new book
August 16, 2024

Higher education is failing its most vulnerable students. But we can fix that.

Your student base is more diverse than ever before, with record numbers of first-generation students on campus. Are you equipped to support them? In a vital new book out this week, Boston University professor Anthony Jack reveals how practices we take for granted are still preventing us from investing in our most promising students—even for schools that pride themselves on inclusion—and offers practical ways for us to fill in that gap and support everyone on campus.

“Class Dismissed should be mandatory reading at every college in the country—for students and administrators alike.”
— Clint Smith, #1 New York Times bestselling author of How the Word Is Passed

An essential manual for any teacher or leader looking to foster the unique potential of an increasingly diverse student base, Class Dismissed reveals what you need to do to not only recruit but support your students. By diversifying the students you enroll, you’ll gain intellectual talent and bring more brilliant minds into your school, Anthony says. “But you’re also going to be inheriting a new set of problems—and possibilities.”

In compelling talks, he offers immediately actionable strategies for any leader looking to empower the students and mentees they lead. For example, he explains how the social side of school is what trips up most students—not the academic side—and how simple steps like defining what “office hours” are can help our most marginalized students access the help they need when they need it.

Class Dismissed is “a compulsively readable, powerfully argued book” (Kirkus starred review). Clint Smith, #1 New York Times bestselling author of How the Word Is Passed, says that it “should be mandatory reading,” and Ibram X. Kendi (How to Be an Antiracist) says that Anthony elevates the voices of the most vulnerable students and dares us “not only to listen, but to learn and transform.”

“There are ways in which we can mitigate some of that gap to support and nurture talent that will pay dividends down the line,” Anthony says.

"Class Dismissed should be mandatory reading at every college in the country—for students and administrators alike." — Clint Smith, #1 New York Times bestselling author of How the Word Is Passed

Anthony Jack is the award-winning author of The Privileged Poor and Class Dismissed (out now!). A Boston University assistant professor and faculty director of the Newbury Center, he's spent his career revealing the hidden inequalities that are preventing our most vulnerable students from reaching their full potential—and how we can fix this. An essential manual for any teacher or leader looking to foster the unique potential of an increasingly diverse student base, Class Dismissed reveals what you need to do to not only recruit but support your students. By diversifying the students you enroll, you'll gain intellectual talent and bring more brilliant minds into your school, Anthony says. "But you’re also going to be inheriting a new set of problems—and possibilities." In compelling talks, he offers immediately actionable strategies for any leader looking to empower the students and mentees they lead. For example, he explains how the social side of school is what trips up most students—not the academic side—and how simple steps like defining what "office hours" are can help our most marginalized students access the help they need when they need it. Class Dismissed is "a compulsively readable, powerfully argued book" (Kirkus starred review). Clint Smith, #1 New York Times bestselling author of How the Word Is Passed, says that it "should be mandatory reading," and Ibram X. Kendi (How to Be an Antiracist) says that Anthony elevates the voices of the most vulnerable students and dares us "not only to listen, but to learn and transform." "There are ways in which we can mitigate some of that gap to support and nurture talent that will pay dividends down the line," Anthony says.