GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

We’ve all heard about how Schools Chancellor Joel Klein grew up in public housing in Brooklyn Queens*  but triumphed despite the odds, going on to Columbia University. This weekend, at a convention of 1,000 city high school students who are trying to make money by passing Advanced Placement exams, Klein added an anecdote I hadn’t heard before: He described what happened when he arrived at Columbia, and how that experience also drives his belief that students should never be asked to do less simply because they’re poor.

Whitney Tilson, the money manager and education entrepreneur who founded the AP incentives program, called REACH NY, captured Klein’s speech on video. Klein’s Columbia story starts around minute 6:25.

*I guess I could stand to hear Klein’s stories a few more times!