Michelle Rhee, the outspoken former Chancellor of D.C. Public Schools once quipped, "We're going to back-map where [teachers] came from, which schools produced these [teachers], and if you are producing ineffective or minimally effective teachers, we're going to send them back to you."

Turns out there's an education school in Kansas that's already meeting Rhee's challenge — Emporia State University. They pledge to bear the cost of remedial training of any graduate who does not meet the standards of the district in which they teach. In the 18 years of the Professional Development Program at Emporia State University, only five teachers have been sent back for more training.

Graham Drake