A Newsweek article about Zuckerberg's $100M grant to Newark:

Mark Zuckerberg and Cory Booker want to show you how to fix your school district. The Facebook CEO and the Mayor of New Jersey's largest city have heard the troubling statistics about America's failing schools. They know about the math and science test scores that trail other countries, the racial achievement gaps, and the low graduation rates. Newark, Booker's city, has these problems and more. Only about half its students receive a high-school diploma. A large proportion of students who do get one will still need remedial classes in college.

Zuckerberg and Booker believe they can turn the tide. They have a head start thanks to Zuckerberg's $100 million donation to the city's schools, announced in September, and support from Gov. Chris Christie, whose administration calls the shots in Newark's state-controlled school district. Now, if only Newark citizens will get on board.

Money alone won't solve Newark's problems. It already spends about $20,000 per student, more than twice the national average. And when education reformers like former Washington, D.C., superintendent Michelle Rhee made radical changes, a public backlash undermined their efforts.

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