Many parents search for a "good" school to enroll their children. They look at the school's standardized test scores and check out demographic statistics, but fail to investigate the strengths of these schools that have a vibrant mix of races and cultures. Eileen Gale Kugler offers a unique perspective on what every educator, parent, and community leader should know about reaping the rich harvest of our diverse schools. This book provides guidance on how we can all work together to dispel the myths and nurture the opportunities that these schools offer such as academic challenge and social advantages. Anecdotes from Kugler's personal experience are included as well as information from 80 interviews with key educators, parents, and students. This book stands alone as a resource that pulls all of this information together. Will be of interest to anyone who cares about education. See Wendy Burt-Thomas's interview with author Eileen Kugler at http://askwendy.wordpress.com/?s=kugler

"[Kugler's] voice is not only powerful but sincere to the point where it forces readers to confront what is at stake in the future of America and to see for themselves that diverse schools are better schools." - Electronic Journal On Teaching English As A Second Language

"The book is particularly valuable because of the rarity of its voice and its call for parents to rethink the types of environments needed for the future of students in this country. This book is recommended for all parents, teachers, and professors of education who are looking for literature that chronicles health rather than pathology in public education...Essential." - CHOICE

"If you want to learn the value of diversity (or if you want to convince parents of that value) pick up a copy of Eileen Kugler's Debunking the Middle Class Myth. It weaves an eloquent and inspiring chronicle of the successes of well-run diverse schools." - American School Board Journal

"Kugler, a national advocate for diverse schools, challenges myths about ethnically, racially, and economically diverse schools and shows what is possible when educators are committed to finding ways to help every child succeed and when students, parents, and community members support the administrators and teachers in their efforts. She lays out a rationale for considering diverse schools among the most desirable, and provides strategies for strengthening diverse schools." - Reference and Research Book News