Saving The School

Inside the race to save a great American high school, where making the numbers is only the beginning Being principal was never her dream. Anabel Garza, the young widow of a young cop, got by teaching English to immigrant children, taking college classes at night and raising her son. And Reagan High was no dream assignment. Once famous for its state football championships, educational achievements and award-winning design, the school was a shadow of its former self. “Identified for improvement,” said the federal government. “Academically unacceptable,” said the state. Promising students were fleeing. Test scores were plunging. The education commissioner set a deadline of one year, threatening to close the school for good. But when Anabel took the job - cruising the mall for dropouts, tailoring lessons to the tests, firing a few lazy teachers and supporting the rest – she started something no one expected. As the numbers rose, she set out to re-create the high school she remembered, with plays and dances, yearbooks and clubs, crowded bleachers and teachers who brought books alive. And soon she was not alone. There was Derrick Davis, a star player on the basketball team in the early 1990s, coaching the Raiders toward a chance at the playoffs. There was Candice Kaiser, a science teacher who had left hard partying behind for Christ, drilling her students on chemistry while she drove them to games, tutoring sessions, Bible studies and sometimes even doctors’ appointments. There were JaQuarius Daniels, Ashley Brown and 900 other kids trying to pass the exams, escape the streets and restore the pride of a neighborhood, all while still growing up. Across the country, public schools face the threat of extinction in the numerically ordained churn of the accountability movement. Now, for the first time, we can tally the human cost of rankings and scores. In this powerful rejoinder to the prevailing winds of American education policy, Michael Brick takes us inside the high-pressure world of a school on the brink. Compelling, character-driven narrative journalism, Saving the School pays overdue tribute to the great American high school, and to the people inside.

"Anabel Garza: No school board would have put her forward as a model principal. Pregnant and alone at sixteen, widowed by twenty five, Anabel got along teaching English to Mexican immigrants, raising her son and taking night school classes. But then no model candidate would have taken the job at John H. Reagan High School. Once known to sports fans across Texas as the great champion Big Blue, Reagan was collapsing. The kids were failing the standardized tests, failing on the basketball court, failing even to show up. Teenage pregnancy was endemic. If the test scores and attendance did not improve, the school was set to close at the end of the 2009-2010 school year. Anabel took the assignment. In this powerful rejoinder to the prevailing winds of American education policy, Michael Brick examines the do-or-die year at Reagan High. Compelling, character-driven narrative journalism, Saving the School pays an overdue tribute to the great American high school and to the people inside"--Provided by publisher.

The average debt hanging around the necks of Canadian graduates is $27,000. So when they don their cap and gown and look forward to the future, what they are actually looking at is decades of payments. Yet only 35% of eligible kids receive the Canada Education Savings Grant—up to $7,200 that the government wants to GIVE parents as a reward for saving for school. So why don’t more parents use RESPs? They don’t understand how they work They say they can’t come up with the money They don’t know about the grant – the free money They aren’t convinced their kids will need their help The language and rules just seem too complicated . Saving for School will explain the ins and outs in Gail’s trademark clear, straight-forward style. It takes parents and future students through putting money into a plan, and taking it out in the most tax-effective way, makes following the rules and regulations simple, and shows you how to set your plan up to work for YOU (as opposed to making it easy on your financial institution). Beyond RESPs, Gail offers a full plan for minimizing your student debt, guiding you through how much student loan you should take on, and offer general tips and strategies for saving and for following a budget at school. With Gail by your side, there’s no excuse not to start Saving for School.

Join Rafe as he survives white-water rafting, camp counselors, and rock climbing in this hilarious New York Times bestseller from the Middle School series. After a rough summer, Rafe is heading back to the dreaded Hills Village Middle School, the site of the very worst years of his life. And as if that's not bad enough, he's learned that he's going to be held back a year unless he can prove himself on an outdoor survival excursion-complete with dangerous white-water rafting, dizzying rock climbing, and fanatical counselors. Rafe and the rest of the pack of "delinquent" trainees are forced to cooperate as they prepare for the final test: a solo excursion in the deep woods. Can Rafe come out of the experience in one piece? And if he does, will he go home as the same insecure kid? Both heartwarming and hilarious, Save Rafe! is a story of perseverance and courage as only James Patterson could tell it.

"This is a memoir based on a blog written by a paramedic who was the first responder to a gruesome murder. She suffered from PTSD, depression, overdosing, attempted suicide and addiction. She chronicles her mental health journey in this true story."--

Predicts that the American education system is going to experience a bubble burst, just as the housing market did, and offers advice and solutions for parents, educators and taxpayers on alternatives to the failing K-12 public school system. 20,000 first printing.

Sharing educational and economic statistics, the author presents positive solutions for reforming the secondary education system, especially at the federal level.

Nickelodeon’s PAW Patrol is on the case when Adventure Bay’s school bus breaks down. Boys and girls ages 3-7 will love this storybook. This Nickelodeon read-along contains audio narration