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Knowledge is power, indeed: A full 98 percent of this year's graduates from KIPP NYC College Prep are headed to college in the fall.

Dale Russakoff's "The Prize" is an unsparing chronicle of five controversial years in Newark that began in front of a cheering audience on Oprah and ended this summer with the resignation of Newark Superintendent Cami Anderson.

KIPP has been a beacon of success and hope during its 14 years in operation. McDaniel and its supporters note that it's an A-plus school according to the state's A-F report card, with 99 percent of KIPP students scoring "proficient" or "advanced." Most of the nearby elementary and middle schools received D's and F's.

KIPP Reach has earned an A grade on the Oklahoma State School Report Card for the past four years. But these results are only an indicator of the progress we are making toward our ultimate goal - graduating KIPP students who are career and college ready. To date, 39 percent of students in our first KIPP class have graduated or are on track to graduate, which is above the national average for all students and four times higher than that of students from similar economic backgrounds.

How do we best prepare students, especially those from underserved backgrounds, survive in competitive global society? A new report may help us answer that.

As the founder of KIPP Baltimore, which operates two high-performing public charter schools in the city, I am heartened and encouraged by our progress over the past six years under schools CEO Andrés Alonso.

As a lifelong Camden resident, I know our city has the potential to be great. Signs of it are happening everywhere. I see it most in my granddaughter. She is a kindergartner at KIPP Lanning Square Primary. Recently, her class celebrated their 100th day of the school year and it made me think about how much she's accomplished in that short time. There is a huge difference in the type of education she's getting compared to what my children got when they were in school. These kids are brilliant and KIPP is bringing that out in them.

My 6-year-old son attends KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy, and his experience last year and this year has been incredible. The school's reading program is actually fun for my son, his reading had grown from kindergarten- to almost second-grade level, which is incredible since he's still in first grade.

It's spring, and for students across the country, that means college decision time. For public school educators like me, this is one of the most thrilling times of the year, as our students start exploring where they want to attend college. But it's also a time for reflection and action, because right now too few of our students have the chance to attend and graduate from college.

On a snowy day in January 2003, as I was about to begin my last semester at Colby, I got some news that would change my life. I had been accepted to Teach For America and would be moving to Phoenix after graduation.