An “invaluable” memoir by a counselor who left the elite private-school world to help poor and working-class kids get into college (Washington Monthly). Winner of the Studs and Ida Terkel Award Joshua Steckel left an elite Manhattan school to serve as the first-ever college guidance counselor at a Brooklyn public high school—and has helped hundreds of disadvantaged kids gain acceptance. But getting in is only one part of the drama. This riveting work of narrative nonfiction follows the lives of ten of Josh’s students as they navigate the vast, obstacle-ridden landscape of college in America, where students for whom the stakes of education are highest find unequal access and inadequate support. Among the students we meet are Mike, who writes his essays from a homeless shelter and is torn between his longing to get away to an idyllic campus and his fear of leaving his family in desperate circumstances; Santiago, a talented, motivated, and undocumented student, who battles bureaucracy and low expectations as he seeks a life outside the low-wage world of manual labor; and Ashley, who pursues her ambition to become a doctor with almost superhuman drive—but then forges a path that challenges received wisdom about the value of an elite liberal arts education. At a time when the idea of “college for all” is hotly debated, this book uncovers, in heartrending detail, the ways the American education system fails in its promise as a ladder to opportunity—yet provides hope in its portrayal of the intelligence, resilience, and everyday heroics of young people whose potential is too often ignored. “A profound examination of the obstacles faced by low-income students . . . and the kinds of reforms needed to make higher education and the upward mobility it promises more accessible.” —Booklist

From NYT bestselling author Blue Balliett, the story of a girl who falls into Chicago's shelter system, and from there must solve the mystery of her father's strange disappearance. Where is Early's father? He's not the kind of father who would disappear. But he's gone . . . and he's left a whole lot of trouble behind.As danger closes in, Early, her mom, and her brother have to flee their apartment. With nowhere else to go, they are forced to move into a city shelter. Once there, Early starts asking questions and looking for answers. Because her father hasn't disappeared without a trace. There are patterns and rhythms to what's happened, and Early might be the only one who can use them to track him down and make her way out of a very tough place.With her signature, singular love of language and sense of mystery, Blue Balliett weaves a story that takes readers from the cold, snowy Chicago streets to the darkest corner of the public library, on an unforgettable hunt for deep truths and a reunited family.

An education leader relates how his experiences with the civil rights movement led him to develop programs promoting educational success in science and technology for African Americans and others. In Holding Fast to Dreams, 2018 American Council on Education (ACE) Lifetime Achievement Award winner Freeman Hrabowski recounts his journey as an educator, a university president, and a pioneer in developing successful, holistic programs for high-achieving students of all races. When Hrabowski was twelve years old, a civil rights leader visited his Birmingham, Alabama, church and spoke about a children’s march for civil rights and opportunity. That leader was the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., and that march changed Hrabowski’s life. Until then, Freeman was a kid who loved school and solving math problems. Although his family had always stressed the importance of education, he never expected that the world might change and that black and white students would one day study together. But hearing King speak changed everything for Hrabowski, who convinced his parents that he needed to answer King’s call to stand up for equality. While participating in the famed Children’s Crusade, he spent five terrifying nights in jail—during which Freeman became a leader for the younger kids, as he learned about the risk and sacrifice that it would take to fight for justice. Hrabowski went on to fuse his passion for education and for equality, as he made his life’s work inspiring high academic achievement among students of all races in science and engineering. It also brought him from Birmingham to Baltimore, where he has been president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County for more than two decades. While at UMBC, he co-founded the Meyerhoff Scholars Program, which has been one of the most successful programs for educating African Americans who go on to earn doctorates in the STEM disciplines.

Here, for the first time, is a complete collection of Langston Hughes's poetry - 860 poems that sound the heartbeat of black life in America during five turbulent decades, from the 1920s through the 1960s.

A collection of life-affirming verses, inspired by the events of September 11, 2001, includes poems paired with artwork volunteered by such well-known picture book artists as G. Brian Karas, Keven Hawkes, and Giselle Potter.

Dreams can be very powerful. Some may be without substance, even insignificant--but then there are the dreams that deeply impact the very core of your being. Hold fast to these! From humble beginnings in Ireland, George Lee's inspiring, dream-catching story soars through blue skies that include piloting Royal Air Force Phantom fighter jets, winning three World Gliding Championships titles, and taking HRH Prince Charles on his first gliding flights. An intensely personal account, Hold Fast to Your Dreams is a witness to an ordinary man's passionate pursuit of his extraordinary dreams that lead him through the clouds of Europe, Asia, and the United States as well as into the back streets of Hong Kong and the halls of Buckingham Palace where he dines with The Queen. Believing strongly that people's choices determine their destinies, this high-flying and motivating true-life adventure is full of remarkable achievements as well as disappointments--both creating foundations on which the author builds his exciting life of success and dream fulfilment.

The author, a computer science professor diagnosed with terminal cancer, explores his life, the lessons that he has learned, how he has worked to achieve his childhood dreams, and the effect of his diagnosis on him and his family.

Stories capturing “the vibrancy of Harlem life, the passions of ordinary black people, and the indignities of everyday racism” by “a great American writer” (Kirkus Reviews). This collection of forty-seven stories written between 1919 and 1963—the most comprehensive available—showcases Langston Hughes’s literary blossoming and the development of his personal and artistic concerns in the decades that preceded the passage of the Civil Rights Act. Many of the stories assembled here have long been out of print, and others never before collected. These poignant, witty, angry, and deeply poetic stories demonstrate Hughes’s uncanny gift for elucidating the most vexing questions of American race relations and human nature in general. “[Hughes’s fiction] manifests his ‘wonder at the world.’ As these stories reveal, that wonder has lost little of its shine.” —The Cleveland Plain Dealer

Let go of the guilt, shake off the shame, and fend off your fears. God made you to stand strong in any situation, and bestselling author Alli Worthington will show you how. We live in a culture that constantly tells you who you should be as a modern woman. You're told that you aren't enough and that you don't have what it takes to chase your dreams. But it doesn't have to be that way. For the woman who longs to break free from what holds her back, Standing Strong offers a no-nonsense, guilt-free guide to take back your life from self-doubt. In Standing Strong, Alli comes alongside you as you: Eliminate, once and for all, the lies that keep you from being who God made you to be Become an unbreakable woman who finds her strength from God for any adversity Gain strategies for tackling the obstacles of self-doubt, fear, and insecurity Find the confidence to say yes and amen to God's call on your life You can't break a woman who draws her strength from God. You're stronger than you think, and you're worth more than you could ever imagine. Let this book help you cement these realities in your life. Praise for Standing Strong: "The path to fulfilling our God-given purpose is filled with numerous twists, turns, and challenges. In Standing Strong, Alli shows us how to press through our fears, doubts, and self-imposed limitations in order to embark on the exhilarating faith-filled adventure we are each destined to live. This book is full of wisdom, grace, and honesty. I loved it and know you will too." --Christine Caine, Founder of A21 and Propel Women "If your life has been plagued by self-doubt, by feelings of never being enough, Alli has given us a road map to saying yes to who God says we are." --Sheila Walsh, Author of Praying Women and Praying Girls

A step-by-step plan offers examples and exercises on how to determine and live by a set of values, experiment with failure as a formula for success, and take life beyond set limits.