Lessons of Hope: How to Fix Our Schools

In 2002, New York City’s newly elected mayor, Michael Bloomberg, began his first term with a controversial announcement: his administration had won control of the city’s school system in a first step toward reversing its precipitous decline. Joel Klein, an accomplished lawyer completely outside of the education establishment, was selected to lead this ambitious, unprecedented campaign.

Lessons of Hope is Klein’s inside account of his eight-year mission of improvement: demanding accountability; eliminating political favoritism; and battling a powerful teachers’ union that seemed determined to protect the worst in its ranks. Klein’s initiative resulted in more school choice, higher graduation rates, and improved test scores. The New York City model is now seen as a national blueprint for meaningful school reform. But the journey was not easy. Klein faced resistance and conflict at every turn.

Lessons of Hope serves as a guide to the problems plaguing public education and how they can be solved. At its core lies Klein’s personal story: his humble upbringing in Brooklyn and Queens and the essential role that outstanding public school teachers played in nurturing his success. Provocative and illuminating, Lessons of Hope is essential reading for anyone concerned about the future of American public education.