A Fragile Enterprise

Yesterday’s Schools and Tomorrow's Students

Nancy Brigham

A Fragile Enterprise recounts true stories the front lines of the struggle between the entitled few and the marginalized many in America’s public schools. In this book, you'll learn about the national narrative of education from the viewpoint of students and their families. You'll discover:

That despite the massive expenditure of public funds, large-scale national education improvement efforts have largely failed
That failing schools seldom have the resources and skills to implement the programs that are thrust upon them.
That the charter school solution leaves behind the students who need help the most.
How seldom families are involved in meaningful ways in the education of their children.
What the best teachers do and why they do it that way.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 182 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-1-4758-4601-0 • Hardback • April 2019 • $41.00 • (£35.00)

978-1-4758-4603-4 • eBook • April 2019 • $35.00 • (£30.00)

Subjects: Education / Educational Policy & Reform / Federal Legislation, Education / Educational Policy & Reform / General, Education / Parent Participation, Education / Student Life & Student Affairs

A Fragile Enterprise

Yesterday’s Schools and Tomorrow's Students

Hardback

eBook

Summary

A Fragile Enterprise recounts true stories the front lines of the struggle between the entitled few and the marginalized many in America’s public schools. In this book, you'll learn about the national narrative of education from the viewpoint of students and their families. You'll discover:
- That despite the massive expenditure of public funds, large-scale national education improvement efforts have largely failed
- That failing schools seldom have the resources and skills to implement the programs that are thrust upon them.
- That the charter school solution leaves behind the students who need help the most.
- How seldom families are involved in meaningful ways in the education of their children.
- What the best teachers do and why they do it that way.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 182 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-1-4758-4601-0 • Hardback • April 2019 • $41.00 • (£35.00)

978-1-4758-4603-4 • eBook • April 2019 • $35.00 • (£30.00)

Subjects: Education / Educational Policy & Reform / Federal Legislation, Education / Educational Policy & Reform / General, Education / Parent Participation, Education / Student Life & Student Affairs

Author

Nancy Brigham has been engaged in education research and program evaluations for 35 years. A Fragile Enterprise is based on thousands of interviews, hundreds of classroom observations and first-hand experience in failing schools that strive to serve struggling students.

Table of Contents

Dedication
Preface
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Section One: Students and Families
Chapter One: How Students Experience School
Chapter Two: Addressing School Violence Through Student Connectedness
Chapter Three: Jeremy: A Boy on a Tightrope
Chapter Four: Family Connections: How Important?
Section Two: Teachers and Instruction
Chapter Five: The Best Teachers
Chapter Six: Professional Development: Large Investment, Limited Results
Chapter Seven: Angels of Special Education
Chapter Eight: Who Destroyed Co-Teaching at Hanover Middle School?
Chapter Nine: Adult Basic Education: A Program in the Shadows
Section Three: Schools In Need
Chapter Ten: Failing Schools, Faulty Solutions
Chapter Eleven: How Useful are External Interventions?
Section Four: Testing and Evaluation
Chapter Twelve: The National Obsession with Testing Students
Chapter Thirteen: Do it Yourself Evaluations
Section Five: Summary and Conclusions
Chapter 14: Conclusion
Appendix: Tool Box

Reviews

Brigham writes effectively about education research projects on which she and her organization, the educational and consulting firm Nancy Brigham Associates, have worked, ranging from Kids with Cameras studies (in which students are given cameras and told to take pictures of people, places, or things that are important to them) to teacher surveys. The author enumerates problems, such as loss of contact with students and failures of innovative teaching programs, that have come into play at the schools studied, offering solutions that include a strong emphasis on community-building as well as finding and communicating a shared vision for all members of a school community (teachers, administrators, families, and students). Readers interested in examining their own schools will appreciate the chapter about methods of analysis of school programs.
— Library Journal

An impressively informative, thoughtful and thought-provoking read, A Fragile Enterprise" is an extraordinary and highly recommended contribution to our on-going national dialogue regarding education policies on the national, state, and local district level. While a core addition to community and academic library Contemporary Educational Issues collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of educators, education administrators, state and federal education policy makers, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject.
— Midwest Book Review

Nancy provides a helpful summary of the key features of successful professional development programs as well as common pitfalls we should work to avoid. Many programs professional developers fail by neglecting to meet teachers where they are and understand their school environments. It's a helpful reminder for anyone working in the field of professional development that it’s critical to understand the contexts in which we work in order to successfully foster instructional growth.
— Claire Gogolen, Program Manager, MQI Coaching, Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University

The chapter on professional development rings true to me as a former teacher, researcher and one-time professional development provider. In the two latter roles I felt my greatest contribution was helping colleagues understand the complex culture of schools and the perspectives of teachers desperate for evidence-based tools and techniques they could bring directly to their classrooms. Nancy provides vivid examples of what not to do and fair warning to those who risk being careless with teachers’ time and attention.
— Corinne Herlihy, Master of Public Policy, Kennedy School of Government

Ms. Brigham takes us into the school lives of today’s adolescents through their own voices and experiences. She gives the reader a “behind the scenes” look at how schools work to make abstract concepts such as “a sense of belonging” and connectedness a reality for all of their students, a daunting but attainable task. As a former teacher and teacher trainer, Ms. Brigham’s words, exemplars, and images ring true to me. A must-read for parents, students, teachers, and administrators.
— Cynthia Mata Aguilar, retired teacher and teacher trainer

With keen observation and thoughtful context, Nancy Brigham identifies the key elements of successful, mainstreamed education for students with special needs, even in the challenging high school years.
— Sandra Seitz, special educator, M.Ed., Speech, Hearing, Language Pathology

Nancy Brigham is a gifted writer whose discerning style is complemented by her insight and wide-reaching compassion for the children she is portraying. Her stories of students, educators and administrators practically leap from the page. The broader message of does not get lost, but is enhanced by her riveting accounts of what goes on within the institutional walls of schools in 21st century America.
— Andrea Cleghorn, journalist, author of The Whipple Brunch

Nancy Brigham’s keen eye for detail captures the delicate tensions teachers routinely face in setting expectations and establishing learning norms in their classrooms. The descriptions of how selected—and very accomplished—teachers engage their students from the first day of school and onward will catapult readers back into the excitement and promise of schooling.
— Beth Gamse, EdD, The Gamse Partnership

Kudos to Nancy Brigham for including a chapter on Adult Basic Education that sheds light on the importance of ABE in the full compendium of services offered in the U.S. education system, placing it front and center in a discussion it deserves. She provides a cogent reminder that it takes courage for adults to return to the classroom, where too often they have met failure in the past, to develop the literacy skills and self-confidence necessary to move forward in their lives.
— Kathleen J. Mackin, Ph.D., Education Consultant