This Is Our School!

"In this important new book, Hava Rachel Gordon shows how grassroots movements have organized to resist efforts by neoliberal reformers to take control of local public schools. Using Denver as a focal point for her analysis, Gordon shows us that not only is resistance occurring, but in some cases, community groups are winning important victories against formidable opponents in their efforts to retain control over public schools. Well documented and written in a clear and compelling style, This is Our School! will serve as a guide to those who seek to retain public schools as the foundation of democracy." ~Pedro A. Noguera, author of The Trouble With Black Boys: ...And Other Reflections on Race, Equity, and the Future of Public Education

"Hava Rachel Gordon has provided us with a significant advance in our understanding of the contradictions, limits, and possibilities of activist movements in educational reform. It is consistently insightful and grounded in the real politics of communities on the ground. I strongly recommend it." ~Michael W. Apple, author of Can Education Change Society?

"This Is Our School! offers a powerful, in-depth exploration of educational justice movements as they negotiate neoliberal education policy and disinvestment in urban communities. Hava Rachel Gordon’s careful analysis of alliances between youth activists and community groups in Denver offers new insights into the dynamics of racial politics, coalition-building, and the potential for community inclusion. This book is an important and timely contribution." ~Nancy Naples, author of Grassroots Warriors: Activist Mothering, Community Work, and the War on Poverty

"In the wake of protests against school mask mandates and a supposed critical-race-theory takeover of the curriculum, Hava Rachel Gordon’s new book provides a fresh examination of neoliberal school reforms and the impact of the coalitions opposing them." ~Mobilization