A Light Shines in Harlem

Book excerpt: This book tells the gripping inside story of the Sisulu-Walker Charter School of Harlem. It is a penetrating look at the real world of education reform—the hundreds of small decisions and big risks that go into making a school succeed. A hero of the civil rights movement, a Wall Street star, inner-city activists, educators, parents, and students 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. At the same time the book looks at education reform through a broader lens, discussing recent research and issues facing the charter movement today. It answers two fundamental questions: What makes a school succeed or fail? And how can these lessons be applied to other schools to make them better? The result is not only an exciting narrative of how one school fought to succeed despite the odds, but also an illuminating glimpse into the future of American education. Mary C. Bounds, an award-winning journalist, has written for the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Houston Chronicle, and other publications. She lives in Chappaqua, New York. Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker was chief of staff for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Virginia state director of the Congress of Racial Equality, and executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; he helped organize the 1963 March on Washington. For 37 years he served as senior pastor at Harlem's Canaan Baptist Church of Christ. He lives in Chester, Virginia.