“When I see those gaps, my heart goes out to the kids. They are our future. I wonder what’s going wrong.”
—Demetra Skinner, Teacher, Hambrick Middle School, Aldine, Texas
“There is a national interest in closing the achievement gap. ... Our collective self-interest is at stake.”
—Raul Yzaguirre, President, National Council of La Raza
“Just because schools didn’t cause the problem doesn’t mean they can’t solve it.”
—Meredith Phillips, Professor, UCLA
“I don’t feel a bond with other students in my class.”
—Courtney Conwell, 8th Grade Honors Student, Shaker Heights Middle School
“The stakes for under-development in 2000 are much higher than they were in 1900.”
—Edmund W. Gordon, Professor Emeritus, Yale University
“Black kids get twice as many of our worst teachers.”
—Kati Haycock, Executive Director, The Education Trust
“I used to think white kids were smarter than me. Now I’m ashamed I ever thought that.”
—John Jackson, Senior, Shaker Heights (Ohio) High School
“If seeking excellence is acting white, then what is acting black?.”
—James Edward Harris, President, Montclair, N.J. Branch of the NAACP