The story in the NY Times' Sunday magazine last week on what it would take to close the academic achievement gaps based on class and race continues to reverberate. My friend Joanne Jacobs on her blog reports that at a meeting at the Hunt Institute in North Carolina "former governor, Jim Hunt, handed out copies he’d underlined to everyone there, urging the legislators to 'read every word.' "

Others I've spoken with in the last few days have critiqued the article. Jenny D, who writes her own blog posted a comment on my entry that criticized the article for failing to note all that traditional public schools are doing to try to improve instruction. Another colleague, whose organization here at Teachers College works with teachers, said that while he agreed with Tough's perspective, he thought the piece minimized the difficulty--and improbability--of being able to replicate schools such as KIPP on a large scale. Such schools require terrific leaders and teachers willing to work long, long hours and, therefore, the burnout rate is high. The conversation continues.....