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.”

“Some people seem to sort of have a gut for hiring. I literally had a gut that was exactly the opposite. So whenever I thought someone would be great, it was sort of the opposite.”

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

“Education is the most powerful tool countries have for boosting economic growth, increasing prosperity, and forging more just, peaceful and equitable societies.”

“Dartmouth is such a special college with its rich history, dedicated student body, and, as I've been learning more recently, colorful customs.”

“In a society that glorifies the pioneers, it's easy to think that an endeavor is only worth pursuing if you can be the first to pursue it.”

“Ending educational inequality is going to require systemic change and a long-term, sustained effort. There are no shortcuts and no silver bullets.”

“Our experience at Teach For America has been that the more people understand educational inequity, the more they want to do something about it.”

“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.”

“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.”

“I usually don't really have breakfast.”

“When you think of the typical Teach For America corps member, soldiers and ex-bankers are probably not the people who come to mind. In fact, there is no such thing as a typical corps member. They can't be neatly pigeonholed or painted with a broad brush.”

“Tests that sugar-coat the truth only set up our kids to fail in worse ways down the road.”

“A core part of Teach For America's mission has always been affecting positive change in the traditional public school system.”

“We've done a lot of research on the characteristics of our teachers who are the most successful. The most predictive trait is still past demonstrated achievement, and all selection research basically points to that.”

“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.”

“We have found that the most successful teachers in low-income communities operate like successful leaders. They establish a vision of where their students will be performing at the end of the year that many believe to be unrealistic.”

“I myself was completely torn by the decision to start Teach For America. There was a voice in my head telling me not to do it - to take a more normal path. I did have one thing going for me, which was that I had been rejected from all the other jobs I'd applied to.”

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

“If we freed up all the money in the certification process, think about how much more money we'd have to put into teacher salaries.”