Chapter 2: A Smart Start Strategy for School Reform

No democratic responsibility is more sacred than the care of the young. The nurturing, protection and education of our youth has been advocated by every serious American thinker from Thomas Jefferson to Frederick Douglas to Horace Mann to W.E.B. Dubois to John Dewey to Mary McLeod Bethune to John Gardner to James Nabrit. All who fought in the civil rights movement agreed that better education for all American children was the key to a far better American future. When I sought the chairmanship of the DC City Council Education Committee, I did so because I knew that in our city we had betrayed the best hopes of those who had struggled for that American future. My visits to schools and growing understanding of the realities of public education led me to one stark conclusion: That our current system is not just dysfunctional, it is utterly broken. Yes, many parts excel. Many of its teachers and professionals are deeply committed. But as a system, public education is not working in America.