City Year is taking on some of the toughest work in education.

To be clear, we the Department of Education want curriculum to be driven by the local level. We are by law prohibited from directing curriculum. We don't have a curriculum department.

I think every student needs access to technology, and I think technology can be a hugely important vehicle to help level the playing field.

My vision is that schools need to be community centers. Schools need to be open 12, 13, 14 hours a day six, seven days a week, 12 months out of the year, with a whole host of activities, particularly in disadvantaged communities.

Almost 24 million children - one in three - are likely growing up without their father involved in their lives.

No one is mandating merit pay.

To encourage more top-caliber students to choose teaching, teachers should be paid a lot more, with starting salaries more in the range of $60,000 and potential earnings of as much as $150,000.