When Mark Zuckerberg announced in front of a cheering Oprah audience his $100 million pledge to transform the Newark Schools—and to solve the education crisis in every city in America—it looked like a huge win for then-mayor Cory Booker and governor Chris Christie. But their plans soon ran into a constituency not so easily moved—Newark’s key education players, fiercely protective of their billion-dollar-per-annum system. It’s a prize that, for generations, has enriched seemingly everyone, except Newark’s students.
Expert journalist Dale Russakoff delivers a story of high ideals and hubris, good intentions and greed, celebrity and street smarts—as reformers face off against entrenched unions, skeptical parents, and bewildered students.
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“A brilliantly reported behind-the-scenes account of one city’s attempt to right its failing public schools…Russakoff maintains a cleareyed distance, her observations penetratingly honest and incisive to what she sees and what she hears. I suspect some may have regretted letting Russakoff in. We couldn’t have asked for a better guide…The Prize is paradoxically a sobering yet exhilarating tale. For alongside the stories of those calling the shots, Russakoff tells the stories of those most profoundly affected by their decisions: teachers, students, and their parents…I repeatedly found myself writing in the margins, ‘Wow,’ either because of the heroic efforts by teachers and staffers or because of the obstacles facing their students…The Prize may well be one of the most important books on education to come along in years.”
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New York Times Book Review