A Light Shines in Harlem

New York's First Charter School and the Movement It Led

Mary C. Bounds, Mary C. Bounds, Wyatt Tee Walker, Wyatt Tee Walker

• Publisher: Lawrence Hill Books
• Year: 2014
• eBook ISBN: 9781613747735
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Educational Policy

A Light Shines in Harlem tells the fascinating history of New York 's first charter school, the Sisulu-Walker Charter School of Harlem, and the early days of the state's charter school movement. Told through the experiences of those on the inside—including a hero of the civil rights movement; a Wall Street star; inner-city activists; and real-world educators, parents, and students—this book shows how they all came together to create a groundbreaking school that, in its best years, far outperformed public schools in the neighborhoods in which most of its children lived. It also looks at education reform through a broader public policy lens, discussing recent research and issues facing the charter movement today, describing what makes a public charter school—or any school—succeed or fail, and showing how these lessons can be applied to other public and private schools to make all of them better. The end result is not only an exciting narrative of how one school fought to succeed, but also an illuminating glimpse into the future of education in the United States.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1. A Civil Right
• 2. Laying the Groundwork
• 3. A Brother’s Legacy
• 4. Building a Team
• 5. Building a Community
• 6. Building a School
• 7. Year One
• 8. Battles
• 9. In the Valley
• 10. A Light Shines
• 11. Evolution: Coming of Age
• 12. What Have We Learned?
• 13. A Return to Sisulu-walker
• 14. Zeyna Diouf
• Notes
• Bibliography