The Street Stops Here: A Year at a Catholic High School in Harlem - Paperback

by Patrick McCloskey (Author), Samuel G. Freedman (Foreword by)

The Street Stops Here offers a deeply personal and compelling account of a Catholic high school in central Harlem, where mostly disadvantaged (and often non-Catholic) African American males graduate on time and get into college. Interweaving vivid portraits of day-to-day school life with clear and evenhanded analysis, Patrick J. McCloskey takes us through an eventful year at Rice High School, as staff, students, and families make heroic efforts to prevail against society's expectations. McCloskey's riveting narrative brings into sharp relief an urgent public policy question: whether (and how) to save these schools that provide the only viable option for thousands of poor and working-class students--and thus fulfill a crucial public mandate. Just as significantly, The Street Stops Here offers invaluable lessons for low-performing urban public schools.

Front Jacket

A harrowing, honest, and often moving story.--Andrew Greeley

"McCloskey shows how challenging it is to succeed under adverse circumstances, how tenuous are the victories, how relentless are those who wage the battle to overcome the historic disadvantages of their students."--Diane Ravitch, New York University

"Sheds light on important issues cutting across all city schools."--Joseph P. Viteritti, author of Choosing Equality

Author Biography

Patrick J. McCloskey writes for many prominent publications, including City Journal, New York Times, STATS.org, Teacher Magazine and the National Post.