Is it surprising to learn that there is a school in the United States where the principal gives away semiautomatic rifles to retiring school personnel? Or where the person in charge is so devoid of common sense that she allows combustible engines to run in enclosed areas in the presence of students? In this astonishing true story, author Bernard Chapin reveals what happened when a once proud school was placed into the hands of a principal with a personality disorder. The administrators of the district, rather than acknowledge their mistake in hiring the principal, work indefatigably to cover her misdeeds while dismissing longtime employees who become aware of her illness. The school soon becomes a place where education is dumbed down, graduations increase due to less restrictive requirements, and every misdeed is excused for the sake of the kids. Escape from Gangsta Island is a comic horror story of a troubled school for troubled teen-agers led by a crazy principal who believed that fun and games lead to. Well, even the reality-challenged principal didn't claim students were being educated. Character! That was it, but students were not building character either." -Joanne Jacobs, and author of Our School: The Inspiring Story of Two Teachers, One Big Idea, and the School That Beat the Odds.
