Most teachers have long known that they affect the life chances of children. But it took the work of economists to convince the world of public policy to take seriously what is now known as "teacher effectiveness."

Now one of those very same economists has turned to another subject that,...

What should we do when we find an integrated school, where high percentages of white students and black and Latino students meet or exceed state standards and where a slightly higher percentage of black students graduate in four years than white students?

We should honor it -- which is why...

Every year The Education Trust, where I work, honors high-performing schools that do well by students of color and students who live in poverty.

I have been fortunate to visit more than two dozen of these wonderful schools since 2005, and I never know what I'll find when...

I recently profiled Bethune Elementary School in New Orleans, one of four schools that won The Education Trust's Dispelling the Myth Award this year.

That post elicited questions about the criteria Ed Trust uses to identify the schools it honors.

Because many children of color and those from low-income families...

Each year at its national conference, The Education Trust honors schools that serve large numbers of children of color and those from low-income families that educate their students at high levels. The organization's 2010 "Dispelling the Myth Award" went to four schools that, like those honored in previous years, demonstrate...

You'd have to have a heart of stone to turn away from the beautiful, trusting children in Waiting for 'Superman'.

Those children and their families know education is the pathway to the life they want -- a life with dignity and choices. They desperately need a school where their dreams...

I don't want to be overly dramatic -- but this is the moment.

This is the moment when the education field can prove its mettle. Public interest in schools and the political will to improve them have never been higher. If we don't seriously increase the...