Born to Rise: A Story of Children and Teachers Reaching Their Highest Potential

by Deborah Kenny

Overview

“Parents and principals trying to understand what makes successful schools work ought to read Born to Rise.”  — New York Times

Born to Rise is the inspiring account of Deborah Kenny’s pursuit of social justice for our nation’s most vulnerable children. Part memoir, part manifesto, it is a hopeful and practical exposition of what it takes to transform schools and create organizations where the staff lights up with entrepreneurial drive. 

Students enter Harlem Village Academies, the network of charter schools Kenny founded, several years behind grade level, but in just a few years they are transformed, ranking among the highest in the nation. How did they do it? For the first time, Kenny reveals the secret to creating a powerful workplace culture that attracts the most talented people and brings out their passion and highest performance—a culture that produces stunning student achievement results and teachers who regularly use words like “magical” to describe the workplace environment. It is a must-read for anyone who cares about children and the future of this country and for leaders who want to inspire fierce dedication in their employees.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062106223
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	06/05/2012
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Deborah Kenny is founder and CEO of Harlem Village Academies, a network of public charter schools. She is widely regarded as one of the most influential educational entrepreneurs in the country and is regularly featured in national television and print media. Kenny holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University in comparative international education and a B.A. Magna Cum Laude from the University of Pennsylvania. She lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

1 Searching 1

2 What Life Expects 17

3 People, Not Product 39

4 Providence 51

5 A School for My Children 73

6 Down to the Wire 85

7 Startup 103

8 Rock Stars 113

9 The Path to Justice 133

10 Drowning 141

11 My Child Is a Child Again 155

12 I Used to Throw My Books Away 177

13 People and Culture 187

14 Scenes from a Revolution 209

15 Be the Culture 219

16 Born to Rise 227

Epilogue: The Education Manifesto 235

Acknowledgments 241

What People are Saying About This

Hugh Jackman

“Deborah has created something extraordinary at Harlem Village Academies. You feel a warmth and an intellectual energy but most of all there’s a passion for learning like I have never before seen at a school.”

Michael Bloomberg

“Deborah Kenny’s inspiring story holds powerful lessons for parents, teachers, administrators, and elected officials across the country.”

John Legend

“Deborah’s passion and integrity are inspirational. This important story is a must-read.”

Jack Welch

“Leaders who want to light an entrepreneurial fire under every employee must read this book.”

Jason Mraz

Born to Rise is about Deborah Kenny’s ability to see greatness in every child and transform entire communities. Her journey is a passionate one and gives me goose bumps.”

Bill Cosby

“Deborah’s journey is a gift: she teaches children to love learning”

Editorial Reviews

One woman’s tragedy turns into triumph for hundreds of Harlem schoolchildren in Kenny’s personal and professional memoir of founding the Harlem Village Academies, a successful group of charter schools that serve some of New York City’s neediest students. After losing her husband, an exemplary man she considered to be “born to a higher purpose,” to leukemia, Kenny sought—and found—her own purpose by creating a set of phenomenal inner-city schools where teachers could be treated like true professionals, banking on her belief that “a focus on talent is the one thing that will fix public education in America.” Inspired by educators and reformers such as Jonathan Kozol and Geoffrey Canada, Kenny wanted to create schools that would give all students access to the sorts of educational privileges she and her own children had known. Though the pace slows as Kenny flounders to discern her vision and spends long months working on planning and funding for the schools, the anecdotes of successful teachers (Kenny’s “rock stars”) at work and students whose lives were truly turned around by her work prove persuasive and uplifting. Agent: Robert Barnett, Williams & Connolly. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Leaders who want to light an entrepreneurial fire under every employee must read this book.” — Jack Welch

“Deborah’s journey is a gift: she teaches children to love learning” — Bill Cosby

“Deborah Kenny’s inspiring story holds powerful lessons for parents, teachers, administrators, and elected officials across the country.” — Mayor Michael Bloomberg

“Our country needs more schools like Harlem Village Academies.” — Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education

“Deborah has created something extraordinary at Harlem Village Academies. You feel a warmth and an intellectual energy but most of all there’s a passion for learning like I have never before seen at a school.” — Hugh Jackman

“One woman’s tragedy turns into triumph for hundreds of Harlem schoolchildren in Kenny’s personal and professional memoir… the anecdotes of successful teachers (Kenny’s “rock stars”) at work and students whose lives were truly turned around by her work prove persuasive and uplifting.” — Publishers Weekly

“Deborah’s passion and integrity are inspirational. This important story is a must-read.” — John Legend

“This memoir of a young widow’s quest to transform urban education by establishing the groundbreaking Harlem Village Academies will inspire readers everywhere.” — O, the Oprah Magazine

“Parents and principals trying to understand what makes successful schools work ought to read Born to Rise.” — New York Times

"Born to Rise is about Deborah Kenny’s ability to see greatness in every child and transform entire communities. Her journey is a passionate one and gives me goose bumps.” — Jason Mraz

“I forgive Deborah Kenny for writing an interesting book, Born to Rise, for her misinformed - even slanderous - claims about the impact of unions…. it’s a very good book to read-useful, informative and inspiring.… her educational values are close to mine.” — Deborah Meier

From the Publisher

Deborah’s passion and integrity are inspirational. This important story is a must-read.

John Legend

Leaders who want to light an entrepreneurial fire under every employee must read this book.

Jack Welch

Our country needs more schools like Harlem Village Academies.

Arne Duncan

Deborah Kenny’s inspiring story holds powerful lessons for parents, teachers, administrators, and elected officials across the country.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg

"Born to Rise is about Deborah Kenny’s ability to see greatness in every child and transform entire communities. Her journey is a passionate one and gives me goose bumps.

Jason Mraz

Deborah has created something extraordinary at Harlem Village Academies. You feel a warmth and an intellectual energy but most of all there’s a passion for learning like I have never before seen at a school.

Hugh Jackman

Parents and principals trying to understand what makes successful schools work ought to read Born to Rise.

New York Times

This memoir of a young widow’s quest to transform urban education by establishing the groundbreaking Harlem Village Academies will inspire readers everywhere.

the Oprah Magazine O

Deborah’s journey is a gift: she teaches children to love learning

Bill Cosby

I forgive Deborah Kenny for writing an interesting book, Born to Rise, for her misinformed - even slanderous - claims about the impact of unions…. it’s a very good book to read-useful, informative and inspiring.… her educational values are close to mine.

Deborah Meier

Deborah’s journey is a gift: she teaches children to love learning

Bill Cosby

This memoir of a young widow’s quest to transform urban education by establishing the groundbreaking Harlem Village Academies will inspire readers everywhere.

O: the Oprah Magazine

Deborah Kenny’s inspiring story holds powerful lessons for parents, teachers, administrators, and elected officials across the country.

Mayor - Michael Bloomberg

Inspirational account of a woman beating the odds to open quality schools for low-income families in Harlem. In 2001, Kenny, who has a doctorate in comparative international education, created what would become Harlem Village Academies--even though the venture made no sense to her family and friends. A young widow with three children at home, the author had no charter school experience, no building to use for classrooms, no specific plan and little money. She did know enough to realize that without fundraising success, she would never obtain charters from education regulators. However, raising money was extremely difficult without a state charter in hand. Nonetheless, Kenny felt compelled to proceed for reasons she didn't fully understood. The book is partly memoir; the story of the charter school doesn't appear until approximately 50 pages in. The author begins with a chronicle of her husband's death from cancer, followed by the story of her innovative thinking as a business executive, including her stint as group president of Sesame Street Publishing. Kenny shares the development of her thinking about her hoped-for charter school, with its emphasis on building a faculty of the best teachers available in the K-12 range. The parents of the children completed applications, and the spots were filled by an independently run lottery. Although many of the students are lagging below the norm in reading and other subjects, a high percentage of them have shown marked improvement as Kenny's charter schools have refined teaching and learning techniques. A mostly upbeat book that explains many of the obstacles to success while often glossing over those obstacles and the negative outcomes accompanying the admirable successes.

Kirkus Reviews