For the first time in many years, Massachusetts has an "Education Governor." Swept into the corner office on the strength of a historic grassroots movement and a mission of civic renewal, Gov. Deval Patrick has put education at the top of his list of priorities-and it's little wonder why. Like so many who have experienced success in the Commonwealth, and so many more who anxiously await their chance to do great things, Patrick understands the awesome transformative power of education.
But an extraordinary task lies ahead. Though Massachusetts may be revered as the cradle of public education in America, recent data show that nearly half the state's Hispanic 9th-graders and more than a third ...