The Bridge to Brilliance

June 27, 2016
Lopez details her struggles and triumphs as the principal of Mott Hall Bridges Academy, the middle school she founded in the poverty-ridden Brownsville section of Brooklyn. In her role of principal, Lopez faces challenging students, exhausted parents, overwhelmed teachers, and low test scores, and the stress of her job takes a toll on her physical and mental health. But when one of her students is interviewed on the popular blog Humans of New York and describes Lopez as the person who has most influenced him, Lopez is flooded with opportunities: she arranges for her students to take trips to Harvard, meets President Obama, and raises over a million dollars for her school. Despite these accomplishments, Lopez makes it clear that the lives of low-income students are still marked by violence. She uses the tragic story of a former student, Newshawn Plummer, who was shot and killed in 2015, as a reminder of these ongoing challenges. Lopez offers many strategies for improving education (mentorship programs, greater parental involvement, strong guidance counseling, and field trips that provide exposure to different cultures and ideas), each of which merits its own book. Lopez’s clear-eyed approach to education is the book’s most valuable lesson: educators should listen to the students, parents, and teachers who live and work in these communities; they understand their needs best.

June 1, 2016
The methods one principal used to create a safe learning environment for her students.Opening a new school in Brownsville, "one of the poorest and most dangerous neighborhoods in all of New York City," may seem like a crazy idea to many, but Lopez knew that she could make a difference in the futures of the children who would attend her school. This book shows how she turned her dream into reality. The author readily admits the countless obstacles she faced during the first year. "Kids screamed at the top of their lungs or walked out of rooms in the middle of class; it felt like an asylum rather than a school," she writes. "Every single day there was a fight....When they set fire to the bathroom, by burning toilet paper, I didn't think it could get any more insane." Despite the many challenges, however, Lopez continued to fight for her school and eventually received nationwide recognition for her efforts. Throughout the book, she walks readers through the steps she took, each fraught with stress and anxiety. She believed in each scholar and insisted each teacher develop a strong relationship with every child; she enforced discipline, but her office door was always open to anyone who needed to talk; she demanded respect among all members of the school, children and adults; and she made sure she and her peers understood the scholars' backgrounds and the dangers they faced the minute they stepped back onto the street outside the school. The personal stories of many of the students show that it wasn't always sunshine and roses, as Lopez describes some of the bleakest moments at the school. For anyone in education who thinks a student is beyond learning, Lopez's story will prove them wrong. The narrative demonstrates a clear progression from a woman's dream for a model school to that reality, which has made a huge impact in its neighborhood and across the country.

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August 1, 2016

Whatever Lopez, the principal of Mott Hall Bridges Academy in Brownsville, Brooklyn, sets her mind to, she accomplishes. When given the chance to create her own school, the author was determined it would be a place where children could succeed in their studies and in life, despite its location in one of the borough's poorest and most dangerous neighborhoods. Lopez inspires her pupils (or scholars, as she calls them) to achieve their full potential. Her instructors are held accountable for their scholars' learning. Some may feel her methods are unconventional, but they work. Talking in the hallway is allowed; who knows what great ideas it will generate? Asking questions, even those teachers at other schools might dismiss or consider silly or rude, is encouraged; how can you learn when you don't understand the material? Getting out of the building occasionally is advised; children risk leaving their comfort zones but expand their horizons. VERDICT Filled with narratives about overcoming adversity and of seeing the good where others see only trouble, and success where others see failure, this feel-good story will resonate with just about any reader. And it may be an inspiration for other educators to emulate Lopez's methods.--Terry Christner, Hutchinson P.L., KS

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