A principal with the right idea.

"We're accountable to the state, and the kids are accountable to us. The teachers are accountable to me, and I'm accountable to the community," Lopez said.

The Oakland Charter Academy was started in 1994 but didn't start outperforming its peers until last year, after principal Jorge Lopez took over.

He said the school's statewide Academic Performance Index rose 94 points last year, even though 90 percent of his students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches and many come from immigrant families. That jump far exceeded the state goal of 8 points.

Charter schools are taking hold in the inner city at a rapid rate. Jorge Lopez is the principal of the Oakland Charter Academy. He seems to understand what his job is all about. While some charter schools are filled with the same dead-end teachers and administrators, most are giving the parents in the poorest cities choices they never had. Discipline and accountability.