Born to Rise is the inspiring account of Deborah Kenny’s pursuit of social justice for our nation’s most vulnerable children. 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.
Born to Rise
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“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)
“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 Back Cover
Deborah Kenny was a young mother of three small children seeking to make sense of her life amid the despair of her husband's untimely death when she decided to devote herself to radically reinventing public education. Born to Rise recounts a journey that led Kenny to risk her life savings to open schools in Harlem while proving that all children, regardless of socioeconomic circumstances, can learn at high levels. Students enter Harlem Village Academies several years behind grade level, but in just a few years they are transformed, ranking among the highest in the nation—with 99 percent of eighth graders meeting proficiency standards in math, science, and social studies.
How do they do it?
For the first time, Kenny shares the groundbreaking strategy that took ten years to develop. She 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 and teachers who regularly use words like magical to describe the workplace environment.
Born to Rise is the moving and strikingly candid account of Kenny's deeply personal dream: to pursue 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. It is a must-read for anyone who cares about children and the future of this country, as well as for leaders who want to motivate and inspire fierce dedication in their employees.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I think teaching is the best job in the world, and I have been a teacher for ten years.
I taught two years as a Teaching Fellow in the South Bronx, two years at a high school in Queens and six years at Harlem Village Academy Leadership, one of Deborah Kenny's middle schools. I honestly cannot imagine teaching anywhere else. HVA schools are amazing.
I am so happy Deborah decided to tell her story. In her book, the events of her life are woven together so carefully and honestly. This is the story of how she founded our schools, developed the best people, honed her vision, and never stopped working toward improving every single aspect of our schools. In every decision she made, she was always guided by what would be best for the students she wanted to teach. Both her incredible work ethic and her eye for detail beautifully translate to the page. Her commitment to educational equality is so inspiring, and in this book, you read about just how greatly it impacts the lives of her students and teachers. Every child deserves a great teacher, and Deborah has become an expert at creating schools where teachers love to teach and students love to learn.
Deborah's book, Born to Rise, is the story of how she changed the lives of so many children and so many teachers. And it's beautiful.
I taught two years as a Teaching Fellow in the South Bronx, two years at a high school in Queens and six years at Harlem Village Academy Leadership, one of Deborah Kenny's middle schools. I honestly cannot imagine teaching anywhere else. HVA schools are amazing.
I am so happy Deborah decided to tell her story. In her book, the events of her life are woven together so carefully and honestly. This is the story of how she founded our schools, developed the best people, honed her vision, and never stopped working toward improving every single aspect of our schools. In every decision she made, she was always guided by what would be best for the students she wanted to teach. Both her incredible work ethic and her eye for detail beautifully translate to the page. Her commitment to educational equality is so inspiring, and in this book, you read about just how greatly it impacts the lives of her students and teachers. Every child deserves a great teacher, and Deborah has become an expert at creating schools where teachers love to teach and students love to learn.
Deborah's book, Born to Rise, is the story of how she changed the lives of so many children and so many teachers. And it's beautiful.
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Deborah Kenny had it all together - a vision, commitment, perseverance, credibility, and the ability to sell herself; in addition, she also had the ability to get down into and accomplish an infinity of required details.
Her remarkable story begins shortly after her husband died from leukemia in 2001. Along with three young children to care for, no insurance benefits from her husband's death, no job, enrollment in a PhD program, she also wanted to help disadvantaged children trapped in failing Harlem schools. (In 2000, 78% of Harlem 8th-graders failed reading, 87% failed math.)
Turning that vision into reality began with visiting Chris Whittle, CEO of Edison Schools. He hired her - first assignment was to help a new team trying to get contracts for four NYC charter schools. Immediately she started hearing stories about the lengths the NYC teacher unions would go to because they were concerned the effort would grow to envelop many more of the city's 1,000+ schools. They would pay groups to come out and demonstrate against the charters, created robocalls that misinformed parents into believing Edison-managed public schools would charge tuition, file large number of grievances at charter efforts involving union teacher - tying up the principal with hearings, got Al Sharpton involved, and even sneered at teachers who stayed after 3 P.M. to tutor.
After awhile Kenny concluded that even Edison's successes weren't good enough - that their scripted, top-down management approach precluded teacher ownership and even better results. So she decided to open her own charter school.
Researching successful examples, she came upon a source in California - Don Shalog, who had started that state's first charter school in 1992. After visiting him she attended a conference in Atlanta that led to her meeting with the Gates Foundation's director of education. Etc., etc., including meeting with Sy Fleigel, former superintendent in East Harlem who I had the privilege to meet years ago. Along with providing a number of suggestions, he also warned her about partnering with local community groups having competing agendas.
Moving forward, she realized that getting authorization for a charter school required responding to a two-volume set of requirements - volume one had eleven sections and 37 attachments, volume two had 8 exhibits. Success would also require a funding source. Miraculously, she achieved both thanks to an enormous amount of work and soliciting ideas from others.
Then it was off to find an initial location, teachers, pupils, and a Board of Trustees. Teacher selectivity was very demanding - they had to both maintain control of the classroom and foster a high desire for learning among their pupils. Kenny searched across the nation for her first group. Pupil selectivity - none. The one-page application had no admission requirements - no transcripts, behavior checks, or interviews. Selection was by lottery, monitored by auditors. Harlem Village Academies offered longer school days, Saturday tutoring, and strict discipline. Almost every parent approached on the street filled out the application.
Seventy-four students were offered admission. Some parents only spoke Spanish. Every student signed a pledge. Most of the incoming 5th graders read between K and 3rd-grade level. Today, her Harlem Village Academies rank at the top in eighth-grade reading and math, and the 8th-graders in 2008 became the first school to score 100% on the New York State Math Exam. They've repeated that every year since. Science proficiency - 98% at the 8th grade level, vs. 69% average for the state, 53% for NYC, and 36% in Harlem public schools. Similar excellent results for its high school students, while 96% graduated in 4 years compared to a 65% average in NYC.
Her remarkable story begins shortly after her husband died from leukemia in 2001. Along with three young children to care for, no insurance benefits from her husband's death, no job, enrollment in a PhD program, she also wanted to help disadvantaged children trapped in failing Harlem schools. (In 2000, 78% of Harlem 8th-graders failed reading, 87% failed math.)
Turning that vision into reality began with visiting Chris Whittle, CEO of Edison Schools. He hired her - first assignment was to help a new team trying to get contracts for four NYC charter schools. Immediately she started hearing stories about the lengths the NYC teacher unions would go to because they were concerned the effort would grow to envelop many more of the city's 1,000+ schools. They would pay groups to come out and demonstrate against the charters, created robocalls that misinformed parents into believing Edison-managed public schools would charge tuition, file large number of grievances at charter efforts involving union teacher - tying up the principal with hearings, got Al Sharpton involved, and even sneered at teachers who stayed after 3 P.M. to tutor.
After awhile Kenny concluded that even Edison's successes weren't good enough - that their scripted, top-down management approach precluded teacher ownership and even better results. So she decided to open her own charter school.
Researching successful examples, she came upon a source in California - Don Shalog, who had started that state's first charter school in 1992. After visiting him she attended a conference in Atlanta that led to her meeting with the Gates Foundation's director of education. Etc., etc., including meeting with Sy Fleigel, former superintendent in East Harlem who I had the privilege to meet years ago. Along with providing a number of suggestions, he also warned her about partnering with local community groups having competing agendas.
Moving forward, she realized that getting authorization for a charter school required responding to a two-volume set of requirements - volume one had eleven sections and 37 attachments, volume two had 8 exhibits. Success would also require a funding source. Miraculously, she achieved both thanks to an enormous amount of work and soliciting ideas from others.
Then it was off to find an initial location, teachers, pupils, and a Board of Trustees. Teacher selectivity was very demanding - they had to both maintain control of the classroom and foster a high desire for learning among their pupils. Kenny searched across the nation for her first group. Pupil selectivity - none. The one-page application had no admission requirements - no transcripts, behavior checks, or interviews. Selection was by lottery, monitored by auditors. Harlem Village Academies offered longer school days, Saturday tutoring, and strict discipline. Almost every parent approached on the street filled out the application.
Seventy-four students were offered admission. Some parents only spoke Spanish. Every student signed a pledge. Most of the incoming 5th graders read between K and 3rd-grade level. Today, her Harlem Village Academies rank at the top in eighth-grade reading and math, and the 8th-graders in 2008 became the first school to score 100% on the New York State Math Exam. They've repeated that every year since. Science proficiency - 98% at the 8th grade level, vs. 69% average for the state, 53% for NYC, and 36% in Harlem public schools. Similar excellent results for its high school students, while 96% graduated in 4 years compared to a 65% average in NYC.
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I just finished the book and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's an inspiring, heart-warming story about how Deborah Kenny, just after being widowed by the tragic death of her husband and trying to raise two kids by herself, started two charter schools in Harlem in 2003. Against all odds, she succeeded: Harlem Village Academies now runs three high-performing schools (two middle schools and one high school), with two elementary schools slated to open this fall. Educators and school reformers will learn much from this book, especially from Kenny's description of HVA's intense focus on great teaching: she finds superstars and then does everything to empower and motivate them.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Hopeful stories
A must read for all people interested in the future of education. A compelling story of one woman's search for the "perfect school". Read more
Published 1 month ago by Wendy Pitts
4.0 out of 5 stars
Well written, Page turner
This book was well written and told the truth about high achieving charter schools. I wasn't able to put it down. Read more
Published 1 month ago by KreativeSpirit
5.0 out of 5 stars
Every parent and teacher should read this book!
I found this true story of how a failing school population became a successful one a real eye opener about the state of our schools and also what is possible given truly motivated... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Diane Jac Scott
4.0 out of 5 stars
wow
wow, this book was pretty awesome. i am using concepts from this book every day. i loved this book guys.
Published 3 months ago by gregmay
5.0 out of 5 stars
I want to teach for Deborah Kenny!!!!
Deborah Kenny's book, Born to Rise was an inspiration to me as a classroom teacher. Her heartfelt decisions concerning ONLY what is best for children was inspiring. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Laura Russell
1.0 out of 5 stars
I, me, my and mine.
Those words are a sure sign of delusion and narcissism. Thank-God for the public library; if I'd bought it I'd feel 'dirty'. Read more
Published 3 months ago by James F. Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Motivation!
This book was suggested to me and I am so grateful I read it! Deborah Kenny challenges the belief that a child's home life limits their learning potential. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Stefanie
5.0 out of 5 stars
Truly inspiring story
When will NYSED start really listening to people like Deborah Kenny and implement changes in the public school system that truly work to empower teachers and students alike? Read more
Published 4 months ago by Kristin W. Buchholz
4.0 out of 5 stars
Listen Up teachers and parents!
Although the author is a little obsessive, it's a very interesting and timely book. Anyone who's wondering what has gone andd continues to go wrong with out educational system... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Linda Lasky
5.0 out of 5 stars
Born to Rise--An inner city education success story
This example of a charter school in New York's Harlem gives me renewed faith in what dedicated administration, teachers and parents can accomplish by working together with mutual... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Richard N. Hagelberg
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