by KYW's Dr. Marciene Mattleman
What do Joe Carbone - a phys. ed. teacher who was Kobe Bryant’s personal trainer - and an accomplished violist who infuses lessons with the neuroscience of why one needs to practice have in common?
They and six other teachers, chosen through a national search, are part of The Equity Project, a school financed in part with public money that will open with 120 fifth graders in September in New York City.
It will grow to 480 children through eighth grade with entrance through a lottery, giving preference to neighborhood kids, poor academic performers and low income Hispanic families.
Its founder is Zeke Vanderhoek, 32, is a Yale graduate and former teacher who started a test prep company.
Teachers will earn $125,000–nearly twice as much as other New York City teachers. But they can be fired at will.
Vanderhoek’s theory, according to the New York Times, is that excellent teachers, not technology or class size, are the essential ingredient for success. He chose team members because of their talent in keeping kids engaged, redirecting potential troublemakers and their contagious enthusiasm.
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