Apologists for our educational failure say that we will never fix education in America until we eradicate poverty. They have it exactly backward: We will never eradicate poverty until we fix education. The question is whether we have the political courage to take on those who defend a status quo that serves many adults but fails many children.

Co-Chairs of the Education Equality Project Joel Klein (Chancellor of NYC schools), Michael L. Lomax (Pres. of the United Negro College Fund), and Janet Murguia (Pres. of the National Council of La Raza) in the Washington Post.