Claim: Louis Sachar did not finish his studies, and worked on Sideways Stories From Wayside School where the students were named after children from Hillside.
Evidence: After graduating from Tustin high school, Sachar attended Antioch College for a semester before transferring to University of California, Berkeley, during which time he began helping at an elementary school in return for 3 college credits. Sachar graduated from UC Berkeley in 1976 with a degree in Economics, and began working on Sideways Stories From Wayside School, a children's book set at an elementary school with supernatural elements. Sachar graduated from University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 1980 and did part-time legal work while continuing to write children's books.