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Samuel Casey Carter is, in a way, the Tom Paine of the movement to raise school achievement in low-income neighborhoods. He coined the term "no excuses schools” for those run by people who think that no matter how bad their students' family lives, with great teaching they should be able to learn just as much as kids from affluent suburban homes. His new book, "On Purpose: How Great School Cultures Form Strong Character," puts this in an even wider context. He profiles a dozen schools that, he says, have set high expectations for personal attitudes and behavior and created both good people and good students. >> Read more »

Veritas Preparatory Academy, a Phoenix charter school near 24th Street and Lincoln Drive, is one of a dozen schools profiled in a new book, On Purpose: How Great School Cultures Form Strong Character, by education leader and author Samuel Casey Carter. In the book, Carter writes that schools that nurture students, have high expectations and focus on character development dramatically increase achievement. Andrew Ellison, founding principal of the sixth through 12th grade college prep school, said unlike the movie Waiting for Superman, Carter's book focuses on what the 12 profiled schools are doing right. >> Read more »