The stories in the collection concern a typical suburban, public high
school. Typical is the operative word. Tax money poured in by the local
community for extraordinary services provided to all school-age
children. Money spent everywhere: acclaimed educators hired, spectacular
facilities built, resources like computers and laboratory equipment
acquired, extra-curricular activities created, yet the outcome? Academic
failure, violence, drugs, gangs, and, drop-out rates approaching fifty
percent. There is the result! Why? Where has the money gone? The
resources gone? The stories provide a glimpse and a few answers. There
are portraits of students, teachers, and, school administrators. In
these you can figure the reasons for the failures. Often, the failure is
a combination of forces, the kids themselves, instability of parents and
extended families, poor teachers and administrators, and, a bureaucracy
gone wild. To pinpoint any one cause as a reason for the school's record
is difficult at best.