“They come up with these plans that look great and sound great. They give people hope. Then, they fall into the background. Promises are made, and they are not kept.”

SHEILA WHITE of New Orleans, on reconstruction after Hurricane Katrina

“When more than 1 million students a year drop out of high school, it's more than a problem, it's a catastrophe.”

COLIN POWELL, founding chair of America's Promise Alliance. The alliance issued a report Tuesday that says 17 of the 50 largest U.S. cities have high-school graduation rates below 50%

[Remember, no child left behind? Okay, so 50 percent isn’t bad. Really, we knew this wasn’t going to work. It didn’t work in Texas, so why would anyone expect it to succeed in the rest of the 49 states?]