Silicon Valley entrepreneur David Welch made his money creating breakthrough technology in fiber optic communication and building hardware to run the massive interenet networks of the future.

He's spending it - at least some of it - on a pet project that could substantially change teaching in California and the rest of the country.

Welch is the man behind Students Matter, the advocacy group that recruited nine public school students to sue the state of California, saying teacher job protections harm their ability to get the 'adequate' education they are promised in the state constitution.

Despite not having a background in public education, he said he had no choice but to take on the issue.

KPCC's Adolfo Guzman-Lopez tells us more about the man behind Students Matter.