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Title details for The Bridge to Brilliance by Nadia Lopez - Available

The Bridge to Brilliance

How One Principal in a Tough Community Is Inspiring the World

by Nadia Lopez
Rebecca Paley
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
“The story of Mott Hall Bridges Academy is the story of American education. Nadia Lopez . . . must be a principal, a mentor, and sometimes a mother. I hope that you’re as impressed by her dedication to these kids as I’ve been." 
—Brandon Stanton, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Humans of New York 
The inspirational account of the creation of a pathbreaking inner-city middle school in Brooklyn, New York, by the magnetic young principal who rocketed to national fame via Humans of New York
 
When thirteen-year-old Vidal Chastanet told photographer Brandon Stanton that his principal ,“Ms. Lopez,” was the person who most influenced his life, it was the pebble that started a whirlwind for Nadia Lopez and her small, new public school in one of Brooklyn’s most wretched communities. The posting on Stanton’s wildly popular site Humans of New York (HONY) went mega-viral. Lopez—not long before on the verge of quitting—found herself in the national spotlight and headed for a meeting with Obama, as well as the beneficiary of a million-dollar IndieGoGo campaign for the school. Here is her first-person account of what it took to get to that moment.
Mott Hall Bridges Academy isn’t just a hallway inside a typically underserved public school in one of New York City’s most underprivileged communities—it is a school that glows with energy and excitement. Lopez tells the kids every day that they’re extraordinary and that she loves them. When trouble stirs, she asks: “Would I have been proud to see what happened in that classroom? No? Then why did it happen?” She tells her teachers: “Don’t tell me our scholars can’t learn; because if you can’t teach them, then I’ll come teach your class for a couple of weeks.”
Everything was an uphill battle—to get the school launched, to recruit faculty and students, to solve a million new problems every day, from violent crime to vanishing supplies, but Lopez illustrates how leadership often means just picking the right people to support you. In middle school, one year lost with an unengaged teacher is a year that can send a kid down a terrible path. And then, of course, there is the educational system itself, how “teaching to the test” is an enormous problem, particularly in schools with kids who are already disadvantaged and underprepared.
The Bridge to Brilliance is an audiobook filled with common sense and caring that will carry her message to classrooms far from Brooklyn. As she says, modestly, “There are hundreds of Ms. Lopezes around this country doing good work for kids. This honors all of them.”
With an Introduction read by the Author

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    August 30, 2016

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780451485342
      • File size: 227249 KB
      • Duration: 07:53:26

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Any devoted educator or engaged student will recognize Adenrele Ojo's voice: empathetic, emphatic, and passionate. In other words, Ojo's voice sounds like that of a fine teacher. This quality is appropriate for a performance that captures Lopez's experience as an acclaimed principal of a groundbreaking and innovative school in Brooklyn. Ojo's performance is precise and clear. Her interpretation is true to the intent of any diligent educator; she is caring yet focused as she bends her voice around extraordinary episodes on Mott Hall Bridges Academy. Sometimes, there are awkward transitions; at other times, Ojo's delivery is overly enunciated. Nonetheless, this audiobook is enjoyable, especially for those who appreciate an inspiring story. L.B.F. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      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.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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