Occasionally a man or woman emerges from the nasty politics of education reform with an inspiring vision and compelling message. That man is Kevin P. Chavous. Mr. Chavous spoke to over 500 people at Washington Policy Center’s Solutions Summit Events in Bellevue and Spokane this week, May 15 and 16^th. For those who couldn’t attend, below are some highlights from Mr. Chavous’ presentation. You can also watch his outstanding speech via TVW here.

Kevin Chavous, lawyer, former politician, and writer, is one of America’s leading advocates for school choice. In the 1990’s, as Education Chair of the Washington D.C. City Council, Mr. Chavous helped bring charter schools and federal Opportunity Scholarships to the District’s school children. Today over 45 percent of children in the District attend a charter school. Traditional public schools in the District have improved significantly. Thousands of students have been offered a better education because their parents now have a choice of school. Mr. Chavous’ book, Building a Learning Culture in America, describes his experiences and vision for offering every child a school that fits their needs, regardless of their zip code.

Here is what Mr. Chavous said:  

1. America once had a culture of learning, the ideal that America’s schools would give every child, no matter what their background, the opportunity to participate in our democracy and in the American Dream.
2. This culture of learning has been lost and needs to be rebuilt. We need an acknowledgement that things aren’t good. A kid drops out of school every 42 seconds, and we should not be okay with that. I am not okay with that.
3. Many communities, schools and families are building a new culture of learning for their children, not based on test scores or awards, but from the ground up, by raising expectations and making learning fun and enjoyable for children. These communities and schools need to be celebrated.
4. We should inspire our children to want an education. When they want it they’ll fight to keep it.
5. Most people don’t know how amazing education can be. People do not know what they do not know. When children are shown the joy of learning, they lead their parents to expand their own knowledge.  
6. When it comes to education, we must leave our politics behind, at the schoolhouse door. The politics of education is the biggest threat to education.
7. Wherever there has been school choice the public schools improve.
8. I have seen the promise and hope restored in many families in my ward because one of their children got into a good charter school.
9. It is a beautiful thing to see parents choose the schools for their children.
10. We need to elevate the discussion. In reality, it is more about school fit than school choice. Each parent should have the luxury of picking from a host of schools that best fit their child’s needs.
11. Each and every decision we make should be based on one simple variable: Will this help a child learn? If so, I support it. If not, I don’t. Period.
12. The only people who are against educational choice are the ones who already have it.
13. There is no greater threat to our democracy than an uneducated population.

I plan to re-watch Mr. Chavous’ inspiring presentation on TVW. Mr. Chavous has offered important lessons for improving the education of Washington’s school children.