Entries tagged 'KIPP'

Wednesday, February 13th, 2008

Obama Smartly Supports Charter Schools

While I’ve been generally unimpressed with all of the major presidential candidates’ (lack of) attention to the issue of education in the primaries, I was happy to see this recent interview with Sen. Barack Obama, in which he said he thinks the federal government should consider funding charter schools in some way.

“I’ve consistently said I think we need to support charter schools,” Obama said. “I think it’s important for us to experiment in terms of how teachers are compensated — working with teachers but looking at how we can reward excellence in classrooms.”

Charter schools are an interesting issue for candidates, as teachers’ unions generally oppose them, saying they take money from district schools. While there’s some merit to that argument, having worked at a KIPP school in Houston, I think charter schools do a ton with very few resources, and deserve some credit for that work.

National education foundations, like Gates and Broad, are finally starting to take notice in a big way. I’m proud to support a candidate who has the guts to take a principled stand and support excellent education for all children.

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Friday, November 23rd, 2007

Let’s Talk About Me

Given that this little blog experiment has just begun, it’s only right that I document a bit about who I am and where I come from.

I’m currently working on the project team for Right To Learn, a campaign to organize California teenagers in improving their schools. The campaign, in its infancy, is sponsored by YouthNoise, a youth development nonprofit based out of San Francisco that operates a social network for socially-conscious young people. While I will surely write more about the campaign in the future, right now we’re focusing our efforts on collecting stories from youth about what needs to change in California schools; take a look at this example.

Right To Learn is my latest experience in the world of urban education and education policy. Before moving to San Francisco to work for YouthNoise, I worked as the assistant principal at KIPP: New Orleans West (NOW) College Prep in Houston, an emergency charter school set up to work with students stranded in Houston after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. NOW was a tremendous experience for me personally and a clear illustration of how all kids can achieve with the proper mix of school design, faculty, staff and hard work.

Rounding out my professional and academic experience, I have also received a fancy degree in Public Policy, during which I focused on education and technology policy. Before that, I spent two years as an elementary school teacher in Houston, easily the most difficult job I’ve ever held.

That’s the professional bio and I’m tired, so more will have to follow.

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