel-good moment-of-the-day, check out Curriculum Matters. (An excuse note from President Barack Obama is probably a lot better than “the dog ate my homework.”) At This Week in Education, Russo has video.