A Celebration of Reagan High w/ MICHAEL BRICK author of Saving The School

Tuesday, August 21 7pm

Join us for a celebration
of Reagan High School,
its students and teachers
(and teachers everywhere)
with Michael Brick,
author of the new book
Saving The School.

Get ready for a party! Tonight we're celebrating Austin's own Reagan High School with author and journalist Michael Brick, who tells the school's story in his new book Saving The School. The Reagan High marching band will perform in our parking lot at 6:45pm. Afterwards, we'll head up to our second floor where Michael will speak about his book. We'll have student art work on display, special guests from the school and more cheer than you'll find at any pep rally in America! Don't miss it!

About Saving The School: Being principal was never her dream. Anabel Garza, the young widow of a young cop, got by teaching English to immigrant children, taking college classes at night and raising her son.

And Reagan High was no dream assignment. Once famous for its state football championships, educational achievements and award-winning design, the school was a shadow of its former self. But when Anabel took the job - cruising the mall for dropouts, tailoring lessons to the tests, firing a few lazy teachers and supporting the rest – she started something no one expected. As the numbers rose, she set out to re-create the high school she remembered, with plays and dances, yearbooks and clubs, crowded bleachers and teachers who brought books alive.

Across the country, public schools face the threat of extinction in the numerically ordained churn of the accountability movement. Now, for the first time, we can tally the human cost of rankings and scores. In this powerful rejoinder to the prevailing winds of American education policy, Michael Brick takes us inside the high-pressure world of a school on the brink. Compelling, character-driven narrative journalism, Saving the School pays overdue tribute to the great American high school, and to the people inside.

Michael Brick, 38, graduated from a public high school in Farmers Branch, Texas. As a reporter for The New York Times, he filed feature stories from Alaska to Mexico, but mostly Brooklyn. He lives in Austin with his wife, Stacy (Reagan High ’93), and their children.

In order to have anything signed at a BookPeople event, a copy of the event book must be purchased from BookPeople. If you purchase your book from BookPeople in advance of the event, please save your receipt and present it at the event.

Thank you for supporting Michael Brick, and your local independent bookstore!