Changing the Odds for Children at Risk: Seven Essential Principles of Educational Programs that Break the Cycle of Poverty

by Susan B. Neuman

Schools, today, are in the midst of the most major, costly educational reform movement in their history as they grapple with the federal mandates to leave no children behind, says author Susan B. Neuman, former Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education under President George W. Bush. Although some efforts for investing resources will be substantially more productive than others, there is little evidence that, despite many heroic attempts to beat the odds, any of these efforts will close more than a fraction of the differences in achievement for poor minority children and their middleclass peers.

As Neuman explains in this insightful, revealing book, schools will fail, not due to the soft bigotry of low expectations, but because there are multitudes of children growing up in circumstances that make them highly vulnerable. Children who come to school from dramatically unequal circumstances leave school with similarly unequal skills and abilities.

In these pages, however, Neuman shows how the odds can be changed, how we can break the cycle of poverty and disadvantage for children at risk After laying the critical groundwork for the need for change―excessive waste with little effect―this book provides a vivid portrait of changing the odds for high-poverty children. Describing how previous reforms have missed the mark, it offers a framework based on seven essential principles for implementing more effective programs and policies.

Building on successes while being fiscally responsible is a message that has been shown to have wide bipartisan appeal, embraced by both liberals and conservatives. Following Neuman's essential principles, chapters describe programs for changing the odds for children, when the cognitive gaps are beginning to form, in these earliest years of their lives. In a highly readable style, Neuman highlights programs that are making a difference in children's lives across the country, weaving together narratives that tell a compelling story of hope and promise for our most disadvantaged children.

Genres: Education

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not a page turner. I’ve read plenty of low narrative, high fact non-fiction and even among those, this book is pretty dry. That does not mean it’s not worth your time.

As someone who loves understanding how and why systems work (and don’t work) the way they should, I find the problems in education policy a particularly valuable and interesting analog to many seemingly unrelated areas. Learning is the most lossy of lossy human process - you have people working with each other to deliver human outcomes at scale. Humans are unpredictable and inefficient, and every part of education is human. We install precepts intended to create structure and incentives because, as in any organization of people, it’s all we can do. It’s thinking not too dissimilar from that which is required to run an effective firm, govern a country, or even in its smallest form, cultivate a family. They’re messy human problems, and Susan Neuman’s book is a thorough and analytical discussion of the sort of frameworks required to confront them.

Coming from my perspective as the leader of an education non-profit in my off-work hours, I found this book an excellent distillation of what it takes to actually make a difference, and on top of that the potential cost of thinking you are when you are not (a sin I have committed). This was a great gut check. It’s caused me to look deeply at which problems we are equipped to solve and by the same token those that we are not. Certain circumstances are more tractable and others, knowing which of them your organization is well positioned to ameliorate is the first step in making a real difference. I found this book provocative and informative, a great tool in that pursuit.

[Jen K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a page turner but a thoughtful look at ed programs for disadvantaged children in the US. I appreciate the acknowledgment that the job is too big for just a teacher and reaching the kids/ families with full services before school age is key.

[Bridget Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book if you want to understand the impact poverty has on learning.

[Amy Lamb · Rating 3 out of 5]

A researched-based book that emphasizes that the key to building resilience in at-risk kids is to their ability to become attached to an adult who will give the child a sense of belonging and purpose while building opportunities for success.

[Cat Fithian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me forever to get through this because I was reading it at work and flagging/taking notes. Good stuff here. The title says it all.