Geoffrey Canada

Geoffrey Canada is the president of the Harlem Children Zone and has been working for decades to reform the American educational system. He is a personal hero of mine having helped over 10,000 students make their way- successfully- through highschool. His program is built on the concept that the students are followed from "cradle to career". The kids are chosen at infancy in a random lottery to be a part of the charter school to "break the cycle of generational poverty for the thousands of students and families it serves." I highly recommend watching his brief interview on the Colbert Report posted below and check out the plethora of articles I have attached; they speak to his accomplishments much more prolifically than I could hope to in this post.

Colbert Report

Time Top 100

Harlem Children's Zone

NY Times

Ode to the student,
Each of whom is different
Some may hear the rhyme
Others will count the time

The open halls and closed classrooms
Push some students away to hide in the bathrooms

The teenage mind is quite malleable
For some nature makes them able
For others a plane room is what is needed
Or a smiling face by which to be greeted.

For this I praise student who wants to learn
And now it is your turn
To break the rules so you can reach your full potential.