This book is called because it captures what African American
and Hispanic students believe deters them from reaching thefull
measure of the American Dream. simply echoes the thoughtsand
feelings of the students of DuPage County. The stated mission of
the DuPage Regional Office of Educationis to collaboratively
build and sustain a high-quality county educationalcommunity for
all. Dr. Darlene Ruscitti, DuPage County RegionalSuperintendent
of Schools, is determined to see this mission lived out toits
fullest. In keeping with this intent, she determined that the
academicachievement gaps evidenced by African American and
Hispanic students must be addressed.Dr. Ruscitti, with the
financial support of the DuPage County Board, hired Lourdes
Ferrer,Ed.D. and Stephen Garlington, MSW/LCSW to address the
needs of under-achieving minority students. As part of their
work, they conducted hundreds of interviews with high-achieving
minority students over a five-year period to ascertain the
students’ perspectives on the acade