Award-Winning Documentary, Petersburg Rising, the remarkable true story of transforming one of the lowest-performing school districts, is now available to Educators nationwide. The film highlights a successful approach to overcoming crisis, generational cycles of failure and systematic challenges to equitable education. Petersburg Rising, a “must-see” film from Producer and Award-winning Author…
We have met our initial goals to date, thanks to the generous support of people like YOU who are credited within the now completed, Petersburg Rising film! Petersburg Rising… Has won First Place in the Oliver White Hill Social Justice film festival; Is now being sponsored & supported by the…
License/PurchaseFilm Site (see the trailer)Donations (join us) This a common American Story of economic boom-to-bust, with an unusual twist: an extraordinary group of leaders entered the picture to turn the tide by investing in children and their education. Petersburg was to be their model for the state, and perhaps the nation.…
When I asked 13-year-old Angie why she had recently joined the Latin Kings gang on Chicago’s South Side, she looked at me like I wasn’t too bright, but entertained the question anyway. ”Why wouldn’t I join?! My uncle is on the gang, my friends are in it and so is my boyfriend,”…
(the following is an excerpt from a forthcoming issue of The School Administrator. See AASA.org) It was Monday morning and the middle school had flooded over the weekend. Told it would take two weeks to reopen, the superintendent quickly moved this crisis to the top of his growing list that…
(the following is an excerpt from a forthcoming issue of The School Administrator. See AASA.org) Part 2: Face the facts and your fears. Data reflecting poor performance, especially among subgroups, often become the catalyst to action. In Abington, Pa., the data showing gaps between the majority of the student body…
(the following is an excerpt from a forthcoming issue of The School Administrator. See AASA.org) No. 3: Make organizational meaning. The best school districts choose an overarching strategy for improvement rooted in their stakeholders’ core beliefs and vision, a clear-eyed analysis of the internal facts and external research, and a…
The greatest challenges to success for every student in America are the policies that promote one child over another and punish educators for being ill-equipped to address the multiple and increasingly serious issues students bring with them to school. Even in the toughest circumstances, someone in each district is succeeding…
No. 5: Build sustainable relations. The lifeblood of any organization is trusting relationships. Without trust among the adults in a school, there is almost no chance that students will excel in their academics. Building relationships with school boards, community members and parents makes it possible for district leaders to advance…
Foreword to Excellence Through Equity by Archbishop Desmond Tutu Having helped to act as a catalyst and to shepherd one of the world’s few peaceful transitions from a colonial occupation to a democratically elected president, I can say that a movement is born out of the convergence of dire…