For more than 25 years, the network of KIPP schools (Knowledge is Power Program) has provided a lifeline to a success for thousands of low-income, minority, and special needs children. It has been a vital oasis amid a desert of failing public schools. Its approach stressed the importance of both academic and character excellence through a cohesive strategy that was encapsulated in the motto it adopted at its launch in 1994: “Work Hard. Be Nice.”

But those inspiring guiding words will no longer be imparted to its students. KIPP recently announced it was abandoning that motto. Its leaders explained that the slogan “hinders efforts to dismantle systemic racism,” “places value on being compliant and submissive,” and “supports the illusion of meritocracy.”