Hope Against Hope: Three Schools, One City, and the Struggle to Educate America's Children
*Starred Review* In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, with so many schools destroyed and destabilized, New Orleans was viewed as fertile ground for educational reform. Charter schools, staffed mostly by young teachers new to the area, rushed to fill the void in a city whose public schools had long been failing. Education reporter Carr chronicles the lives of students and faculty at three charter high schools, Walker, Sci Academy, and KIPP Renaissance, as they struggled to meet mounting expectations for academic performance. Carr focuses on Geraldlynn, a high-school freshman; idealistic teacher Aidan, a Harvard grad who struggled to keep pace with the ambitious goals set for the school; and Mary Laurie, a New Orleans native and veteran teacher, who became principal of one of the first public schools to reopen after Katrina. Carr deftly explores the complexities of school reform and the tensions between newcomers unfamiliar with the culture of New Orleans and educators and parents suspicious of their intent. But Carr goes beyond New Orleans to examine the broader issues of education reform in urban areas throughout the nation as students and parents are caught in a clash of cultures and ideas on how to repair failing school systems and educate inner-city children. --Vanessa Bush