G.P.S.~G.A.T.E.way

For decades, students in the U.S. have lagged behind other nations and lost sight of the role public schools play in the competitive edge America once enjoyed as a leader in industry and innovation. The system’s best answer has left schools careening toward mediocrity, with rising spending, federal intrusion, and a one-size-fits-all mentality.

G.P.S.~G.A.T.E.way is an S.O.S. for public schools and a road map toward excellence. Author Tam Newby synthesizes government reports, statistical data, and scientific studies to show how and where schools went off course. Building on this information, she forges a strategy to improve student achievement—targeting the entire system—from infrastructure, administration, and government to teachers, curriculum, and parents.

Newby’s plan is as expansive as the changes we need to improve academic achievement, including:
• adjusted school years to encourage learning momentum,
• volunteer advocacy to lower barriers between parents and teachers,
• improved lunchroom nutrition,
• sustainable schools to save money, and
• rethinking school district consolidation.

G.P.S.~G.A.T.E.way is a source of inspiration and motivation and a fascinating nuts-and-bolts approach to public school reform for families, communities, and teachers to re-tool schools across the country, one neighborhood at a time.