“Failing schools. Underprivileged schools. Just plain bad schools.” That’s how Eve L. Ewing opens Ghosts in the Schoolyard: describing Chicago Public Schools from the outside. The way politicians and pundits and parents of kids who attend other schools talk about them, with a mix of pity and contempt. But Ewing knows Chicago Public Schools from the inside: as a student, then a teacher, and now a scholar who studies them. And that perspective has shown her that public schools are not buildings full of failures—they’re an integral part of their neighborhoods, at the heart of their communities, storehouses of history and memory that bring people together. Never was that role more apparent than in 2013 when Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced an unprecedented wave of school closings. Pitched simultaneously as a solution to a budget problem, a response to declining enrollments, and a chance to purge bad schools that were dragging down the whole system, the plan was met with a roar of protest from parents, students, and teachers. But if these schools were so bad, why did people care so much about keeping them open, to the point that some would even go on a hunger strike? Ewing’s answer begins with a story of systemic racism, inequality, bad faith, and distrust that stretches deep into Chicago history. Rooting her exploration in the historic African American neighborhood of Bronzeville, Ewing reveals that this issue is about much more than just schools. Black communities see the closing of their schools—schools that are certainly less than perfect but that are theirs—as one more in a long line of racist policies. The fight to keep them open is yet another front in the ongoing struggle of black people in America to build successful lives and achieve true self-determination.

With the insights she has gleaned from her close and subtle observation of parent-teacher conferences, renowned Harvard University professor Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot has written a wise, useful book about the ways in which parents and teachers can make the most of their essential conversation—the dialogue between the most vital people in a child’s life. “The essential conversation” is the crucial exchange that occurs between parents and teachers—a dialogue that takes place more than one hundred million times a year across our country and is both mirror of and metaphor for the larger cultural forces that define family-school relationships and shape the development of our children. Participating in this twice-yearly ritual, so friendly and benign in its apparent goals, parents and teachers are often wracked with anxiety. In a meeting marked by decorum and politeness, they frequently exhibit wariness and assume defensive postures. Even though the conversation appears to be focused on the student, adults may find themselves playing out their own childhood histories, insecurities, and fears. Through vivid portraits and parables, Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot captures the dynamics of this complex, intense relationship from the perspective of both parents and teachers. She also identifies new principles and practices for improving family-school relationships. In a voice that combines the passion of a mother, the skepticism of a social scientist, and the keen understanding of one of our nation’s most admired educators, Lawrence-Lightfoot offers penetrating analysis and an urgent call to arms for all those who want to act in the best interests of their children. For parents and teachers who seek productive dialogues and collaborative alliances in support of the learning and growth of their children, this book will offer valuable insights, incisive lessons, and deft guidance on how to communicate more effectively. In The Essential Conversation, Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot brings scholarship, warmth, and wisdom to an immensely important cultural subject—the way we raise our children.

"Adjunct faculty have become a permanent fixture in the staffing of higher education courses. Approximately 50% of all college courses are taught by adjunct faculty. College administrators expect exemplary professional performance from these teachers. But the low pay, the lack of job security, and the lack of professional support shows that these faculty are certainly not treated as professionals. Who are the people who become--and remain--adjunct faculty? Why do they do it? What do they hope to achieve? How does the way they are treated affect their lives? And the work they are hired to do? Why have the colleges allowed themselves to be dependent upon adjunct faculty? What are the short and long term effects on the students who find themselves in the classrooms of adjunct faculty? These questions will be answered by the essays in this book, all of which were written by adjunct faculty whose lives were forever altered by their experience."--Back cover.

Best friends Maude, CJ, and Tiny are so excited to start third grade at Boo Academy (affectionately called Boo La La), the world's premier haunting school! The ghost girls love their new dorm mother, Ms. Finley. But she has some strange characteristics that make them think that she might be... human. Could it be?! The ghost girls are determined to find out, for the sake of their school -- and the entire ghost world!

Newbery Medal winner and master storyteller Sharon Creech spins a wonderfully funny and tender tale. As nine-year-old Dennis confronts the ghost of his uncle Arvie, Arvie's eccentric antics and wonderful wordplay keep the reader laughing. But at its tender heart, the story reveals the holes left in our lives when we lose the ones we love. Ever since nine-year-old Dennis's dad died, a veritable parade of ghosts has been passing through his bedroom. When the ghost of his uncle Arvie blows into his room on a warm breeze, Dennis isn't surprised, but Uncle Arvie is the first ghost who wants something from Dennis. Dennis would love to help Uncle Arvie, but he can't quite understand what Uncle Arvie is asking for. What, for example, is "Fraggle pin Heartfoot a wig pasta"? Dennis has to find out, because this is one ghost who isn't going to leave until he gets what he came for. Uncle Arvie's antics and Dennis's attempts to please his ghost form the heart of this touching story.

On Halloween night, Stillwater the giant panda tells Karl, Addy, and Michael a spooky and unusual story. Based on a Zen koan, includes an author's note with a history of the story and facts about Zen koans.

The hugely popular early chapter book series re-emerges -- now in e-book! Eddie's Great-aunt Mathilda is sick and he has to help take care of her. But when Eddie and his friends visit Mathilda's house, strange things start to happen. Howie sees someone staring at him from the attic window and, when his back is turned, his garlic potato chips are used to spell the word ATTIC on the ground. During later visits the kids hear noises from the attic, but Great-aunt Mathilda swears there's nothing up there. Could the ghost of Eddie's Great-uncle Jasper, who died years ago, be haunting his aunt's home? The Bailey School kids will find out!

When overcrowding forces a third-grade class at Sleepy Hollow Elementary School to relocate to the school's long disused basement, Cassidy and her friends discover that the room is haunted by previous students--and they don't want to share