At-Risk Students Defy the Odds: Overcoming Barriers to Educational Success

(Paperback)

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What is your perception of at-risk students A rural African-American man A legally blind Georgia girl A poor Pakistani immigrant Rosa Aronson tells the stories of these and four other students, uncovering how very different at-risk achievers have overcome the odds stacked against them. Through seven narratives, Aronson analyzes their collective experiences. She offers recommendations for change in today's educational system based upon their journeys and the research of other overcomers such as Richard Rodriguez and Victor Frankl. A powerful book, At-Risk Students Defy the Odds brings to light the issues of poverty and race that affect education today, and provides hope for change.

Reviews

For decades American teachers and parents, as well as scholars and policy makers, have wondered why some children succeed in school and life despite terrible circumstances, while others of equal intelligence and talent are not up to the challenge. Rosa Aronson provides the answer in one powerful word: resilience. She chronicles the lives of seven remarkable individuals, none of them celebrities, who overcame poverty, disability, and discrimination to become creative adults. She shows how this unmeasurable quality produces so much good and discusses how it might be replicated so more can succeed. -- Jay Mathews, Washington Post education reporter and columnist, author of Class Struggle
Dr. Aronson's book contains seven richly textured personal stories of individuals who overcame adverse early conditions in their lives to become success stories....It is one of those rare books that is highly readable and rich in content. But most of all, it is a book about hope, hope for all those who believe in making equality of opportunity in America a reality. -- Harold Burbach, Ph.D., professor and Chairman of Leadership, Foundations, and Policy at the Curry School of Education, University of Virginia, Charlott

Author Bio

Rosa Aronson, Ph.D. is Associate Director of Programs, Trust to Reach Academic Excellence, at the National Association of Secondary School Principals and a member of Grantmakers for Education.