Quotes from Charles Best

I created DonorsChoose by putting pencil to paper - literally - and sketching out each screen of the web site and how it would work. Then I paid a programmer from Poland $1,500 to turn my sketches and common-sense rules into a functioning website.

To get DonorsChoose.org to scale, we first need to increase the viral appeal of our website.

It's hard to enlist the support of people you don't know, but it's critical to growing your career, finding new customers, and building out your team.

Access to sports is an important part of a well-rounded education, and it takes committed communities and companies like Dick's to make a real difference in kids' lives.

Whether you're raising money for a cause, a personal need, or a project, most crowdfunding sites center on you hitting up people you already know. These sites make it easier to tap your social network for funds, but only the most compelling cases inspire support from strangers.

KIPP schools would be just a shining example of schools where students aren't just given homework and taught imaginative ways, but they're really brought into a culture of education.

Teachers are heroes.

At DonorsChoose.org, we've seen what technology can do for a classroom. We make it easy for teachers to request the materials they need most for their classrooms and for donors to make a meaningful contribution to education.

Within a single school, teachers often encounter differences in poverty levels, parent involvement, and student readiness.

I'd love DonorsChoose.org to become a place where teachers can post innovative, out-of-the-box projects that they can't get funding for traditionally.

If anything, we hope that DonorsChoose.org is going to be a prompt, a nudge in the side of the public school system to improve and to start delivering these materials and experiences that students need and to make it easier for teachers to innovate.

I'm not tech savvy at all.

I saw first-hand that all schools are not created equal, and the students shouldn't have to go without all of the materials that they need for a great education.

I've been a fan of bass fishing for as long as I can remember.

Students who learn to collaborate and negotiate - on Capitol Hill, in the board room, in everyday life - will outperform peers who have higher test scores.

Laptops are important, but before you spend a million dollars per school providing one laptop per child... won't you please spend $5,000 per school equipping every classroom with a document camera?

We think we can contribute something toward the improvement of public education in our country.

We evaluate all business decisions based on how we can best serve public school teachers and their students.

If you just believe in our democracy, and you want an informed electorate, public schools are in your interest, and I think our country is dependent on public schools, whether or not you personally have a kid in the public school system.

I think there are really are some public schools, incredibly successful public schools, that are inculcating a real educational ethic in their students.

Well, just as in the quality of public schools, there is massive disparity and the compensation given to the public school teachers.

Committed teachers know their students' needs better than anyone in the system. Traditionally, however, teachers have little control over the purchase of student materials.

I founded DonorsChoose.org because I care about learning, and I believe every student in our country deserves a great education.

People on the front lines have the best ideas for how to improve things.