The (mis)education of america, part 2

Last we spoke on this subject, I had discussed the Teacher Salary Project, part of the 'GOOD 1oo' a collection of exciting innovative ideas. Today I'd like to delve into another Green Abalone on their list, KIPP charter schools. 

Before we start, pop quiz: 

Q: What if we lived in a country where we prided ourselves at being the biggest and the best, of living under one notion that there should be liberty and justice for all, but yet still less than 20% of the low-income students will attend college? How would you fix that problem?

A: Kipp Charter Schools. 

KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) was founded by two Teach for America alumni, Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin. The schools serve over 20,000 under represented minority students from around the country. 

They don't have a secret sauce, they don't use fancy programs, expensive state of the art equipment, they use something simple and powerful: Teaching. Mike Feinberg says it all: "The only reason we get better results is great teaching and more of it. There's really nothing going on that is magical or special. We make a commitment to excellence and a promise to our children, and a promise to children is a sacred thing." 

So in the light of the Race to the Top, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that involves more money than the U.S. Department of Education has spent on education reform in the past 29 years combined, let's put the money to where it counts. Get good teachers, pay them an appropriate salary, and make promises to the kids.