The Bridge to Brilliance: How One Principal in a Tough Community Is Inspiring the World

by Nadia Lopez, Rebecca Paley Narrated by Adenrele Ojo, Nadia Lopez

Overview

“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

Editorial Reviews

NOVEMBER 2016 - AudioFile

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

The New York Times Book Review - Dale Russakoff

…offers a valuable depiction of what it takes for principals and teachers to reach children in the most troubled communities…[Lopez's] book will give readers even more reasons to ask what we as a society are doing to support the thousands of educators who labor in obscurity, trying to help the nation's most vulnerable children.

Publishers Weekly

06/27/2016
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. (Aug.)

From the Publisher

The story of Mott Hall Bridges Academy is the story of American education. Nadia Lopez stands on the front line of the fight to educate America’s children."
—Brandon Stanton, author of Humans of New York

"Essential...the key to academic excellence begins with an open mind."
—Essence

"A valuable depiction of what it takes for principals and teachers to reach children in the most troubled communities...will give readers even more reasons to ask what we as a society are doing to support the thousands of educators who labor in obscurity, trying to help the nation's most vulnerable children."
—Dale Russakoff, The New York Times Book Review
 
“Nadia Lopez’s efforts to support the needs of children in one of the most under-resourced communities in the country should serve as a reminder to all that what’s required to open pathways to excellence are educators who unlock potential. We should all be committed to living Nadia’s legacy. She founded a school to strengthen a community and our country . . . what will you do?”
―David J. Johns, Executive Director, White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans

"For anyone in education who thinks a student is beyond learning, Lopez's story will prove them wrong. The narrative demonstrates a clear progression from a woman's dream for a model school to that reality, which has made a huge impact in its neighborhood and across the country."
—Kirkus Reviews

Library Journal

08/01/2016
Whatever Lopez, the principal of Mott Hall Bridges Academy in Brownsville, Brooklyn, sets her mind to, she accomplishes. When given the chance to create her own school, the author was determined it would be a place where children could succeed in their studies and in life, despite its location in one of the borough's poorest and most dangerous neighborhoods. Lopez inspires her pupils (or scholars, as she calls them) to achieve their full potential. Her instructors are held accountable for their scholars' learning. Some may feel her methods are unconventional, but they work. Talking in the hallway is allowed; who knows what great ideas it will generate? Asking questions, even those teachers at other schools might dismiss or consider silly or rude, is encouraged; how can you learn when you don't understand the material? Getting out of the building occasionally is advised; children risk leaving their comfort zones but expand their horizons. VERDICT Filled with narratives about overcoming adversity and of seeing the good where others see only trouble, and success where others see failure, this feel-good story will resonate with just about any reader. And it may be an inspiration for other educators to emulate Lopez's methods.—Terry Christner, Hutchinson P.L., KS

NOVEMBER 2016 - AudioFile

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

Kirkus Reviews

2016-05-15
The methods one principal used to create a safe learning environment for her students.Opening a new school in Brownsville, "one of the poorest and most dangerous neighborhoods in all of New York City," may seem like a crazy idea to many, but Lopez knew that she could make a difference in the futures of the children who would attend her school. This book shows how she turned her dream into reality. The author readily admits the countless obstacles she faced during the first year. "Kids screamed at the top of their lungs or walked out of rooms in the middle of class; it felt like an asylum rather than a school," she writes. "Every single day there was a fight….When they set fire to the bathroom, by burning toilet paper, I didn't think it could get any more insane." Despite the many challenges, however, Lopez continued to fight for her school and eventually received nationwide recognition for her efforts. Throughout the book, she walks readers through the steps she took, each fraught with stress and anxiety. She believed in each scholar and insisted each teacher develop a strong relationship with every child; she enforced discipline, but her office door was always open to anyone who needed to talk; she demanded respect among all members of the school, children and adults; and she made sure she and her peers understood the scholars' backgrounds and the dangers they faced the minute they stepped back onto the street outside the school. The personal stories of many of the students show that it wasn't always sunshine and roses, as Lopez describes some of the bleakest moments at the school. For anyone in education who thinks a student is beyond learning, Lopez's story will prove them wrong. The narrative demonstrates a clear progression from a woman's dream for a model school to that reality, which has made a huge impact in its neighborhood and across the country.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169324211
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	08/30/2016
Edition description:	Unabridged

Read an Excerpt

Sitting at my desk, I contemplated all the paperwork that had piled up since my school, Mott Hall Bridges Academy, was thrust into the spotlight a few months before. A small public middle school in one of the poorest and most underserved neighborhoods of Brooklyn was an unlikely candidate for an international press sensation. But ever since one of my boys brought attention to Mott Hall through a comment he made on the popular blog Humans of New York, ordinary people around the world had been captivated by what I was trying to do— which was simply to take care of kids everyone else seemed to want to forget.
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "The Bridge to Brilliance"
by .
Copyright © 2016 Nadia Lopez.
Excerpted by permission of Penguin Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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