Newt Gingrich On Failed Math Programs: “Save The Children…”

When I read about the 23 Baltimore City Schools where not one student was proficient in math, it made me realize that the time was right to shift our focus towards education. We must move beyond the abstract notion of “education reform” towards the practical idea of “saving the children.”

While I was focusing on the complete failure of Baltimore City Schools I realized it was despite spending $21,600 per student (the fifth highest dollar-to-student ratio of any major city school in America). It is amazing to see how a class of 20 should have $432,000 in resources.

I initially focused solely on the political-educational-bureaucratic machine in Baltimore City, which spends $1.6 billion each year. This huge system of spending and hiring dwarfs the resources available for reformers and other education providers. Baltimore City is essentially trapped in mediocrity, failure and total lack of accountability. It is nearly impossible to reform schools no matter how terrible they are. The political power of the teachers’ union cannot be ignored.