for regions, for our country. we re no longer competitive. it s a moral issue, it s an economic issue and we don t have time to play. the first new school is called mastery. by august of 20 12 we need six classrooms. it s squeezing into this place with harvest prep and best academy. and starting at kindergarten to 2nd grade. among the 2nd graders, levon longstreet. he s 7 years old and this will be his fourth school. for eric mahmoud, it will be another front to improve education for poor black children in minneapolis. does it feel like a battle to you? every day. having to justify how we do things. how does he do things? highly structured, longer days. excellent job.
timy number of minneapolis nearly 50 charter schools are doing better than district schools. when you look at charter schools, they re doing more often worse than public schools. he would like to eliminate charters and focus on improving the city s district schools. if you were to shine a light on the few schools that are doing really well, eric mahmoud s school would be one of those. why not say whatever it is he s doing, let s do more of that. by what standard is he doing well? a standard by which most schools are judged, proficiency on reading and math tests. the problem is those tests are flawed to begin with. the idea that we are measuring with these standardized test is part of the problem. if i look at bethune across the street, their math and reading scores are awful. bethune elementary is a district school located behind mahmoud s building. for black students at bethune,
closing the achievement gap. are you doing that? i believe so. you re choking up. why is that wow. i mean, it s that s why i do what i do. these boys they have me, mr. burns and everybody that works with them to push them and make sure they re successful. i just want to keep it going and give all these children a chance to have a successful life. for mr. price, it means long hours. our teachers are here by 7:30 in the morning and they don t leave until 5:00, 5:30. ten hours a day. can you move to a really long day, which is what eric mahmoud has done? i want to get there, and it s going to take a lot of conversations with the union to do that. do you think you ll ever get there? i m going to try my damndest. those long hours at mahmoud s
are 14 points ahead of white children. in reading, they re near to closing the achievement gap. best academy is behind by 13 points. harvest prep is just six points from closing the gap. we re doing it, and these other schools are not doing it. successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do. so he s working what are we going to do? with the city s public school superintendent. how controversial is that? you re the superintendent of a public school district everything i do is controversial. all in favor of the resolution, signify by saying aye. motion passes unanimously. in february 2012, a critical vote authorizes eric mahmoud to open four new charter schools over the next ten years. it puts them at the center of the initiative, to grow quality schools regardless of who runs them.
sitting next to. ahead, is eric mahmoud losing his battle? i just knew that all the people who were against what he was doing were going to find ways of using this as a leverage to stop the good work. have they been able to do that? if you re looking for help relieving heartburn, caused by acid reflux disease, relief is at hand. for many, nexium provides 24-hour heartburn relief and may be available for just $18 a month. there is risk of bone fracture and low magnesium levels. side effects may include headache, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. if you have persistent diarrhea, contact your doctor right away.