Education Reform is Not Out of Our Control
“To read it is to come away inspired with the idea that regardless of one's community setting, it is vital to get parents and local businesses involved in the life of one's school....This book is a blueprint for showing how to break down those walls that separate to achieve a human and financial renaissance.”—MultiCultural Review, Winter 2009
“There is struggle in these pages but also joy. I recommend this book to anyone who is serious about changing America's urban landscape. The Nettelhorst story is one not just to emulate but to celebrate.”—James Cleveland, president, Jumpstart for Young Children
“This volume is an admirable achievement that will doubtless be looked to as a model for school districts in need.”—Publishers Weekly, Web Exclusive Review, Oct 2009
“Nettelhorst has seen an unbelievable change, from caterpillar to butterfly, and it happened right in my own backyard in Chicago. How to Walk to School moved me to tears….it's one of the most absolutely beautiful, heartwarming stories I've read in a long time.”—Nate Berkus, Oprah & Friends
When two gutsy moms ventured inside Nettelhorst, their neighborhood's underutilized and struggling public elementary school, the new principal asked what it would take for them to enroll their children. Stunned by her candor, they returned the next day armed with an extensive wish list. The principal read their list and said “Well, let's get started, girls! It's going to be a busy year…"
How to Walk to School is the story—from the highs to the lows—of motivated neighborhood parents galvanizing and then organizing an entire community to take a leap of faith, transforming a challenged urban school into one of Chicago's best, virtually overnight. Susan Kurland, Nettelhorst's and Jacqueline Edelberg prove that the fate of public education is not beyond our control. How to Walk to School provides an accessible and honest blueprint for reclaiming the great public schools our children deserve. For additional reviews and information check out www.howtowalktoschool.com and the How to Walk to School Facebook page!
Jacqueline Edelberg is a community organizer, writer, nationally recognized fine artist, and co-founder of the Nettelhorst Parent’s Coop, a group of energetic parents who sparked Chicago’s neighborhood school renaissance. She has been featured on Oprah & Friends, NPR, CNN, 60 Minutes, Education Weekly, and in the local media.
Susan Kurland has retired as Nettelhorst's principal and is currently consulting on behalf of the Stakeholders Collaboration for Improved Student Health, the Healthy Schools Campaign, and the Chicago Principals for Healthy Schools Project, helping principals and parent leaders formulate health and wellness policies.
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC.
An Imprint of the Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group
www.rlpgbooks.com
October 2009 v 210 pages v 1-4422-0000-6 v $24.95 Cloth
Praise Page for How To Walk to School: Blueprint for a Neighborhood School Renaissance
From the September 1st issue of Library Journal:
“This is a fascinating account of the collaboration between a public school principal, Kurland, the parents of young children considering her elementary school, and the community that transformed a failing public school into an outstanding and revitalized one. In the face of disastrous, widespread public school system failures across America, parent dissatisfaction, and teacher despair, the Chicago-based Nettlehorst School's success story is a beacon. Edelberg, one of the Nettlehorst parents, and Kurland offer educators hope that change can happen in any public school, given the right mix of parent-teacher patience, willpower, community involvement, pluck, creativity, collaboration, and ability to overcome adversity. They provide a blueprint that schools can use for revitalization projects, detailing, for instance, how to procure donations from area businesses and to ask questions that will get answers about difficult educational problems such as coping with dysfunctional and unsatisfactory teaching.”
*VERDICT* This book is essential reading for all elementary school parents and teachers, especially those who have lost their faith in the American public school system and are looking for ways to improve it. Here are solutions and inspiration.
STARRED REVIEW From Octobers BOOKLIST ONLINE EXCLUSIVE:
“Nettelhorst Elementary School had been on the decline since the 1960s when families living in its Chicago North Side neighborhood fled to the suburbs. As the neighborhood rebounded, the school did not. Then eight energetic women meeting in a nearby park, frustrated that their soon-to-be-school-age children had so few options—either pricey private schools or excruciating competition for the few slots in public magnet schools—decided to take up the challenge of resurrecting a school plagued by declining enrollment and low achievement. Edelberg was part of that parent group; Kurland was the new principal, receptive to new ideas and active parents. In this highly informative book, Edelberg and Kurland essentially lay out a model for reviving the neighborhood school. They detail the struggles, from tensions with some teachers, to a lack of cooperation with school bureaucracy, to charges by some parents that the school was being gentrified. The reformers knew they had to focus on the essentials: develop partnerships with local businesses and nonprofit organizations, improve academic performance, and improve the school’s image to attract more middle-class families. After all the joy and struggle, the group transformed the school into a high performer that has been acclaimed nationally for its achievement. This is a compelling story of transformation and an incredibly helpful resource—a blueprint—for parents similarly motivated.”— Vanessa Bush
Contact: Emily Todd v 301-459-3366 x5314 v etodd@rowman.com
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