TY - BOOK AU - Hixenbaugh,Mike TI - They came for the schools: one town's fight over race and identity, and the new war for America's classrooms SN - 9780063307247 PY - 2024///] CY - New York PB - Mariner Books KW - Education KW - Texas KW - Southlake KW - History KW - Racism KW - Conservatism KW - United States N1 - Includes bibliographical references (pages 243-264) and index; Prologue -- Part I: Suburban dreamland. Perfect City, U.S.A -- You've got to change -- Not just a word -- Everything imploded -- Part II: Building the army. Coming to a town near you -- Existential threat -- One election away -- Blowout -- The Southlake playbook -- The parents are our clients -- Part III: So goes America. Christianity will have power -- Seven mountains -- The Florida blueprint -- I lost my son -- The holy grail -- It still mattered -- Epilogue N2 - "Award-winning journalist Mike Hixenbaugh delivers the immersive and eye-opening story of Southlake, Texas, a district that seemed to offer everything parents would want for their children--small classes, dedicated teachers, financial resources, a track record of academic success, and school spirit in abundance. But after a series of racist incidents became public, a plan to promote inclusiveness was proposed in response--and a coordinated, well-funded conservative backlash erupted, lighting the fire of a national movement on the verge of changing the face of public schools across the country. They Came for the Schools pulls back the curtain on the powerful forces driving this crusade to ban books, rewrite curricula, limit rights for minority and LGBTQ students--and, most importantly, to win what Hixenbaugh's deeply informed reporting convinces is the holy grail among those seeking to impose biblical values on American society: school privatization, one school board and one legal battle at a time. They Came for the Schools delivers an essential take on Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, as they demean public schools and teachers and boost the Christian right's vision. Hixenbaugh brings to light fascinating connections between this political and cultural moment and past fundamentalist campaigns to censor classroom lessons. Finally, They Came for the Schools traces the rise of a new resistance movement led by a diverse coalition of student activists, fed-up educators, and parents who are beginning to win select battles of their own: a blueprint, they hope, for gaining inclusive and civil schools for all"--Dust jacket flap ER -