Blue Ribbon Story: An Entrepreneur’s Success in Education - Softcover

Kravitz, Robert L.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1478297034 ISBN 13: 9781478297031

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2012

Synopsis

This book is about an entrepreneur who turns an underperforming school into a nationally recognized school. Using business models, he increases test scores, increases morale among staff, children and parents, and lowers his budget. In this book Mr. Kravitz also shares his vision for what is wrong with our educational system and what steps need to be taken to change. This book is like having a conversation with an educator at a party and listening to all the stories you have always wanted to hear. It is a easy read and will make you think as to where this country needs to go to educate our next generation.

About this title

About the Author:

Robert Kravitz graduated from Rutgers University in 1990. Upon graduating he began a business selling cakes and desserts to local restaurants. In 1996 he went back to school to complete a degree in culinary arts. In 2001 he completed his M.B.A. from Saint Peter’s College. During this time his business expanded and grew to annual revenue of over one million dollars. During these years he experienced all facets of entrepreneurship including obtaining a Small Business Administration loan, purchasing a building, hiring and firing employees and dealing with all types of clients. In the summer of 2003 he sold his business and began his career in education. Robert began teaching business in a Charter School in Jersey City, New Jersey. During that time he went back to school to obtain a Masters Degree in Education. After a year at the charter school he left there to become a business teacher at Fort Lee High School in Fort Lee, New Jersey. After two and half very successful years teaching he was promoted to assistant principal of the school. After six months he was promoted to principal of Fort Lee Elementary School #3. After one year, the culture of the school was changed. He has implemented his entrepreneurial spirit into the school which has created a successful school as recognized by the 2010 denomination as a United States National Blue Ribbon School.

From Kirkus Reviews:

"In his debut, a successful administrator judiciously applies business principles to the effort to improve public schools. Kravitz is the principal of School No. 3 in Fort Lee, N.J., which was designated a National Blue Ribbon School in 2010. In this slim motivational book, he proposes a no-nonsense plan to change the state of the nation’s schools, in which “[t]est “scores are low, spending is high, and we are stuck in the blame game.” The centerpiece of his approach is the Triangle Theory: All corners of the triangle—parents, teachers and administrators—must work together to support students, represented at the triangle’s center. Kravitz has considerable experience in all three roles, a perspective that allows him, in this book, to set reasonable expectations and make informed recommendations. To that end, he writes in a direct, conversational style, full of questions, exclamations and parenthetical asides, that readers will likely appreciate. Throughout, he suggests targeted business strategies that could make the educational system more effective. He criticizes the notion of innovation for innovation’s sake, and insists upon cost-benefit analyses to justify the expenses for programs that may or may not lead to significant improvement: new materials, teacher training through professional development seminars, outside consultants and so on. However, Kravitz is careful to point out that such a business model is not infallible; for example, he relates one particularly instructive anecdote, quoted from a book by author Jamie Robert Vollmer, that suggests that educators have little to no control over the initial quality of their students. The book’s only potential drawback may be its brevity, as some readers may want to read more about the author’s reservations about charter schools, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and standardized testing. A voice of reason on the future of public education."

About this edition

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1478297034
• ISBN 13: 9781478297031
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 66