Wendy Kopp Quotes

Teach For America was built on the idea that our best hope of reaching 'One Day' is to have thousands of alumni use their diverse experiences and ideas to effect change from inside and outside the education system.

~ Wendy Kopp

The idea that computers can ever replace teachers and schools reveals a deep lack of understanding about the role leadership plays in student success.

~ Wendy Kopp

Research confirms that great teachers change lives. Students with one highly effective elementary school teacher are more likely to go to college, less likely to become pregnant as teens, and earn tens of thousands more over their lifetimes.

~ Wendy Kopp

Effective teacher support in my mind is the same thing as effective management. Our teachers need strong management, just like anyone in any profession.

~ Wendy Kopp

If we freed up all the money in the certification process, think about how much more money we'd have to put into teacher salaries.

~ Wendy Kopp

We are working essentially to build a leadership force of folks who will, during their first two years of teaching, actually put their kids on a different trajectory - not just survive as a new teacher, but actually help close the achievement gap for their kids.

~ Wendy Kopp

Technology has enormous potential to address educational needs more efficiently, help teachers improve their performance, and enrich and individualize student learning.

~ Wendy Kopp

In the long run, we need to build a leadership force of people. We have a whole strategy around not only providing folks with the foundational experience during their two years with us, but also then accelerating their leadership in ways that is strategic for the broader education reform movement.

~ Wendy Kopp

Fostering the leadership necessary for transformational outcomes in education is hard work, and in countries around the world, there is a constant search for easier solutions.

~ Wendy Kopp

We are looking for a set of personal characteristics that predict success, the first and foremost of which is perseverance in the face of challenges. We also look for the ability to influence and motivate others who share your values, strong problem-solving ability, and leadership.

~ Wendy Kopp

Teach For America is working hard to be one significant source of the leadership we need.

~ Wendy Kopp

Charter laws do something really important. They give educators the freedom and flexibility that they need to attain results. But we also have to invest a lot in the leadership pipeline to take advantage of that freedom and flexibility.

~ Wendy Kopp

I think the way to understand Teach for America is as a leadership development program.

~ Wendy Kopp

The mission that unites all of the programs of the Teach For All global network is that of cultivating the leadership capacity critical to ultimately ensuring educational opportunity for all.

~ Wendy Kopp

School boards can be a steppingstone to higher forms of political leadership.

~ Wendy Kopp

If we're going to see sustainable results from all the other investments we're making in education, we need to build leadership capacity in each and every country.

~ Wendy Kopp

Mindsets, skills and leadership, experience and access, and critical consciousness - we need all four of these things for our students to be the leaders, people and citizens we want them to be.

~ Wendy Kopp

All around the world, we send our top talent into finance, technology, medicine and law - everywhere but towards expanding opportunity for our most marginalized children.

~ Wendy Kopp

A core part of Teach For America's mission has always been affecting positive change in the traditional public school system.

~ Wendy Kopp

In the long run, we will need many more African-American, Latino, and Native American leaders, and leaders from low-income communities, who can bring additional insight and a deeply grounded sense of urgency, and who are the most likely to inspire the necessary trust and engagement among students' parents and community leaders.

~ Wendy Kopp

If the world's leaders are serious about improving collective well-being, we'd better get serious about prioritizing education in our nations and in our global discussion.

~ Wendy Kopp

The lack of diversity in higher education is a problem we as a country must tackle if we're going to live up to our promise.

~ Wendy Kopp

We look for people who demonstrate perseverance in the face of challenges, the ability to influence and motivate others - people who want to work relentlessly to ensure that kids who are facing the challenges of poverty have an excellent education.

~ Wendy Kopp

Countries have largely been left alone to handle or ignore their educational problems as they see fit. In part, this was because we assumed that the contexts and challenges were so different from nation to nation that education could not be tackled at the international level.

~ Wendy Kopp

Every time a child's promise is cut short by their legal status, our country wastes precious resources and loses talent we need.

~ Wendy Kopp