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Deborah Meier's The Power Of Their Ideas

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The Power of Their Ideas is a collection of journal entries and essays by former New York City principal, Deborah Meier, who successfully created an alternative public school program. Long before the current school reform movement began Deborah Meier invested her heart and soul into creating a school environment that continues to foster to the whole child. For her, hearing the self-confident voices of children was a reminder that they are all-alike and are indeed capable of generating powerful ideas. With this as a mantra she has not only sought to build the individual student but the community as a whole.
Since the founding of the first Central Park East School (CPE) in 1974 it has grown to include three more schools p. 18. Each of the four schools offer a rich and interesting curriculum full of powerful ideas and experiences aimed at inspiring its students with the desire to know more, a curriculum that sustains students’ natural drive to make sense of the world and trusts in their capacity to have an impact on it. Well over half of the students has always qualified for free lunches and about 20 percent meet the state requirements for being labeled ‘handicapped”, therefore qualifying for special state funds. Even with statistics such as these CPE has managed to maintain an 85 percent …show more content…

This decision led to them trying to recruit and maintain staff members who were African American and Latino parents. As a parent of four school aged African American students I commend them for taking the time and effort to consider this as a viable approach to bringing the school together as a cohesive community. Students who are a part of a school community that values the input of parents and had staff members who resembled them will in turn feel as if they have representatives who will consider their best

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