The Center for Education Reform salutes all those folks beyond the Beltway who have written laws on the back of a napkin, worked tirelessly to persuade lawmakers to pass those laws, created schools, written standards, and generally challenged the conventional wisdom in the interest of making schools work better for all children. These are YOUR Action Heroes, and here are their stories.

January 2007

Your Education Reform Action Heroes 

Robert B. Aguirre

Mr. Aguirre is a San Antonio businessman who has been involved in the fight for parents' rights through educational equity and school choice since 1989. Today he invests a great deal of his time and resources into developing the Hispanic Council for Reform and Education Options (CREO) and advocating for the Texas legislature in Austin to expand education choice programs for children.

Carole Andrews

She is a voice for children in need. She served on the school board in Broward County until she was too sick to continue with her efforts to improve education. Ms. Andrews was part of many committees that were 100 percent dedicated to improve the life of children and students with behavioral problems.

Simon Campbell

In response to a horrible teachers' strike (they're all horrible) last year, Simon Campbell initiated www.stopteacherstrikes.org to influence legislation in Pennsylvania to end teacher strikes. His effectiveness is absolutely phenomenal and a real example of civic duty. And, he's not even yet an American citizen. Mr. Campbell is a true inspiration.

Fred Crawford

Fred Crawford is the principal of Greenville Technical Charter High School and has worked hard to hire the best teachers and staff to work with students. As a result, his team has turned the school into one of the best in South Carolina and in the nation. GTCHS has some of the highest test scores in the state and has been named one of the 15 Best Charter Schools by the U.S. Department of Education. Additionally, Mr. Crawford is working with community leaders, educators and parents to plan new charter schools to be located on community college campuses in the Greenville Area.

Regine P. Ebner, M. Ed.

In 1974, Regine founded a Montessori preschool-kindergarten, The Montessori Schoolhouse, in Tucson, Arizona. Ten years ago she and her husband, Michael, converted it to a charter school with four classrooms, serving 115 students in preschool through 6th grade. Regine has helped over 1,200 students begin their lifelong journey on the road to learning, trained over 25 Montessori teachers and counseled hundreds of parents. She is definitely one of our quiet heroes of education and the raising of children.

Liz Evans

Liz Evans was the driving force behind Elmwood Village Charter School in Buffalo, New York. Essentially, the school was conceived in her kitchen. Liz sought to find a school for her daughter, Ruby, who was a struggling reader and not meeting with success in a traditional public school. Liz envisioned a small community school that would be able to address the individual learning needs of its students. Liz assembled a group of educational experts that included veteran teachers, university professors, behavioral experts, and school administrators. Together, they designed the Elmwood Village Charter School. More...

Dr. Randy Everett

... In 1992, before the Colorado legislature considered a charter school bill, Dr. Everett drafted a proposal for the Poudre School District (PSD) Board of Education to establish an elementary “school of choice” organized around the Hirsch Core Knowledge Sequence. Dr. Everett met personally with each school board member, sometimes for hours, to communicate his vision and answer questions. More...

Tony Gerlicz

... Tony Gerlicz founded the Monte del Sol Charter school in Santa Fe, New Mexico seven years ago and in order to do so, worked tirelessly and most often thanklessly with the state legislature, with state and local school officials, others throughout the state and launched a school that today is recognized as one of the most successful public, charter schools in the state. More...

Matthew and Katherine Ginnetty

They helped to found a charter school in Franklin, Massachusetts that has four pillars that seem to be the bottom line to all parents: recognizing parents as the primary educators of their own children; teaching character education through the classical virtues; using a solid, content-based curriculum called the Core Knowledge Sequence; and having children build authentic self-esteem through community service endeavors.

Michael Goldstein

Mike Goldstein, of Boston, founded the MATCH School, which was recently named one of the eight best charter high schools in the country in a study performed by the federal government. Not one to rest on his laurels, Goldstein is also constantly seeking to innovate. MATCH has changed dramatically since its founding in 2000, and continues to improve with initiatives like AP for All.

Scott Gordon

Scott Gordon served as the founding principal of Mastery Charter School in Philadelphia. Founded in 2001, Mastery now operates three schools in inner-city Philadelphia. In his role now as CEO of Mastery, Scott and the organization seek to expand the Mastery model to show that success for inner-city students is possible with a creative school model and lots of hard work. Mastery now has over 100 employees at the three schools serving approximately 1,000 students. Ninety-seven percent of the first two graduating classes are currently enrolled in college.

Charlotte Greenbarg

As president of IVBE (Independent Voices for Better Education), she brings to light the deficiencies of a system that refuses to change. She has being/is an outspoken leader about the exceptional students program lack of accountability and about minorities’ poor graduation rates and /or graduation without being prepared for college. Charlotte Greenbarg is an outstanding hero for Broward and Dade counties in Florida as well as nationwide.

Craig Henderson

He is a founding board member, past president, tireless defender and amazing fundraiser for Chicago International Charter School. Without Craig, Chicago International wouldn't exist let alone be the largest charter in the state!!

Wayne Jennings

Wayne was one of the first pioneers in the Charter school movement. His school designs were very unique and always had the best interest of the students in mind. He has been an inspiration to me and countless others over the years!

Ronald E. Johnson, Ph.D.

He designed individualized, accelerated, virtue-based textbooks with a staff training system for recovering at-risk teenagers, especially those from homes without resident dads. He has testified before the Texas State Board of Education and legislature to promote educational choice, especially the concept of none-punitive alternative schools. He conducts seminars for juvenile probation and correctional personnel who work with delinquent, fatherless boys. He has published books and articles to enhance educational choice, especially among minorities. His textbooks and individualized learning concepts are being used in more than 50 schools in eight states. He served on the state textbook selection panel and on the state academic assessment transition team.

Peter Kast

Dr. Randy Everett’s vision (see story) was so compelling that he was able to bring on board professionals whose skills were necessary for the charter school effort to succeed. Commercial realtor, Peter Kast, embraced the charter movement enrolling his children and donating hundreds of hours searching for facility options, negotiating financing, and overseeing the LCS Building Corporation. Under Mr. Kast’s leadership, Liberty Common School became the first charter school in Colorado to finance a school building by issuing bonds through Colorado Educational and Cultural Facilities Authority in November 1998. Other charter schools have relied on Mr. Kast’s expertise and experience to find and finance facilities, including Ridgeview Classical Schools and Pioneer Experiential Learning Charter School in Fort Collins.

Kumon North America

...Kumon North America is working with several cities to allow it to receive NCLB funds and distribute its method to impoverished, inner-city children. This is a brilliant method, well executed, and aimed at the fundamental deficiency of American schools, namely, the absence of basic skills. More...

Liberty Common Founders and Board of Directors

The founders, many the same group as from Washington Core, fought many obstacles to get Liberty Common opened. These obstacles included the founders being personally sued by the school district, having the funding pulled out from under them through the district's power at the level of the local banks, the district's hostility and negativity regarding the school to include untruths. This group of individuals continued to persevere and have a National Blue Ribbon School that is in its 10th year of operation. The local school district opened other Core Knowledge Schools within the district due to the demand for this type of quality education. Many other students can now be exposed to high expectations and rigorous academics due to the existence of this charter school.

Thomas Lubben, Ed.D.

Dr. Lubben worked tirelessly for seven full years searching for a site and developing a regional charter for a performing arts school. He was an active proponent for establishing the Pennsylvania Charter law in 1997. He did this without salary. He formed a board of directors and a large group of advisors to help convince school districts to support the charter in Pennsylvania. The School, the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Performing Arts, located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, has now been established for four full years and has received awards and accreditation from Middle States. The school draws students from 50 different schools, 30 school districts in 10 Pennsylvania counties. They are currently at full enrollment with 420 students. Ninety percent of the students go on to higher education. Lives are being dramatically changed at the school. The school services over 25 percent minority students, 14 percent low-income, and 10 percent special needs, which reflects the national averages.

Mike Maxwell

Attorney Mike Maxwell had no connection to the charter school movement when he was first contacted by Dr. Randy Everett (see story). Mr. Maxwell was immediately captivated by Dr. Everett's passion and the critical nature of the school choice movement. Maxwell donated hundreds of hours of his professional services and expertise to assist in the writing and negotiating of Liberty’s charter. His legal advice was invaluable during Dr. Everett’s second attempt to obtain charter approval from PSD and essential to the successful execution of the charter contract.

Dan McKinley

Dan has quietly gone about changing the face of Milwaukee schools for 15 years. As the executive director of PAVE, he played an instrumental role in passing the Milwaukee voucher program and continues to fight to protect that program. He works diligently to create strategic partnerships that benefit schools in Milwaukee.

Julie Merendino

Four years ago, Julie and I decided to send our children to the newly forming Kennesaw Charter School. Willing to do whatever we could to improve the education of our children, we both enrolled our children and volunteered to do whatever work that we could to start the school off successfully. I took on the community outreach chair for the scarcely formed PTSA and my friend Julie took on The President of the Kennesaw Charter School for the first year. More...

Linda Moore

Established by Linda Moore in 1996, the Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School prepares 250 culturally diverse elementary school students in the District of Columbia to be leaders, scholars, and responsible citizens. Children are taught to speak, read, write, and think in two languages: English and French or English and Spanish. With a dual focus on academic excellence and community service, the Stokes School accomplishes its mission by creating an environment of achievement, respect, and non-violence. More...

Mueller Charter School Teachers

The Teachers of Mueller Charter School choose to teach at Mueller Charter School knowing that the Mission is to get 90% of students to grade level when there was never more than 50% at grade level. They continue to individually and collectively pursue instructional strategies that are effective with a student population that features high numbers of low income, second language learners. More...

Jim Murphy

He is founder of both the Chicago International Charter School Foundation and The Daniel Murphy Scholarship Foundation, which scholarships inner city 8th graders into private high schools around the city and around the country. He believes that self-initiative and determination deserve a leg up!

Cindy Omlin

She should be honored for her efforts to relieve the teachers of Washington state of the necessity of joining unions or of having to pay dues to them, which are spent on political activity. It seems to me that the teachers who can take advantage of this type of program would be more likely to stay in the profession and younger women and men would probably then become teachers using their higher intelligence to bring better skills to their jobs. Without the union interference, people would be more apt to fulfill a desire to help the young to become really great Americans of one kind or another.

Ron Packard

Ron is the founder of K12 Inc., which has resulted in over 25,000 students across the country and growing with an online curriculum. This curriculum is fully aligned and provides great opportunities for educational choice for families. It is Ron's vision, spirit and drive that have helped this fledgling company produce the highest quality curriculum that is endorsed by many of the best in education and educational research such as Charles Zogby, Chester Finn, and William Bennett.

Rick Piercy

According to a December 29, 2006 article published in the Victorville, CA Daily Press, naming him Person of the Year, "Piercy has led nothing less than a radical revolution in public education as founder and CEO of the Lewis Center for Educational Research and the Academy for Academic Excellence in Apple Valley." He throws out traditional ideas about how students learn, creates innovation through public/private partnerships, slices through government bureaucracy and raises expectations for both students and parents alike.

Jack Podsiadlo, S.J.

Jack Podsiadlo served as the founder of Nativity Mission School, a middle school located for at-risk boys on the lower East Side of New York City in the early 1970s. Jack created a school model that is now replicated in a national network at over 45 schools throughout the United States. Nativity schools have a longer day and longer year - often up to 245 school days per year. Jack has served as an inspiration for thousands of students, teachers, and administrators for over 35 years. And all the while, he is one of the most dedicated, sincere and humble educators I have ever had the pleasure of working with and learning from.

Laura B. Prado

Laura Prado has been an outstanding spokesperson for children with disabilities and their families. Her advocacy skills have made enormous contributions and continue to do so thru her LIFE organization to help students and families with developmental disabilities.

Joseph H. G. Proietta

It can easily be said that Joseph H. G. Proietta designed a charter school prototype back in 1980 when he opened an alternative school dedicated to combining the best aspects of public and parochial education while incorporating the supports of a social service agency. He successfully fought for 17 years on annual basis with local government leaders for the preservation of his school despite budget cuts. More...

Dan Quisenberry

Dan is president of the Michigan Association of Public School Academies (charter schools). He works tirelessly with the legislature in not only getting charter school legislation on the agenda but also in protecting them from adverse legislation. He travels throughout the state and appears at all sorts of events. I believe Michigan now has one of the largest state conventions for charter schools, which is sponsored by MAPSA. He is a well-deserving candidate to be recognized by your organization.

Ridgeview Classical Schools Founders and Board of Directors

This group of parents brought the first K-12 charter school to the community. The K-8 is also a Core Knowledge School, while the high school has a classical focus. The Socratic method is utilized in all courses. The high school provides a very rigorous academic program to all students. The high school ranked 2nd overall in the state of Colorado its first year of operation, and is currently ranked #1 High School in Colorado for its 2nd consecutive year. More...

Kevin W. Riley, Ed.D.

As the principal of Mueller Charter School, Dr. Riley has led his staff toward significant and powerful organizational change.... The result: in a school of 950 children, where 95% are children of color, 85% are Latino, 75% qualify for free or reduced lunch, 60% are learning English as a second language, Mueller Charter School has gone from an Academic Performance Index (API) of 520 to 733 – one of the highest gains in San Diego County. More...

Michaeline Schaffer

Mrs. Michaeline Schaffer has been an unsung hero on the charter school front for the past 10 years. After watching the public school fail to teach all students and continue to increase class sizes, Mrs. Schaffer formed a group and began planning a school that reached all learners. Through hard work and determination, White Pine Academy was formed and opened in Leslie, Michigan in 1999. More...

Brother Ed Siderewicz

Brother Ed Siderewicz is one of the co-founders of both the San Miguel Schools Chicago and the Catalyst Schools Chicago. His hope is to bring viable alternatives in education to inner-city families from grades K-16. Brother Ed has been working in Chicago since he helped open the first San Miguel School in Chicago's Back of the Yards neighborhood 12 years ago. Since that time he has opened up a second San Miguel school in Chicago's Austin neighborhood and a public charter school, called Catalyst Charter School, in Chicago's North Lawndale neighborhood. More...

Raymond L. Smart

As president of the Smart Family Foundation, Mr. Smart has worked tirelessly over many years to identify, support and fund worthwhile start-up charter schools and other educational organizations aimed at developing model institutions to serve America's neediest students. He was the primary funder/person who made possible Amistad Academy and the Achievement First schools, and supports several other top-performing urban charter schools. More...

Debbie Smith

As the executive director of PATHS Through School Choice, Debbie works to improve the education of children within the public school system by contributing her time in a series of volunteer positions as well as advocating on behalf of our own children and others. More...

Diane Tavenner

Diane leads Summit, a new public high school with superb and scalable breakthroughs in teaching, learning and governance -- fulfilling three goals: prepare students for college, build a lasting culture and catalyze widespread improvement in secondary education. Her vision and results are why she is your Education Reform Action Hero. More...

Washington Core Founders

A group of parents brought Core Knowledge to our community. This parent group was not allowed by the local hostile district to get a Charter so opened a "contract" school. Although this school significantly out performed every other elementary in the district, when the three-year contract was up, the district refused to renew the contract. The curriculum was watered down, the hiring practices, including retaining of teachers was hijacked. The school still outperforms most of the other district elementary schools, the exception being the subsequently formed charters that could not be hijacked by the district.