Mike Feinberg + Dave LevinMike Feinberg and Dave Levin, 2009 recipients of The Charles Bronfman Prize, are transforming the face of public education. Founders of the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP), the team has opened doors to underserved children by building public, college-preparatory schools that achieve outstanding results nationwide.
What are you focused on today?
The commitment we make to our families is to journey with them from K-16 and beyond. We’re not interested in high test scores for one year, we want to help children achieve transformative life change, and we’re seeing that happen. Our students achieve college graduation rates over triple the national average.
How have your Jewish values informed your work?
We were taught that, “The world itself rests upon the breath of the children in our schools” (Mishna Sanhedrin 4:5). For us, this is summed up in our philosophy that to be successful children need to “word hard and be nice.”
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