Vartan Gregorian President, Carnegie Corp. of New York

When I asked the students garbed in their blue scrubs at Red Bank High School’s academy of health sciences recently what career they wanted to pursue — not just what job they wanted — their eyes twinkled and each named a professional medical destination: pharmacist, physical therapist, doctor, professor.

I was pleased and not surprised that their teachers, reinvigorated by the professional training that the Carnegie Corp. of New York Schools for a New Society initiative offered Hamilton County, were succeeding in getting these students to aim high.    I was surprised when the students turned the tables on me and asked how I got where I am. I told them that as a poor boy in Tabriz, Iran, orphaned at an early age, I was raised by my grandmother who, though illiterate, became my first 'teacher.' She inculcated the love of learning in me, and perhaps that is why I so dearly hope that young men and women like those I met in Hamilton County also will thirst for education, which provides a source of empowerment, a road out of poverty and a means of survival and success. Students must see high school not only as the beginning of their journey through a life of learning, but as the place that helps them become productive members of communities like Hamilton County, prepared to deal with today’s complex world.

Inspired by the need for high schools of today to be different from those of past decades, Carnegie Corp. embarked on high school reform even when most thought it was an impossible task. I am here to say, it isn’t. After all, we must remember that it was 20 years ago that the seminal report on education in the United States, 'A Nation at Risk,' famously warned: 'If an unfriendly power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, it might well have viewed it as an act of war. We have in effect been committing an act of unthinking unilateral disarmament.'

So we have had two decades to carry out research, identify demonstrated models of excellence and develop effective educational tools and programs. A generation of reformers, along with teachers, policy-makers, parents, business and education leaders — indeed, every citizen in our nation — know what works and what does not, and they expect action now!    With that in mind, when I became president of the corporation and was deciding which issues to concentrate our attention on, I couldn’t hide from what I call the Panama Canal for education reformers: the high school. Many reputations have died there and for good reason. Little children make reforming elementary school a delight to be involved in; teenagers are often another story! But our high schools are also where all the difficult issues of our day meet: race, ethnicity, economic status, values.

That’s why, in 2000, we began trying to identify large urban school systems that had the potential for change: communities that had the commitment of civic, political and school leaders and were willing to take on the Himalayan task of creating high schools that could serve our new technological and knowledge-based society. We invited 20 communities to apply to become part of Schools for a New Society. Seven made it, and we are delighted that Hamilton County is one, along with Boston; Providence, R.I.; Worcester, Mass.; Houston; Sacramento, Calif.; and San Diego.

In creating this initiative, our message has been a fundamental one: What we’ve said to communities like Hamilton County is, if you don’t fix your school system, you will have a decaying economy and the nation will once again be at risk. But if you improve your school systems, your urban centers will be vibrant and vital and this, in turn, will have a positive effect on almost every aspect of the life of our cities, including our economies.

In my opinion, community involvement is the key to bringing about this kind of change. No reform effort, no matter how proven or promising, that is supported by Carnegie Corp. in New York, your public foundation in Chattanooga or the state or federal government can be implemented successfully if there is no local ownership by the entire community. It is that kind of common cause that has real impact and can drive the political will to see that change does happen. Change that it is ongoing and leads to higher student achievement.

In Chattanooga, I witnessed your enormous civic pride in your institutions, and it is hard for me to imagine failure as a possibility. I met teachers, principals, school administrators, businessmen, journalists, politicians and leaders who would never move far from the beloved banks of the Tennessee River and so are deeply committed to making life fulfilling and bright with promise for all who live in the community. I was assured that our initiative is working, that test scores are up, that progress is being made on state standards, that teachers are reinvigorated and that students are motivated. But the ingredient that is different in each community, and vital for success, is leadership from all sectors of society.

For any of us to succeed at school reform — mayors, commissioners, governors, teachers, administrators, corporate and civic leaders, as well as foundations — the indispensable factor is to earn public trust and thus rebuild support for our public institutions in general, and for our public schools in particular.

Something I have said for many years is just as important today: Public institutions are 'temples' of our democracy. We should not allow them to become symbols of mediocrity, inefficiency and what is dysfunctional in our society. Instead, we must embrace and celebrate the great truth that democracy and excellence are not mutually exclusive.

After 9/11, when all of us have learned not to take our values for granted and to treasure the principles that sustain our democracy and allow us to remain free, we must recognize that it is education that underpins all our cherished ideals. It was something my unlearned grandmother knew instinctively, and her great gift to me.

Our great founding father Thomas Jefferson once described America as an idea — as a 'crusade against ignorance.' He fervently believed that a nation cannot be ignorant and free. Hamilton County’s participation in Schools for a New Society is not an award but a challenge, and we are confident you will rise to meet it.

Vartan Gregorian is president of Carnegie Corp. of New York, former president of Brown University and the New York Public Library and an educator. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from George W. Bush in 2004