Public education is failing America’s children--especially those in poor urban areas. D.C. Council member Kevin Chavous has long been an outspoken advocate for educational reform that serves the needs of all of our children. In Serving Our Children, Mr. Chavous, who has been at the forefront of the charter school movement, explores what his city has learned from the charter school experience and what it means to American public education as a whole. In just five short years, under Mr. Chavous’s leadership, charter schools in Washington went from zero to nearly forty and currently enroll about 11,000 students in six schools. These schools provide more than traditional public schools can--wrap around services to poor children who are hungry, inadequately clothed, lacking sleep, and sometimes exposed to physical and emotional violence. Mr. Chavous uses D.C.’s charter schools to demonstrate how their greater flexibility and autonomy allows them to better serve the social, economic, language, and educational needs of students and their families--services these children need to succeed in school. He admits that charter schools are not without their critics and explains why, but he argues that these schools are an important model for the educational reform that must take place if our children are to carry America into a brighter future.
Kevin P. Chavous is a noted attorney, author and national school reform leader. He served on the Council of the District of Columbia from 1993-2005, where as education committee chair, he helped to usher charter schools and parental choice into the District of Columbia. In Mr. Chavous' first book," Serving Our Children: Charter Schools and the Reform of American Public Education"', he chronicles the education reform movement in Washington, D.C. and the emergence of charter schools as a viable alternative for parents.
In his most recent book, "Voices of Determination: Children that Defy the Odds", Mr. Chavous shares the stories of ten young people who overcame incredible challenges in order to get their education. Each story is heart wrenching and inspiring. According to the Washington Post's Jay Mathews, "Voices of Determination" is a "book full of heart by a man who knows everything there is to know about what we need to do to save our schools".
Mr. Chavous was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, graduated from Wabash College and was graduating class president at the Howard University School of Law. Mr. Chavous lives in Washington, D.C.
