Serving Our Children: Charter Schools and the Reform of American Public Education

by Kevin P. Chavous

Public education is failing America’s children, especially those in poor urban areas. Washington, D.C. Council member Kevin Chavous has long been an outspoken advocate for educational reform through the charter school movement. In his book "Serving Our Children," Chavous explores what his city has learned from the charter school experience and what it means to American public education as a whole. Chavous shows how charter schools can serve as models for national public education reform across the country. He describes how greater flexibility and autonomy allow these schools to better serve the needs of students and their families.

Genres: Education

188 pages, Paperback

First published April 22, 2004

About the author

Kevin P. Chavous is a noted attorney, author, and national education reform leader. Born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, Mr. Chavous spent most of his professional career practicing law and engaged in public service in Washington, D.C. As a former member of the Council of the District of Columbia and its education committee chair, Mr. Chavous was at the forefront of promoting change within the District public school system and helped to shepherd the charter school movement and school choice into the nation's capital and around the country. At present, Mr. Chavous serves as President of Academics, Policy & Schools at K-12, Inc., the largest online education provider in the country.

A prolific writer and much sought after speaker, Mr. Chavous' opinion editorials have appeared in most major newspapers and he has given speeches on the topic of education in nearly every state. Former Indiana Governor and Purdue University president Mitch Daniels has called Mr. Chavous "the most effective advocate for children in America". Mr. Chavous has published three books of nonfiction: Serving Our Children: Charter Schools and the Reform of American Public Education, Voices of Determination: Children that Defy the Odds, and Building A Learning Culture in America.

Mr. Chavous loves reading political thrillers and wrote his first novel, The Plan in 2017. In 2019, he published, The Fund. In those books, he introduced the Jackson Lowery character. The Shipment is book three of the Jackson Lowery trilogy. Jackson Lowery happens to be his great-great-grandfather's name.

Reviews

[Amy]

Despite the 2004 publishing date, this book remains surprisingly pertinent and relevant today. 2020 only highlighted the failures of the public school system and Chavous's pitch for an alternative hits particularly hard. I didn't agree with him on everything (good heavens, I literally shouted 'no!' when I read about his plan for universal pre-K and home visits!) but I really appreciated reading about his why. It is because he spends so much time on his why that this book still feels relevant, even nearly two decades later.

[Lucky Stevens]

Bravo Mr. Chavous! Serving Our Children is a very well written book and definitely got me thinking about our educational system. What I particularly enjoyed was the way the author interwove the human element into his research. I found it very interesting the way he referenced his own background and included interviews with prominent people in the field of education. This aspect of the book allowed me to put a face on the research. Along these same lines, Kevin Chavous earned kudos for admitting to the reader when he felt he had been wrong on certain issues. I found this interesting for two reasons. It allowed the reader to, in a sense, grow along with Kevin on his journey to find what was best for our children, while answering the kinds of objections that the reader him/herself might have. It also demonstrates the honesty with which Mr. Chavous operates--i.e. he is clearly more interested in doing what is best than he is in simply reaffirming his own long held beliefs. All of this makes for an honest and wonderfully interesting book and examination of one of America's most important issues--the education of our children. A+.