Breaking the Poverty Barrier - Changing Student Lives with Passion, Perseverance, and Performance (Paperback)

Principal Ricardo LeBlanc-Esparza, with the help of Will Roulston, coordinated a school turnaround with results as dramatic as those portrayed in Stand and Deliver but not just in a classroom in a whole school beset by poverty and failure. Granger High School was wallowing in underachievement and low graduation rates. During Ricardo's first year, the percentage of incoming freshmen who met state standards (when they were last tested in seventh grade) was 2 percent in reading, 2 percent in writing, and 1 percent in math. By the time Ricardo left, the percentage of sophomores meeting standards rose to 77 percent reading, 67 percent writing, and 31 percent math. During Ricardo's administration, Granger High School went from being a school with a graduation rate below 50 percent to being named a National Model High School in 2004 and 2006, and a National Showcase High School in 2007 and 2008. Breaking the Poverty Barrier shows readers how LeBlanc-Esparza and Roulston accomplish