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Hundreds of students at KIPP University Prep gathered Friday afternoon to recite a pledge written by their peers. "I pledge to protect the innocence of all children in my world; to support efforts to end child abuse in my community; to believe a child, intervene and report if I suspect child abuse," they said in unison.

As a parent, the most important decision I've made is where my son should go to school. Looking around at the options in my neighborhood in the South Bronx, I panicked: The district schools in my zone were among the lowest-performing in the city.

A five-year study of one charter school system shows its elementary and middle school students have consistently shown strong reading and math skills.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg studied at a private prep school, but today he's showing great interest in public schools. Three years ago he donated $100 million to New Jersey schools. Tuesday morning, he attended the opening ceremony for a new public KIPP charter school on 18th Street in San Francisco.

Newark Collegiate Academy is an oasis... In a city where almost half the students don't graduate, nearly all its kids finish, and a remarkable 95 percent of them go on to college.

When Marylanders cast their ballots on Election Day, they said "yes, you can" to same-sex couples who want to get married, to young people whose families immigrated here illegally and who hope to receive in-state tuition, and to casino operators who want to expand their operations here. Now, as we move forward from this election, it's time to say "yes, you can" to another group of Marylanders who are no less deserving of affirmation: public school students from underserved communities.

For four years, they went to school from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., then completed two hours of homework each night. They attended classes on Saturdays. Their school years started in July, cutting one month off their summers. As a result, the class of fifth-graders who entered KIPP Inspire Academy in 2009, many with a third-grade understanding of reading and math, completed eighth grade last week, bound for some of the most prestigious college prep high schools in the region.

KIPP has demonstrated phenomenal success in providing educational opportunities to its students. Making significant academic gains while attending KIPP, its students have exceptionally high graduation and college entrance rates. On Oklahoma's 2014-15 A-F School Report Card, KIPP scored a grade of A+ and a rating of 99. KIPP's performance record has been recognized by its selection as a 2012 National Blue Ribbon School, as one of the 50 Best Middle Schools in the U.S. in 2014 and as one of the top four Oklahoma middle schools in 2014.

The century-old building that housed Camden's J.G. Whittier Family School, which was closed last year after falling into a dangerous state of disrepair, will reopen this year as a new KIPP school, Camden City School District officials said Tuesday. KIPP, the nonprofit that operates the KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy in nearby Lanning Square, where Tuesday night's school board meeting was held, will invest in major renovations and open it as a charter-public hybrid "Renaissance" school, said Superintendent Paymon Rouhanifard. "We heard from residents who said they want students back in the building," said Rouhanifard, who was appointed by Gov. Christie to run the district in 2013.

A month after New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio blasted charter schools for focusing too heavily on test prep and excluding high-need students, he dropped by KIPP Infinity Middle School for a photo-op with students and the co-founder of one of the country's largest charter networks.