Publisher's Synopsis
The Los Angeles Unified School District Exposed!
Dick Selby, a "School Psychologist of the Year," and "Hero of the Week," is an important member of the Garfield High School staff. He develops a popular counseling program and deals with more emergencies than any other school psychologist in Los Angeles. Suicide, sexual abuse, physical abuse, gangs, drugs, it's all part of the East Los Angeles community. Geri Kenyon, State Council of California Teachers' Association: "This is a scathing account of how LAUSD can react when someone, like Dick, is willing to speak up for the needs of inner-city students. The district had no idea about how important Dick's services were at Garfield and they didn't seem to care." Joe Carmona, expert on gangs and gang programs within East L.A.: "Everyone at Garfield loved Dick and he was doing a great job. Then, and for no reason, he was transferred. Police had to be called onto the campus. Students wore T-shirts depicting the principal as a baboon with testicles. Then there were demonstrations. It's unbelievable what happened."
This book is a first-hand account of a school psychologist who was doing a great job, only to find himself in conflict with the power structure. He then is transferred, but is given no clear explanation why this transfer occurred. This book tells it like it is when one works in the inner city and is willing to challenge the bureaucracy.