This is the second time that the Catalogue has devoted a separate section to education - sparked by the tremendous amount of attention paid last year to the poor state of affairs in DCPS and Mayor Fenty's appointment of a new chancellor to turn things around. Donors were clearly moved: education organizations garnered more donations as a group than any other in the

Browse the 2003-2009 Education Charities

Catalogue. Our readers clearly want other people's children to have access to the life-transforming power of education that their own children have. They want them to acquire critical thinking skills, to read with pleasure and understanding, and to learn about the world around them. This year's Catalogue includes two independent middle schools that attack the problem of poor performance head on. With small classes, school days that run from early morning to evening, and a commitment to capturing boys as they enter a vulnerable period of life, their successes are astonishing. The in-school and after-school programs we feature provide teacher development, dropout prevention, tutoring and mentoring, character development, and college access (from SAT prep to school visits and scholarships). Early literacy programs work with very young children, and adult programs work with those who still want to navigate the world as fully engaged citizens of it. Keep your eye out for our re-featured charities (icon ): they have won our reviewers' praise for the second time in five years. All of these organizations come at their work with spirit, determination, and conviction - the conviction that everyone has the right to learn, to know, to see.