Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP)

Want to be inspired? Check out these two segments of a CBS "60 Minutes" story on the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP), an amazing school concept started by two young teachers back in the '90s. Here's Part I, and this is Part II. (Via Eduwonk.com)

Their theory -- education isn't rocket science; it's hard work -- seems to be paying off in some of the most inhospitable school districts in the United States. Students slug through 10-hour school days, parents play a critical role in keeping their kids on track, and teachers agree to be contactable 24/7. The funny thing is, everyone seems to love it.

Everyone....including founders of the Gap clothing stores, Don and Dorris Fisher, who pledged $15 million to help replicate the KIPP concept in more school districts.

So check it out this weekend (while your Jakarta internet connection isn't totally pathetic).

UPDATE: While the educational approaches of KIPP are really promising, sometimes politics -- led by those who want to maintain the status quo -- can get in the way. Have a look at the Washington Post's Jay Matthews' take on the political wrangling that threatened to shutter a KIPP program in Oklahoma.