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Working Together

Letter from One Day editor in chief, Ting Yu

Dear Fellow Alumni,

Over the summer, I received a phone call from my former student Andre, now a high school junior in New York City. I remembered well the chronically absent boy who transformed into a meticulous student, our classroom librarian, and—for the first time in his life—an at-grade-level reader.

“I’m calling because I don’t want to lie to you, Ms. Yu,” he said. “You still think of me the way I was in seventh and eighth grade. But I’m not the same person anymore. I don’t like school. Graduation seems so far away. I don’t think I can do it.” He told me about fights at his school, about a teacher handing out crossword puzzles in math class, about missing five weeks of school and failing three classes but still not being required to attend summer school.

“Sometimes I think my life isn’t going to turn out,” he said. We talked for a long time, but there were no easy answers.

A week later, I got an e-mail from Noreen. As an eighth grader, Noreen tested into a coveted spot at Brooklyn Technical High School, one of New York City’s competitive exams schools. We e-mailed back and forth about SAT prep books and college essays. “Guess what? I’m interested in environmental science now,” she wrote. I smiled remembering the letter she wrote on the first day of seventh grade that began, “My father wants me to be a pharmacist, but I want to be a spy.”

As I think about the two different paths Andre and Noreen are walking—largely because of the quality of their high school experiences—I feel more acutely than ever the urgency of our movement. Where Noreen is an example of what is possible when high expectations are sustained, Andre reminds us that meaningful growth over two years does not guarantee long-term success. Progress is fleeting unless our schools can be reformed systemically to ensure that every child has access to a rigorous, nurturing learning environment—from preschool through college.

This is unquestionably why so many of us have been galvanized by Michelle Rhee’s (Baltimore ’92) appointment as chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools (see cover story p. 24). As the leader of a 50,000-student district in our nation’s capital, Michelle embodies the potential of our alumni to substantially impact education reform on a mass scale. Despite the preliminary controversy surrounding her appointment, many skeptics and naysayers have thrown their support behind her administration. The sense of possibility is palpable.

Yet this moment is only the crest of years of growing momentum generated by a driven network of D.C. alumni—from veteran teachers like Sarah Bax (Metro D.C. ’94) to State Board of Education member Sekou Biddle (N.Y.C. ’93)—who are advancing reform from schools, community nonprofits, and the political and policy sectors. These alumni join the efforts of the 250 current corps members of Metro D.C.

Witnessing the power of our alumni force in D.C., New Orleans, and many other communities across America, we are called to consider how we can leverage our connections with each other and with Teach For America to maximize our impact and accelerate the pace of change. We know it can be done. It’s just a question of how long it will take.

Warm Regards,

Ting Yu
New York City '03
Editor in Chief