The Hardest Questions Aren't on the Test: Lessons from an Innovative Urban School

The Boston Arts Academy comprises an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse student body, yet 94 percent of its graduates are accepted to college. Compare this with the average urban district rate of 50 percent. How do they do it? This remarkable success, writes Principal Linda Nathan, is in large part due to asking the right questions—questions all schools can consider, such as: • How and why does a school develop a shared vision of what it stands for?
• What makes a great teacher, and how can a principal help good teachers improve?
• Why must schools talk openly about race and achievement, and what happens when they do? With engaging honesty, Nathan gives readers a ring-side seat as faculty, parents, and the students themselves grapple with these questions, attempt to implement solutions, and evaluate the outcomes. Stories that are inspirational as well as heartbreaking reveal the missteps and failures—as well as the successes. Nathan doesn’t claim to have all the answers, but seeks to share her insights on schools that matter, teachers who inspire, and students who achieve.