Wendy Kopp

“Every time a child's promise is cut short by their legal status, our country wastes precious resources and loses talent we need.”

“All around the world, we send our top talent into finance, technology, medicine and law - everywhere but towards expanding opportunity for our most marginalized children.”

“We collaborate with other countries on issues like public health and climate change because we understand these issues affect our collective welfare.”

“Our laws guarantee all students the right to a K-12 education, regardless of their immigration status.”

“Common Core reminds us what testing can do right. Modeled on standards of the world's education superpowers, questions demand critical thinking and creativity. Students are asked to write at length, show their work, and explain their reasoning.”

“Education is the gateway to the American Dream. But today our immigration laws make higher education - a virtual requirement for financial security - out of reach for more than one million undocumented students.”

“Technology has enormous potential to address educational needs more efficiently, help teachers improve their performance, and enrich and individualize student learning.”

“Few things are more important to our country's future than recruiting and keeping great teachers in our schools.”

“People are everything in education, just as in the corporate world.”

“The idea that computers can ever replace teachers and schools reveals a deep lack of understanding about the role leadership plays in student success.”

“Teach For America is working hard to be one significant source of the leadership we need.”

“I think the way to understand Teach for America is as a leadership development program.”

“We are working essentially to build a leadership force of folks who will, during their first two years of teaching, actually put their kids on a different trajectory - not just survive as a new teacher, but actually help close the achievement gap for their kids.”

“In the long run, we need to build a leadership force of people. We have a whole strategy around not only providing folks with the foundational experience during their two years with us, but also then accelerating their leadership in ways that is strategic for the broader education reform movement.”

“We are looking for a set of personal characteristics that predict success, the first and foremost of which is perseverance in the face of challenges. We also look for the ability to influence and motivate others who share your values, strong problem-solving ability, and leadership.”

“We look for people who demonstrate perseverance in the face of challenges, the ability to influence and motivate others - people who want to work relentlessly to ensure that kids who are facing the challenges of poverty have an excellent education.”

“If we're going to see sustainable results from all the other investments we're making in education, we need to build leadership capacity in each and every country.”

“Charter laws do something really important. They give educators the freedom and flexibility that they need to attain results. But we also have to invest a lot in the leadership pipeline to take advantage of that freedom and flexibility.”