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Our School: The Inspiring Story of Two Teachers, One Big Idea, and the School That Beat the Odds
Honest, engaging, and inspiring, Our School tells the story of Downtown College Prep, a public charter high school in San Jose that recruits underachieving students and promises to prepare them for four-year colleges and universities. The average student enters ninth grade with fifth-grade reading and math skills. Many have slid through school without doing homework. Some barely speak English.
Tracking the innovative and pioneering program, award-winning journalist Joanne Jacobs follows the young principal who tries to shake the hand of every student each day, the dedicated teachers who inspire teens to break free from their histories of failure, and the immigrant parents who fight to protect their children from gangs. Capturing our hearts are the students who overcome tremendous odds: Roberto, who struggles to learn English; Larissa, a young mother; Pedro, who signals every mood change with a different hair cut; Selena, who's determined to use college as her escape from drudgery; the girls of the very short, never-say-die basketball team; and the Tech Challenge competitors. Some will give up on their dreams. Those who stick with the school will go on to college.
This gritty yet hopeful book provides a new understanding of what makes a school work and how desire, pride, and community-- ganas, orgullo, and communidad --can put students on track for success in life.
Tracking the innovative and pioneering program, award-winning journalist Joanne Jacobs follows the young principal who tries to shake the hand of every student each day, the dedicated teachers who inspire teens to break free from their histories of failure, and the immigrant parents who fight to protect their children from gangs. Capturing our hearts are the students who overcome tremendous odds: Roberto, who struggles to learn English; Larissa, a young mother; Pedro, who signals every mood change with a different hair cut; Selena, who's determined to use college as her escape from drudgery; the girls of the very short, never-say-die basketball team; and the Tech Challenge competitors. Some will give up on their dreams. Those who stick with the school will go on to college.
This gritty yet hopeful book provides a new understanding of what makes a school work and how desire, pride, and community-- ganas, orgullo, and communidad --can put students on track for success in life.
- GenresEducationNonfiction
256 pages, Paperback
First published November 29, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 22, 2009
I was a bit skeptical about this book; ever since I became a teacher I have come to loathe those "inspirational true stories" of Hero Teachers Who Win Everyone Over, Even The Annoying/Nasty/Shy/Non English Speaking Students, All In The Span of a Conveniently Short and Unrealistic Time Period.
As it turns out, gratifyingly enough, this story is definitely realistic and I could so relate to many of the profiles and anecdotes (of teachers, students, and classroom situations). I found myself wanting to react like I was right there with the kids, which was sometimes infuriating and sometimes emotional.
I liked that the author pulled no punches about the struggles of the school, and that the actual people involved didn't either--they got angry, frustrated, and annoyed, even though they persevered through it. There were some amazing successes but also plenty of failure. It was fascinating to read about how the administrators dealt with those failures, too--that they actually wanted to figure out how to change things to make them better. I think that's a HUGELY important lesson for everyone involved with education and kids.
One thing that's nice about a book like this is the condensation of time--you don't have to suffer through the everyday minutiae that drags you down in real life, but can reasonably quickly see what happened with certain kids or teachers.
As it turns out, gratifyingly enough, this story is definitely realistic and I could so relate to many of the profiles and anecdotes (of teachers, students, and classroom situations). I found myself wanting to react like I was right there with the kids, which was sometimes infuriating and sometimes emotional.
I liked that the author pulled no punches about the struggles of the school, and that the actual people involved didn't either--they got angry, frustrated, and annoyed, even though they persevered through it. There were some amazing successes but also plenty of failure. It was fascinating to read about how the administrators dealt with those failures, too--that they actually wanted to figure out how to change things to make them better. I think that's a HUGELY important lesson for everyone involved with education and kids.
One thing that's nice about a book like this is the condensation of time--you don't have to suffer through the everyday minutiae that drags you down in real life, but can reasonably quickly see what happened with certain kids or teachers.
February 23, 2008
I wanted to like this more than I did -- mostly because what this charter school is trying to accomplish with their students is exactly what the grant I work for is trying to do with our Kentucky students. Unfortunately, there were so many niggling little problems with this book/the writing that I couldn't enjoy it. Chronography was a huge problem -- she kept jumping around so it was hard to follow when events were occurring in the school year. A lot of the "supplemental" materials that she included -- mostly student artifacts -- were out of context or had no real impact on the point of the chapter in which they were included. Her intentions were good, I think, but the follow-through was lacking, for me.
November 5, 2009
i really enjoyed this book. it's the story of young, energetic teachers that create a charter school in san jose. they make a lot of mistakes and do many things right. the book chronicles the ups and downs of a journey and gives insight into what goes into the start of a charter school. it's particularly interesting to me because it's local, fairly current and makes references to eastside prep in east palo alto.
January 10, 2008
Our School is the true story of a charter school in California. Joanne Jacobs chronicles the entire start-up process, showing the perspectives of students, parents, administrators, educators, and bureaucrats. If you are interested in the red-tape side of education, and particularly in charter schooling, this is the book for you.
Otherwise, go ahead and pass this by.
Otherwise, go ahead and pass this by.
August 3, 2011
very thorough story of a school in downtown San Jose CA that expects a lot from its underserved, poor and/or Spanish-speaking student body. Inspirational and depressing over the state of education in CA.
May 18, 2007
cheesy title and writing is mediocre, but i thought she gave a great examination of the development of a charter school from the very beginning
August 20, 2008
Really inspiring book for starting a school. It tells everything about one can face while running a sschool.
February 15, 2009
About an academic charter school serving disadvantaged students in San Jose, California, written by a former San Jose Mercury News reporter.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews