Ben Chavis, director of the American Indian Public Charter School, in Oakland, California, gave the opening luncheon address at the 15th annual meeting of the State Policy Network. Here are a few thoughts from his remarks.

One hundred percent of the school's students passed the state's high school exit exam, despite the fact that one in ten students is an English Language Learner.

Speaking of a recent trip to Ireland, he joked "I can tell the state of your education system by looking at your graffiti." Can graffiti writers spell properly, for example.

Speaking of his school, "we believe in competition." The top 3 schools in Oakland are public schools, based on the model of the American Indian Charter School. But "my goal is to be number one." Two of his schools are in the top 10. But competition was not something he knew in his childhood: the only competition I saw in my childhood, he said, was among bootleggers.

His personal story is a great testimony to the transformation of American life in the last 50 years. He came from a segregated life: hospitals, schools, and even cemeteries. As an Indian, he was not allowed to attend either the University of North Carolina or North Carolina State University--only universities set aside for blacks."

Should poverty be an excuse for poorly performing schools? No, "Poverty built American, not welfare."

He entered the field of education, but it briefly convinced him that he was a victim. But he says "there is no affirmative action in sports." What's good about it? Sports teaches the importance of achievement. He considers No Child Left Behind "the greatest law ever passed for minorities" because, among other things, it places a premium on achievement and testing.

Miss school? Go to detention and then on Saturday. Have perfect attendance, and get a cash reward. Not surprisingly, he has a 99 percent attendance rate, number one in the state.

Kids keep the same teacher in grades 6-8. "You can rotate crops, but it's not good for kids," at least for inner-city minority kids who have chaos at home.

His school takes no grant money. Instead it turns a profit that it uses to send student on trips to Washington, D, and on other things.

He doesn't mind the criticism: "I think critics make you famous." Critics accuse him of cheating. The average high school test on math is 516. On his middle-school students, they get 536.

Over 70 percent of minority students in California are failing; 90 percent of his students are advanced. When students graduate, they have 2 years worth of college.

The school actively uses retention, one in five sixth-grade students. But those students then go on to proficiency.

Some other features of the school: 1.5 hours of English, 1.5 hours of Math. Mandatory all-day attendance in the summer. Consequences for good behavior and for bad behavior.

He's not above using a child's extended family to embarrass a student's parents. Why? If the students don't learn and end up on welfare, in gangs, and otherwise being an embarrassment.

There are some lousy charter schools, but "whatever works," including vouchers.