Frank Corcoran, a founding teacher at the KIPP Academy Charter School in the Bronx, was recently honored as a Disney Teacher of the Year. (Thanks to Whitney Tilson for the heads up.) I've peeked in on Frank's math class before: looked like a combination between martial arts and math. You have to see it to understand, but it was unlike any math class I've ever seen. Read about this star teacher here. His resume lists a previous stint in Teach For America (don't they all?) and the fact that he is the "Grand Poobah of the KIPP Algebra Society." (The only blemish The Chalkboard can find is the fact that he got his degree from Notre Dame, which is evil and must be destroyed. Because his kids are performing so well, however, we'll overlook this small problem for now.)

Speaking of KIPP, the Washington Post's Jay Matthews (the best out there in in terms of education writing) has signed a book deal to write about the KIPPsters, and writes this week about a new report tracking the performance of KIPP Nation.