When you begin to do things that raise the achievement of the poorest and disenfranchised students, you may not always get applause. You need to be ready for that.

I am trying to paint a picture of hope. They have always been a teacher whether they realize it or not.

I have never encountered any children in any group who are not geniuses. There is no mystery on how to teach them. The first thing you do is treat them like human beings and the second thing you do is love them.

We have certain standards that are mandated that students have to reach certain levels of achievement to go on to the next grade.

That's driven by the recognition that research says that the most important factor in students' achievement is the effectiveness of the teacher.

Students today are a pretty solemn lot. One of the really notable achievements of the twentieth century has been to make the young old before their time.