Their Highest Potential - by Vanessa Siddle Walker (Paperback)

About the Book

Their Highest Potential: An African American School Community in the Segregated South

Book Synopsis

African American schools in the segregated South faced enormous obstacles in educating their students. But some of these schools succeeded in providing nurturing educational environments in spite of the injustices of segregation. Vanessa Siddle Walker tells the story of one such school in rural North Carolina, the Caswell County Training School, which operated from 1934 to 1969. She focuses especially on the importance of dedicated teachers and the principal, who believed their jobs extended well beyond the classroom, and on the community's parents, who worked hard to support the school. According to Walker, the relationship between school and community was mutually dependent. Parents sacrificed financially to meet the school's needs, and teachers and administrators put in extra time for professional development, specialized student assistance, and home visits. The result was a school that placed the needs of African American students at the center of its mission, which was in turn shared by the community. Walker concludes that the experience of CCTS captures a segment of the history of African Americans in segregated schools that has been overlooked and that provides important context for the ongoing debate about how best to educate African American children. African American History/Education/North Carolina

From the Back Cover

The history of the public schooling of African Americans during legalized segregation has focused almost exclusively on the inferior education that African American children received. Indeed, the meager materials, the inadequate facilities, the unequal funding of schools and teachers, the lack of bus transportation, and the failure of school boards to respond to black parents' requests are so commonly named in most descriptions of segregated education the the segregated schooling of African American children.

Review Quotes

Excellent. . . . Clearly, a much-needed addition to an overly lopsided history that continues to ignore 'their highest potential.'

"MultiCultural Review"

This is a first-rate book and a very moving story.

James D. Anderson, author of "The Education of Blacks in the South, 1860-1935"

This is a must read for anyone seriously interested in promoting excellence for African American learners.

Gloria Ladson-Billings, University of Wisconsin-Madison

"Excellent. . . . Clearly, a much-needed addition to an overly lopsided history that continues to ignore 'their highest potential.'

"MultiCultural Review""

"This is a first-rate book and a very moving story.

James D. Anderson, author of "The Education of Blacks in the South, 1860-1935""

"This is a must read for anyone seriously interested in promoting excellence for African American learners.

Gloria Ladson-Billings, University of Wisconsin-Madison"

A compelling story.

"Journal of American History"

About the Author

Vanessa Siddle Walker, assistant professor of educational studies at Emory University, is coeditor of Facing Racism in American Education.