Product Description
Peachtree Alternative School has some of the toughest kids that society has to offer: kids who have dealt drugs, attempted rape, brought weapons to school, and made terrorist threats. Overcrowding creates a volatile situation. Teachers survive threats, assaults, brawls, and rampages with their therapeutic philosophies barely intact.The Forgotten Room is a teacher survival story. It examines the darker side of American education through chronicling the course of Peachtree Alternative School's tenth and final year. It offers a glimmer of hope in the safe zones created by hardworking teachers, but it is also a cautionary tale about the consequences of bureaucrats neglecting troubled teens.
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Customer Reviews (2)

Interesting and Informative
I am a social worker, and work with foster families.

Many of the children in foster care utilize "alternative schooling" and before I read this book, I had little information about them- other than what had been told to me by the families and sometimes the actual students.This book was enlightening in that respect. From a reader's perspective, I would also like to say that the book is extremely readable. It is more like a glimpse into a personal diary than a textbook. One person's personal experience speaks volumes and provides an education.

Well done. I recommend this to other readers.

A must read for those trying to understand why a good future starts in the classroom
Assigned to teach the worst of the worst is something that few teachers ever want. "The Forgotten Room: Inside a Public Alternative School for At-Risk Youth" is the story of a the final year of Peachtree Alternative School, and how the teachers faced day to day challenges dealing with students who seemed to be on the quick path to a self-destructive life. Through the hell of these students, some teachers still tried to change their lives and break that course, with varying success. "The Forgotten Room" is a must read for those trying to understand why a good future starts in the classroom. ... Read more