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“Bank Street College of Education’s partnership with the Newark Public Schools has had inspiring results. Putting the Children First has compelling lessons for readers who care deeply about educating all children.”
—Marian Wright Edelman, President, Children’s Defense Fund “Urban education at its best and the redefinition of what it means to be from Newark.”
—From the Foreword by Gloria Ladson-Billings
“What every pre- and in-service teacher, social worker, policymaker, parent, philanthropist, everyday concerned citizen, and activist needs to understand about the struggle—and possibilities—of transforming urban schools.”
—Michelle Fine, coeditor of Construction Sites: Excavating Race, Class, and Gender Among Urban Youth
Putting the Children First chronicles the educational struggle that took place in the city of Newark amidst years of political upheaval and economic neglect. It is a story of inspiration and hope as we come to understand what happened when educators, parents, and community members pulled together to turn education around in one of the most historically troubled cities in America.
This volume tells the remarkable story of Project New Beginnings, a 7-year collaboration between the Newark Public Schools and Bank Street College to restructure early childhood education. Reporting from the front lines of urban schools, this important volume:
- Gives voice to the variety of people involved in effective school reform-- teachers, principals, staff developers, superintendents, and foundation executives.
- Illustrates how one school-change project kept its focus on the needs of individual teachers and classrooms while negotiating the many demands in contemporary urban schools.
- Confronts the difficult constraints and many hurdles the Project overcame to emerge as a model for school-university collaboration.
