Now that this partnership is in place, Mayor Booker says the next step is to get the people of Newark involved. "Nobody gets a pass. We need to take leadership from parents, from teachers and from students themselves," he says.

Though a plan hasn't yet been formulated for exactly how the millions will be used, the three critical focuses must be to support teachers, design systems of accountability and support schools of excellence, Mayor Booker says.

Another challenge will be to restore hope to the children of Newark, Gov. Christie says. "What's going on in a place like Newark is we have violence and we have drug use," he says. "Children don't believe tomorrow can be better than today because we've robbed from them their education." Want to help make a change? Watch Oprah's education panel discuss what you can do today—an after the show exclusive.