A School in Trouble

William R. Holland

doi:10.5771/9781607098751

Summary

During and after his term as interim Central Falls superintendent in 2006-2007, Bill Holland sought answers to why some Central Falls High School students had school success while over half of their classmates failed to graduate. Much can be learned from how these students survived in a chronically low-achieving school located in the poorest community in the state. Holland provides behind-the-scenes details on the issues of poverty, ineffective teaching, and cultural differences while also advising students, parents, and teachers on ways to gain greater educational success. Before the book was completed, a federal and state mandate unexpectedly resulted in the superintendent having to adopt a turn-around model and fire the entire high school faculty and staff-an action that set off a firestorm between the school and state leadership and the American Federation of Teachers. The conflict made national headlines and was mentioned by President Obama as a prime example of a 'last resort' approach in reforming failing inner-city schools.

Search publication

Bibliographic data

Copyright year: 2010
ISBN-Print: 978-1-60709-873-7
ISBN-Online: 978-1-60709-875-1
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 118
Product type: Book Titles

1. Contents No access
2. Foreword No access
3. Acknowledgments No access
4. Introduction No access
CHAPTER 1. Interim Superintendent in Central Falls No access Pages 1 - 5
CHAPTER 2. The Obstacles to Success in an Inner-City School No access Pages 6 - 7
CHAPTER 3. A Jaded Perception of Urban Schools No access Pages 8 - 12
CHAPTER 4. An Urban Principal Questions Dropout Figures No access Pages 13 - 16
CHAPTER 5. Residential Instability among Latinos No access Pages 17 - 23
CHAPTER 6. The Role of Poverty No access Pages 24 - 26
CHAPTER 7. The Need for Better Teaching No access Pages 27 - 33
CHAPTER 8. The Blame Game No access Pages 34 - 36
CHAPTER 9. The Unique City of Central Falls No access Pages 37 - 40
CHAPTER 10. Central Falls High School Today No access Pages 41 - 44
CHAPTER 11. An Agenda for Change No access Pages 45 - 48
CHAPTER 12. The URI–Central Falls High School Partnership No access Pages 49 - 51
CHAPTER 13. A Severe Bump in the Road No access Pages 52 - 62
CHAPTER 14. Central Falls Students No access Pages 63 - 68
CHAPTER 15. Theresa Agonia—Overcoming Adversity No access Pages 69 - 74
CHAPTER 16. Bryant Estrada—An Independent Thinker No access Pages 75 - 83
CHAPTER 17. Guillermo Ronquillo—The Importance of Faith No access Pages 84 - 89
CHAPTER 18. George Carle—A Basketball Dream No access Pages 90 - 97
CHAPTER 19. Summary No access Pages 98 - 103
Postscript No access Pages 104 - 108
Appendix 1. Guillermo's College Essay No access Pages 109 - 110
Appendix 2. Bryant's College Essay No access Pages 111 - 112
Resources No access Pages 113 - 116
About the Author No access Pages 117 - 118