Giving Compass' Take:

• The 74 interviews Senator Cory Booker about the successes of his Newark school reforms, celebrity power, and why high quality teachers are the most important part in boosting student achievement.

• In what ways can we improve teacher recruitment across the country, using Newark as a model? Are we investing enough in training and professional development?

• Read more about education reform and how to take the next steps.

Sen. Cory Booker gained national prominence as mayor of Newark, where he bolstered charter schools and attracted millions of dollars in philanthropic donations to turn around perpetually failing district schools. Once an outspoken Democrat on education reform, he, like many in his party, has largely avoided the topic of late, a number of commentators have noted — possibly out of concern about being linked to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’s school choice agenda.

Now, however, with a possible presidential run on the horizon, Booker is looking to change the narrative around his reforms in Newark, which have largely been characterized as a failure. He spoke at length about his trajectory in the city, equity in education, new research about student outcomes in the district, how he enlisted celebrity star power — and dollars — to enact major change, and how “it seems like nobody wants to pay attention to the best school reform story in America.”

Read the full article about Senator Cory Booker and Newark school reforms by Laura McKenna The 74.