Best in Class Author:Eric Mahmoud, Jeffrey Hassan Under Eric Mahmoud's leadership, Harvest Prep and Best Academy have become Minnesota's two most successful schools in closing the so-called academic achievement gap between White children and economically and socially disadvantaged children. In 2012, Best was ranked No. 1 in Minnesota for high-poverty schools; in 2013, Best was named one of the ... more »nation's top five schools for educating boys of color.
This is the story of how Mahmoud did it-and how you can do it too.
According to Mahmoud, the achievement gap is really a combination of five: gaps in preparation, time, leadership, teacher, and belief. Schools must address all five and his Gap-Closing Framework provides a coherent and aligned model to accelerate student learning.
Best in Class provides examples of lesson planning and evaluation materials for teachers, and testing and support systems for students. Together, they give educators and administrators a complete picture of how this work is done. The book also discusses the "10 Best Practices" used by the top gap-closing schools in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.
The book is intended to serve as an inspiration for "what is possible" in educating poor and socially disadvantaged children. Mahmoud believes that the problem is not the hardware-children's minds-it's the software and children are not being properly programmed for success. According to Mahmoud, when adults organize themselves for children's success, there's no limit to what children can accomplish, regardless of social, economic, or family circumstances.« less