Key to Educational Reform: Great Teachers
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New York Times op-ed columnist Bob Herbert takes a look at the tremendous success Deborah Kenny has had establishing charter schools in Harlem. One of the primary keys to her success, he points out, is her commitment to find great teachers, and the conscious decision to not just 'teach to the test.'
While program elements such as curriculum, class size and the length of the school day are important, "If you had an amazing teacher who was talented and passionate and given the freedom and support to teach well ... that was just 100 times more important than anything else,” Kenny tells the Times.
So far, Kenny has started two middles schools and one high school, collectively known as the Harlem Village Academies, and is well on her way to establishing three elementary schools.
Against all odds, her track record is an inspiration:
The majority of the youngsters come into the middle schools performing at three to four years behind their grade levels. Within a very short time, they are on the fast track toward college. In 2008, when the math and science test scores came in, Ms. Kenny’s eighth graders had achieved 100 percent proficiency. It was not a fluke.
But for Kenny, it just didn't occur to her that " a rich and abiding intellectual life was out of the reach of kids growing up in a tough urban environment," Herbert writes.
(Photo credit: nightscream; C.C. 3.0)
