“By far the most important factor in the success or failure of any school, far more important than tests or standards or business-model methods of accountability, is simply attracting the best-educated, most exciting young people into urban schools and keeping them there.”

American writer, progressive activist, and educator

Jonathan Kozol is an American writer, progressive activist, and educator, best known for his books on public education in the United States. His work has focused on the conditions and inequalities of American schooling, and he has become closely associated with writing that examines public education as a social and political issue. Across his books and public work, he has argued from a reform-minded, progressive point of view.