Saving the School: The True Story of a Principal, a Teacher, a Coach, a Bunch of Kids and a Year in the Crosshairs of Education Reform

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Saving the School: The True Story of a Principal, a Teacher, a Coach, a Bunch of Kids and a Year in the Crosshairs of Education Reform

by Michael Brick (Goodreads Author)

3.14 of 5 stars 3.14 · rating details · 44 ratings · 20 reviews

An unstoppable principal's race to save a failing high school from falling short of its numbers and closing its doors forever.
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...more An unstoppable principal's race to save a failing high school from falling short of its numbers and closing its doors forever.
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 2009-10 school year.
Anabel took the assignment. Her first work was triage. She cruised the malls for dropouts. She fired ten teachers, including one who produced a ruler to bemoan the distance from the parking lot to her classroom door. She listened to angry lectures from union officials and angrier ones from black ministers. She kept going. She tailored each student's tutoring to the standardized tests. The numbers started to come up.
But with the state education commissioner threatening to close the school, the real work began. Anabel set out to re-create the high school she remembered, with plays and dances, yearbooks and clubs, teachers who brought books alive and crowded bleachers to cheer on the basketball team. She reached out to the middle schools, the neighborhoods, and the churches. She gave good teachers free rein. She mixed love and expectations.
The circumstances facing Reagan High are playing out all over the country. The get-tough crowd of education reformers, led by Obama's secretary of education, are redoubling their efforts to replace public schools with charter companies. But what happens when the centerpiece of a community is threatened? And what happens when one person just won't quit?
For the first time, we can tally the costs of rankings and scores. 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.(less)

Hardcover, 288 pages

Published August 16th 2012 by Penguin Press HC, The

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Apr 13, 2013 Cassie Moffitt rated it 5 of 5 stars

I was actually sad when I finished reading this book. I was sad because I wanted to keep reading and find out what happened even past the book. I felt like I knew those in the story and found myself rooting for them and the school that everyone had written off. To see everyone--students, staff, administrators, parents--come together for a common goal may have been one of the most beautiful true stories I've read in awhile. It also shows why it's so important that we put value back into education...more

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May 08, 2013 Susan rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book started off as rather disjointed, so it took me a while to get into it. The chapters jumped from the point of view of the principal, science teachers, basketball coach initially with little transition. The opening also started off with a lot of railing against current school reform measures. Although I happen to agree with a lot of the author's opinions on this, the statements with little to back them up felt one-sided.

There wasn't as much discussion of the "Crosshairs of Reform" that...more This book started off as rather disjointed, so it took me a while to get into it. The chapters jumped from the point of view of the principal, science teachers, basketball coach initially with little transition. The opening also started off with a lot of railing against current school reform measures. Although I happen to agree with a lot of the author's opinions on this, the statements with little to back them up felt one-sided.

There wasn't as much discussion of the "Crosshairs of Reform" that is in the subtitle as I would have liked. We know that the school is in danger of closing due to reforms, and we certainly see the extreme focus on the state tests in the school, but there wasn't much additional discussion of the details or pros and cons of the reform efforts. Instead, there was a lot of discussion of the characters, but none of it in-depth enough to draw the readers in.

My interest and the writing definitely picked up as the book went on. I appreciated all the matter-of-fact description of the faculty and staff taking kids to doctors' appointments, inviting them to their homes for dinner, going to kids' houses when they are absent, etc. I know from experience that this kind of above-and-beyond work of teachers in urban schools is not unusual. The average teacher in a "failing school" works much harder than one in a non-failing school, but the public tends to think they just sit around twiddling their thumbs, and that's why the kids are failing. I have been amazed at the work and dedication of some of my kids' teachers, and I have noted that the worse the school is perceived the more caring and hard-working the teachers tend to be. So I'm glad Brick gave the teachers their due.

I would have liked to learn more about how well the students did after their successful year of testing. Their scores went up, but how much did they learn. On the one hand, it sounds like the testing gave the teachers a lot of data to help the students. They were able to individualize each student's tutoring and extra help in the areas they had been lacking before. On the other hand, did this approach do anything to give students the big picture and help them be better prepared for the next level? I feel like we are constantly changing approaches to education and our reform efforts are just flailing around in the dark, and I would like more longitudinal information about what really works.(less)

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Nov 18, 2012 Dawn rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: pop-culture, mind-body-spirit, ebook

I don’t like giving negative reviews. Anyone who follows my blog regularly may have figured that out. This time I’m making an exception for twofold reasons. One, because I received this specifically in order to review it, and secondly because the author here is purportedly a New York Times alum who should both be able to take a poor review with grace, and should damn well be expecting them over this.

This is the story of Reagan High School in Austin (no not that Reagan, another one), a ghetto hig...more I don’t like giving negative reviews. Anyone who follows my blog regularly may have figured that out. This time I’m making an exception for twofold reasons. One, because I received this specifically in order to review it, and secondly because the author here is purportedly a New York Times alum who should both be able to take a poor review with grace, and should damn well be expecting them over this.

This is the story of Reagan High School in Austin (no not that Reagan, another one), a ghetto high school in crisis, which manages the miracle of preventing a shutdown by nearly doubling test scores in a single academic year under its new (and current) principal, Anabel Garza.

I’m such a sucker for these stories. Seriously, it’s pathetic. I know.

But this is just… badly, badly done. First of all, the narrative is all over the damn place. Brick bounces us back and forth between a young male athlete, the principal, the basketball coach and bizarrely, a science teacher who finds Jesus with an evangelical group, institutes bible study for her students, at her home, and decides to take a bunch of students to East Africa.

To be honest, that last bit would be considered so incredibly inappropriate by parents and the New York Board of Ed that the teacher would probably have been removed immediately, with The Times being the first ones calling for her head. But this is Texas… which is, as I’ve often said, “a whole ‘nother planet”.

I’m also amazed that such a vast amount of time is spent on Basketball and Bible Study instead of talking about teaching techniques, outreach programs, student aid… it’s mentioned almost as an afterthought that there’s a day care center in the school for teen parents. Hey, lets talk about that dammit, because that right there is a way to get those girls diplomas. Let’s also talk about the student I noticed being referred to merely as “the pregnant girl” three times (the lack of even a pseudonym for the young lady offended me, frankly) but not a single mention is made of anything done to help her stay in school; just a snide reference to her condition being a “hall pass”. ESL classes are barely touched on, although it’s mentioned several times that the school has a high head count of students born south of the Rio Grande.

Do I sense some personal bigotries, or are we just catering to the existing ones in our main target market here?

The writing itself is mediocre at best. Brick appears to be writing in the same voice he uses for news articles and sports commentary, and that just doesn’t work in a piece of this scope. It’s too jarring, and it assumes one has a certain level of background. That background isn’t there in this case; no reader outside of the state is going to have any real idea of how Texas’ school system works, and the sketchy lines describing it are inadequate.

In conclusion, I can only encourage Principal Garza to write her own book, and hope that someone else has done a better job than this, because it’s a story that should be told. In the meantime, for those who enjoy stories of this type as much as I do, I recommend Shut Up and Let the Lady Teach: A Teacher’s Year in a Public School by Emily Sacher as a much better choice.(less)

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Mar 27, 2013 Amy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: advance-copies

In the age of No Child Left Behind and exurbanization, it’s inevitable that the city schools are taking a hit. Having student taught in a Minneapolis school, I saw first hand the low moral that can ensue when you mix together low SES students with either exhausted tenured teachers just biding their time until retirement or brand new “cheaper” teachers who can barely make it through a lesson plan because babysitting has become the number one priority for each and every day. I was fortunate enough...more In the age of No Child Left Behind and exurbanization, it’s inevitable that the city schools are taking a hit. Having student taught in a Minneapolis school, I saw first hand the low moral that can ensue when you mix together low SES students with either exhausted tenured teachers just biding their time until retirement or brand new “cheaper” teachers who can barely make it through a lesson plan because babysitting has become the number one priority for each and every day. I was fortunate enough to have many students who cared about their education and were on the higher achieving side (two of my classes were Precalculus, an optional math class). But that’s not to say I didn’t witness first-hand the chaos of other classrooms and I had my own students with stories of poor attendance because of having to help the family out during the day.

I was excited to read Saving the School because I have a special fondness in my heart for the teachers in a school who can make a difference. (Stand and Deliver, anyone?) But I watch these movies, read these books with a wary eye. Although in Stand and Deliver, Jaime Escalante’s story is one chalk full of miracles, the movie version leaves out the cost of his marriage he paid to help his students be AP success-stories. As if most teachers don’t work enough hours during the school year, adding extra tutoring, home Bible studies, study groups and backyard concerts (as one of the teachers in Saving the School did) leaves little to no room for a personal life. And now that that particular teacher is married, I would hope for the sake of her family that she has cut back. But we don’t read about any pitfalls with the extra work piled on top of the already daunting task of teaching/coaching/principalling a group of students throughout the year. And I can assure you there are consequences.

All the stories that were gathered were slightly two-dimensional, solely focusing on the end result of making adequate yearly progress. The author at one point snuck in a bit about the principal being on a diet, but this hardly qualifies as a side-plot, which I think would have benefitted the book. We only get a glimpse into the efforts of one teacher, one coach and the principal, so I can’t help but wonder the role the greater staff/faculty played. Was everyone being a team player that year? What about the teachers who didn’t help in saving the school? There was a much greater story that could have been touched on without sacrificing the main three stories.

Even though the story-telling aspect of the book could have used some beefing up, the story itself was rather fascinating. How do you band together to keep a school from closing? Help students pass state testing? Keep them from skipping, despite the lack of parental guidance? I appreciate the faculty and students who allowed the author to tell their story because it was definitely one worth telling.
(less)

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Aug 26, 2012 Sara rated it 5 of 5 stars

Michael Brick gives us a riveting, well written account of the enormous challenges faced by a public high school about to be shut down by the state of Texas. The principal, Anabel Garza, with fierce determination and faith in her students and teachers, and with the help of hundreds of community volunteers, meets the state test standards and literally saves the school from closure. Along the way you meet the heroes: Candice, the Christian Chemistry teacher, and Derrick, the boys' basketball coach...more

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Sep 13, 2012 Brian rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a great story, and even better because it is true. Michael Brick captures the reality of the Reagan story. As someone who lives in Austin, has seen the turnaround, and is acquainted with some of the folks involved in the community effort around the school I can say that this book adds depth to what we have all seen on the surface. If you want to understand the issues around minority and disadvantaged schools, and see people work within the system, imperfectly but passionately to turn it...more

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Oct 07, 2012 Andrea rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: gave-up

I quit this book after the first chapter. It was too all over the place. He jumps from education policies to how the principal never thought she was pretty. Why is that last point important in a book that supposedly is going to focus on her accomplishments as an adult? Also the school system was not well explained in the first chapter so that I was just confused. For those reasons I quit.

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Nov 08, 2012 Julie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Alternatively inspiring and depressing. Truly makes you understand the herculean efforts required principals and teachers to be successful in an increasing number of today's struggling public schools. The lack of support to our schools from federal and state education agencies and taxpayers is appalling.

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Jan 06, 2013 Brittany Decker rated it 3 of 5 stars

It was a story told very well, minus the jumping around that seems to worsen as the book progresses. I thought it would be a bit more political, educating about current education system and it definitely starts that way but morphs from poorly supported soapbox complaining about standardized testing to a feel good story. As far as a feel good story goes though, this one is pretty darn good.

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Sep 14, 2012 Srosch rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was expecting something way different than this book was, not a lot of tips and tricks.

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Nov 20, 2012 Beth rated it 2 of 5 stars

Love the idea but the style is dull. Abandoned it after a few chapters.

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Nov 10, 2012 Doneen rated it 2 of 5 stars

I was disappointed in the handling of this important subject. I'm not sure if it was the writer's style or the substance of his reporting. This book felt to me like a missed opportunity to address the issues.

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Nov 06, 2012 Becki rated it 1 of 5 stars

Great concept...confusing narrative with the jumping back and forth. Seemed very disjointed. king of like this review. :)

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Feb 02, 2013 Bannon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2013

Compelling story about how NCLB works against schools and kids sometimes.

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Sep 05, 2012 Lisa Hayes marked it as to-read

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Feb 24, 2013 Christie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Reads like fiction. Inspiring.

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Oct 01, 2012 Jane added it

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, even though I have some quibbles (pet peeve: calling Peace Corps "The Corps", ugh) and questions (would this author who lives here in Austin, send his own kids to Reagan?), I'd recommend it to anyone interested in public education generally or AISD/Reagan HS in particular.

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Nov 07, 2012 Gina Enk rated it 3 of 5 stars

While this is certainly an inspiring story, Brick doesn't create a strong characterization for the people who star in this book. If you're looking for a book to show the downside to standardized testing (and is there an upside?) Brick articulates well the challenges teachers and administrators face everyday.

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Nov 24, 2012 Molly Brick rated it 5 of 5 stars

This story is a page-turner and inspiring reading. It is a "must read" for anyone who cares about educating our children, now and in the future. The people in this story come to life and you are there, rooting for them.

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Apr 29, 2013 Pam rated it 4 of 5 stars

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Shelves: education-musings

Apr 20, 2013 Brooke is currently reading it

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About Michael Brick

Michael Brick, a former reporter and sportswriter for The New York Times, filed feature stories from Alaska to Mexico, but mostly Brooklyn. He lives in Austin with his wife, Stacy, and their children.

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Saving the School: One Woman's Fight for the Kids That Education Reform Left Behind

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