Work Hard. Be Nice.

Nobody does it better. Makes me feel sad for the rest. Nobody does it half as good as you. Baby, you’re the best.

Carly Simon

A passion for our kids.

This is part IV in a series about remarkable lane changers who are making a difference in one of society’s most intractable problems—educating our kids. In earlier pieces on Marco Petruzzi,  Allan Rudnick, and Liza Bercovici, I wrote about successful professionals who at midlife discovered a calling for education. Their motivations for changing lanes varied, but each made a values-driven decision to focus on giving our kids a better start in life.           

This time, I’m inspired by Marcia Aaron, who rose like a rocket through the ranks of investment bankers to become the second youngest partner in her firm’s history. After a series of moves and institutional mergers, Marcia found herself on the golf course enjoying the life of vagabond when 9/11 hit. The world changed and so did she. The investment banking world was suddenly foreign to her. “I couldn’t do it anymore,” she explains. The lane change she chose was to serve as the Executive Director of KIPP/LA Schools.

KIPP, the Knowledge Is Power Program, is a national network of free, open-enrollment, public schools preparing students in underserved communities for success in college and in life. To date, there are 109 KIPP charter schools in 20 states and the District of Columbia serving more than 32,000 students. You may have read about KIPP in one of Nicholas Kristof’s op-ed pieces in The New York Times or watched the dramatic enrollment process in Davis Guggenheim’s documentary, Waiting for Superman.

I first learned about KIPP from my husband, Bill Norris, who serves on the advisory board of the Los Angeles region. I visited one of the KIPP middle schools in South L.A. and marveled at the energy of the place—so laser-focused on preparing students for college both academically and psychologically. As I toured the campus, I noticed that each classroom sports banners of its namesake university. When I asked a student what grade she was in, she replied with no sense of irony, “I’m in the class of 2018,” the year this 5h-grader would attend college.

Regardless of where you stand on the charter school debate, you have to admit that KIPP’s track record is impressive. These are their demographics: over 80 percent of their students are from low-income families and eligible for the federal free or reduced-price meals program, and 95 percent are Africa American or Latino. But KIPP is proving that “demographics do not define destiny.” Nationally, more than 90 percent of KIPP middle school students have gone on to college-preparatory high schools, and over 85 percent of KIPP alumni have gone on to college.

Marcia heads the Los Angeles region of KIPP schools which currently includes three elementary and two middle schools. She is passionate about KIPP’s mission and its “Five Pillars” approach which builds a partnership among parents, students, and teachers that puts learning in the forefront. The five pillars are:

High Expectations. KIPP schools have clearly defined and measurable high expectations for academic achievement and conduct that make no excuses based on the students’ backgrounds.

Choice & Commitment. Students, their parents, and the faculty of each KIPP school choose to participate in the program. Everyone must make and uphold a commitment to the school and to each other to put in the time and effort required to achieve success.

More Time. KIPP schools know that there are no shortcuts when it comes to success in academics and life. With an extended school day, week, and year, students have more time in the classroom to acquire the academic knowledge and skills that will prepare them for competitive high schools and colleges, as well as more opportunities to engage in diverse extracurricular experiences.

Power to Lead. The principals of KIPP schools are effective academic and organizational leaders who have control over their school budget and personnel, maximizing their effectiveness in helping students learn.

Focus on Results. KIPP schools relentlessly focus on high student performance on standardized tests and other objective measures. Just as there are no shortcuts, there are no excuses. Students are expected to achieve a level of academic performance that will enable them to succeed at the nation’s best high schools and colleges.

This game plan seems simple, but is very hard to put in place. It is Marcia’s job to provide the environment required to achieve student success. At KIPP, she has found a career that demands extraordinary commitment, leverages her experience, and is truly aligned with her values. Her purpose-driven life shows on her glowing face. What’s that line from

When Harry Met Sally?  Oh yes: “I’ll have what she’s having.”

A green and yellow University of Oregon pennant hangs among the riot of KIPP student art tacked-up on Marcia’s office walls. It serves as a constant reminder of the importance of education in setting kids on the path to a good life. Marcia is forever grateful to her alma mater for lifting her out of the underachieving community in rural Oregon where she grew up.

Coming from three generations of highly educated folks, Marcia always expected to go to college. Her hometown peers in White City, Oregon didn’t share that expectation. In fact, when she was in 7th grade, her school was closed for lack of funding—the first in the country to do so. She helped her mother mount a “Save Our Schools” campaign, protesting on the steps of the capital in Salem to provide for kids who had nowhere else to go. She worked on the local newspaper during high school and got a Pell grant to attend the University of Oregon where she majored in journalism.

Movin’ On Up

Her business and advertising coursework helped her get an internship at an international advertising firm in San Francisco. After college, she moved to the big city, starting out as a secretary at a San Francisco investment banking firm. When the market crashed, all her bosses were fired, but she was able to land a job as a junior stock analyst. At 29, she became the second youngest partner in her firm’s history. She was also honored to be asked to serve as a trustee of her alma mater, the University of Oregon.

Marcia moved on to another firm, specializing in research analysis of the apparel industry. It was stimulating work, and she loved working with small businesses. She was on a roll, as evidenced by her Lexus in the office parking lot, though she notes, “It was no big deal ‘cause my car would be parked next to someone else’s Ferrari.” 

Her firm was acquired by a banking giant, which later fell on hard times due to its participation in a series of investment fiascos. In turn, that firm was acquired and, as a consequence, many of the analysts from the acquired company were let go. Marcia and her husband were on the golf course taking lessons when the Twin Towers came down. She was traumatized by the realization that if she were still working that day, she could very well have been at an analyst meeting on Wall Street.

Morning Has Broken

Not long after 9/11, Marcia headed to Thailand, Cambodia, Viet Nam and Laos, experiencing these countries eerily emptied of tourists in the aftermath of the 9/11 disaster. ‘I witnessed such poverty and the trauma of war, but I was struck by the lack of anger in the people, by the joy of life,” she says. It was profoundly eye-opening for her.

Marcia no longer found joy in her work environment. The business changed “and so did I,” she says. A lot had changed in her personal life as well. She divorced and moved to Southern California.

A friend told her about KIPP and recruited her to serve on its board. At that point, there were only two KIPP schools in L.A. The board wanted to expand as KIPP was doing in other cities around the country. But further expansion opportunity was limited in L.A. because of the onerous zoning rules and funding model. (To illustrate this point: NYC schools pay $1/pupil for facilities; L.A. schools pay $1,000/pupil—a price made even more onerous by the multiplicity of zoning rules and regulations.)

Two philanthropists and education reform advocates, Don Fisher and Eli Broad, negotiated a grant for KIPP to help it grow, but the board realized it would need to create a new organizational and funding model in order to take advantage of this generous grant. “It’s a business, a noble business to be sure,” Marcia explains, “but what is takes to grow a multi-unit education organization is different than starting up a single charter.” Her business background was a big help in building the shared operating environment (KIPP/LA Schools) to support the growing number of schools with such activities as academic support, fund raising, real estate, finance and accounting, compliance, and school operations.

Until 2007, Marcia’s board commitments still left plenty of time for personal activities. “I was a beach bum traveling to Tibet,” Marcia recalls, “when I was tasked to chair the KIPP LA Expansion Task Force.” For two months, she worked full-time (as a volunteer, mind you), to put the strategic plan together to grow KIPP LA from two to six schools—adding  two more middle schools and two elementary schools—along with a new back-office operating structure to be shared by all the schools. Marcia was “rewarded” by being voted Chairman of the Board of KIPP LA Schools.

Having given up her early-retirement life, Marcia agreed to make her volunteer work more official and embarked on a board search for an Executive Director. You probably know where this is heading...Marcia decided that she would like to take on the job herself. Not being an educator, she had to demonstrate that she understood the mission in her bones and that her competitive nature—honed in the investment banking world—was right in line with KIPP’s performance-driven culture. 

Since 9/11, Marcia has recognized that money was not the end-all-be-all for a satisfying career. Moving into the Executive Director position, Marcia’s job satisfaction quotient skyrocketed. She realized that it brought together what she had enjoyed most in her prior career (helping small businesses grow and leveraging her financial knowledge) with her passion for education.  All of these attributes come into play as Marcia deals with the three main challenges she faces every day: finding and retaining great talent, funding the enterprise, and arranging for facilities to meet the needs of a growing number of schools.

Teach Your Children Well

I’m reminded of this point made by Lewis Gerstner, former CEO and Chairman IBM, about the difficulty job of hiring great teachers:

“It’s the profession at makes all professions possible yet we pretend we’re still in the 60s with a captive quality work force, i.e. women. Now – there are many other options – half the business school and law school students are women.” 

Despite its funding constraints, KIPP must find and retain talented teachers who are willing to meet the demands of the job for relatively little compensation. These young people must buy into the values of the organization and demonstrate their passion for the mission. A tell-tale signal for Marcia during the interview process is when an applicant uses the phrase “our kids” and not the reference she abhors—“those kids”—a clear indication that the person gets it. Only 10% of teacher applicants make it through the stringent hiring process to work in a KIPP school.

She Works Hard for the Money 

How do you deal with the fact that California ranks in the top five states in terms of costs per student yet ranks in the bottom five states in per-pupil funding? (E.g. New York State schools receive $10,000 to $11,000/pupil while California schools receive less than $6,000 from the state). Marcia’s financial skills come into play as she must be very nimble and creative to stretch those meager dollars to the limit.

School House Rock

Given the complexities of the system driving expenses through the roof, buildings suitable for schools are very difficult to get. Charters that are not located on LAUSD campuses must fend for themselves, incurring on average $1000 in facilities costs per pupil. Happily, Marcia and her team have learned to be very creative, as evidenced by the beautiful school that was recently converted from a tostada factory and another about to open its doors after being converted from a former Big Lots store.

Baby You’re the Best           

Marcia learned as a young woman the value of education and is forever grateful to the University of Oregon for setting her on a path that literally changed her life.  Now every day, she puts into practice her belief that the path to a good life is through education.

Yes, she is still very competitive—she has to be, given the huge challenge she has committed to meet.  “Our goal over the next five years is to expand to14 schools, seven elementary and seven middle schools, which will increase our enrollment fourfold to approximately 6,000 when our schools reach full capacity.”

With great pride, she points to KIPP LA Prep’s ranking as the second best middle-school in the entire L.A. Unified School District. She says, “We have to be the best so our kids can be on the path to a good life.”It may have been serendipity that put KIPP in Marcia’s path at just the right time, but she grabbed the opportunity and changed lanes without looking back, I can’t imagine a better leader to exemplify KIPP’s motto: “Work hard. Play nice.

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