That's driven by the recognition that research says that the most important factor in students' achievement is the effectiveness of the teacher.

If we are well-connected to the schools, we're going to have a better understanding of what students will need as teachers.

(In order to) have faith that if a person has certification then they are in fact ready and able to teach.

There's a lot of research to suggest that achievement is tied to one's own socioeconomic status. On average a low-income child is not going to do as well on average as a middle-class child. If I am a middle-class child doing well and I'm attending a high-poverty school, I'm going to do less well on average.

We have certain standards that are mandated that students have to reach certain levels of achievement to go on to the next grade.

When you begin to do things that raise the achievement of the poorest and disenfranchised students, you may not always get applause. You need to be ready for that.