Activists Send Obama Message on Education Reform

In an open letter published in today’s Wall Street Journal, Education Equality Project Co-chairmen Rev. Al Sharpton and Joel I. Klein sent President- elect Barack Obama a strong message to support charter schools and performance pay structures as a way to close the education achievement gap between minority and white students. The letter highlights the fact that the average 12th grade black or Hispanic student performs at an 8th grade level in reading, writing and math.

Proposal made by Mr. Klein and Mr. Sharpton in the Op-Ed include increased federal support of public charter schools, performance pay structures for teachers and national standards for testing student achievement.