My home town has even more to offer. As communities across the country try to figure out what to do about falling property values, struggling
schools and other symptoms of an ailing economy, Kalamazoo has a daring
solution.

It had a head start, because the economic downturn came early to southwestern Michigan. In the 1990s, pharmaceutical jobs left for New
Jersey, auto factories shut down and the unemployment rate approached 10
percent. Home prices slumped and the tax base dwindled. And Kalamazoo
public schools were among the victims.

Then in 2005, out of nowhere, came a gesture of generosity that would change everything. A group of residents anonymously established and
endowed "The Kalamazoo Promise,"
offering Kalamazoo public school graduates full tuition at any of
Michigan's prestigious public universities or colleges. The goal was to
revitalize the schools, but also the local economy and community.

Even in the program's infancy, the results have been dramatic, halting the community's hemorrhaging of jobs, population and money, according to a study
by the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. In the Promise's first two
years, real estate values rose by 8 to 10 percent (compared to an
average statewide loss of 2 percent). Kalamazoo public school enrollment
increased by more than 1,000 students. Instead of being shackled to a
deteriorating local economy threatened by an exodus of young,
well-educated workers, Kalamazoo is becoming a more attractive location
for economic investment and innovation. After all, companies can, at no
cost to their bottom lines, offer prospective hires a perk that few
other towns can match.

As a Teach for America alumnus who's interested in education reform, I find the Kalamazoo Promise particularly interesting. In contrast to
other private cash infusions into public education systems - Facebook
founder Mark Zuckerberg's recent investment in Newark's schools comes to mind - the Promise is transforming primary and secondary schools indirectly.
Instead of funding everything the public schools might ask for, the
Promise fundamentally changes the district's guiding objective. Now that
every student can afford college, preparing students for college has
become the district's primary concern. Consider the ramifications this
has for the development of teachers, course curricula, administrative
priorities, parental and student expectations and even attendance and
behavioral policies.

This is also a perfect way to cut across ideological lines in the education reform wars. Small-government advocates get a chance to prove -
as they often claim - that private philanthropy can address social
injustices more effectively than public initiatives can. After all, what
better way to shrink the size of government by proving its programs
unnecessary? Meanwhile, progressives can applaud the emphasis on equal
opportunity and the constructive approach to improving student
performance without demonizing teachers or administrators.

Can every town expect a generous anonymous gift to resuscitate its schools and local economy? No. But even while private donations are down
across the country, a number of communities, including Detroit and Pittsburgh, are launching versions of a Promise program. The structure of these efforts varies: El Dorado Promise is funded by Murphy Oil, a local corporation, while College Bound Scholarship Program in Hammond, Ind., is supported by taxes on local gambling. Different communities may need different models, but there are ways to make it work.

This sort of local response to education and economic challenges is exactly what we need right now. It's no small part of the reason that
Kalamazoo Central High School won the Race to the Top Commencement Challenge this year and was rewarded by having President Obama speak at graduation.
In his address, the president said: "I'm here tonight because I think
that America has a lot to learn from Kalamazoo Central about what makes
for a successful school in this new century." He couldn't be more right.
If Americans want change, Kalamazoo is a great example.

Conor Williams is the winner of the America's Next Great Pundit Contest 2010 and for the next three months will be writing a weekly
column and periodic blog posts for The Post. He can be reached at punditconor@gmail.com.