During his eight-year term as New York City schools chancellor, Joel Klein presided over some of the nation’s most promising education reforms. One hundred charter schools opened on Klein’s watch (including KIPP and Uncommon Schools). In all, more than 600 new schools opened, many of them small and distinctive. Many school principals gained greater authority as well as accountability. Many students acquired more choices. And many teachers earned substantially higher salaries.

How well is it working? What does Joel Klein view as his most important accomplishments and durable legacies? Where did he not succeed? And what lessons can the next era of education reform learn from him?  On Monday, December 8, from 12-1:30 EDT, the Hoover Institution in Washington will host a conversation featuring Joel Klein, Chester Finn, Hoover Institution senior fellow and Fordham Institute distinguished senior fellow and president emeritus, and Robert Pondiscio, Fordham Institute senior fellow and vice president for external affairs, discussing Klein's latest book, Lessons of Hope: How to Fix Our Schools

You can watch the event below:

You can also follow the conversation and ask questions online with @educationgadfly, @HooverInst, and @WaltonFamilyFdn at #KleinLessons. For more information, see the Thomas Fordham B. Institute web page. This event is co-sponsored by the Hoover Institution, the Thomas B. Fordham Insitute, and the Walton Family Foundation.

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The Hoover Institution in DC hosts Ideas Uncorked: Jews Vs. Rome Book Launch on Thursday, October 16, 2025 from 5:00–6:30 pm ET. The event will… Hoover Institution in DC
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The Hoover Institution hosts a Fireside Chat with Governor Ron DeSantis and Secretary Rice on Friday, October 17, 2025 from 1:00 - 2:00PM PT. Shultz Auditorium, George P. Shultz Building
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The Sowell Legacy: Ideas, Impact, And Intellectual Freedom
Celebrating a lifetime of fearless inquiry, principled scholarship, and contributions that have shaped generations of thinkers and policymakers. Hoover Institution, Stanford University
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