Book Review: Hope Against Hope - Three Schools. One City, and the Struggle to Educate America's Children

Sometimes you find the right book at the right time. This was my experience with Sarah Carr's Hope Against Hope: Three Schools, One City, and the Struggle to Educate America's Children. I was somewhat reluctant to start it; since so much of my time and energy is spent on education and thinking about, studying, and discussing the state of education, I try to find other topics to read about in my spare time. However, I spied it at a library book sale and was intrigued. My last year teaching high school, several students from New Orleans attended my school after Hurricane. Katrina, and during my time in Boston, I remember discussing the changes that were happening in New Orleans. Since August 2015 marked the 10-year anniversary of the storm that changed the city, I thought that now was the right time to learn more about the school system there, and I am so glad I did this. 

Hope Against Hope provides a thoughtful and unbiased examination of public education in New Orleans since the overhaul that Katrina accelerated (even before the hurricane destroyed the majority of schools, the education system was troubled and troubling, with a history of low test scores, poor graduation rates, and corruption). Since Katrina, the city has become a large-scale experiment/laboratory in urban school reform, with the public education system being mostly comprised of charter schools. Supporters view this as a model for what school reform can and should be across the country, while critics note charters' lack of oversight and regulations as well as the schools' reliance on a young and often-changing teaching force. However, as Carr clearly illustrates, the truth lies somewhere in between.

To depict the highs and lows of the present-day system, Carr opts to profile three different people involved with education in the city throughout the 2010-2011 school year: Geraldlynn Stewart, a freshman at the just-established KIPP Renaissance High School; Aidan Kelly, a Harvard graduate and Teach for America Alum who starts a new teaching position at a charter school; and Mary Laurie, a veteran New Orleans educator and principal who is in charge of O. Perry Walker High School, another charter. This decision is a wise one, and it ultimately helps further Carr's goal of offering an objective examination of her subject.The depiction of the reform movement in New Orleans is remarkably fair to all involved. Those looking for a screed against charter schools will be disappointed, as Carr points out the benefits of charter schools and the improvements to the school system. However, she also notes charters' limitations and acknowledges the valid charges against them, such as the tendency to coerce students who act out or have exceptionalities to leave. By putting faces to go with the different perspectives, Carr makes it harder to dismiss or demonize any movement or approach, and it highlights the fact that there are real people who are committed to these movements and ideas. 

Furthermore, the interweaving stories of Geraldlynn, Aidan, and Mary Laurie give the reader a better sense of the hopes, fears, concerns, and beliefs that drive these individuals to do what they do. Aidan's frustrations at not being as effective as he thinks he can be, Geraldlynn's concerns and insightful commentary on her school, and Mary's sadness at the tragedies that befall her students and alums are impossible to dismiss, and all I wanted by the end of the book was to find out whether or not these individuals were okay. The epilogue provided some closure, and a quick Google search offered even more up-to-date information on these individuals.

As a teacher educator, I greatly appreciated the balanced perspective Carr brought to this topic. While I am still concerned about charters and bristle at the idea that the charter model would work for ALL students, this book emphasized that the model can certainly work for some students. Perhaps more importantly, I valued having the chance to learn about the New Orleans school system in some depth. Even as the topic came up again and again in news segments and articles throughout August, I felt like I had a better understanding of what was happening and could get beyond the general facts touched upon by the media.