ONE DOOR AT A TIME

THE STORY OF CONCENTRIC AND HOW PUTTING STUDENTS AT THE CENTER OF EDUCATION WORKS

by David L. Heiber Sr. , Michael Gary Jr. & Ivory A. Toldson ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 19, 2025

In this nonfiction book, a trio of specialists offers a new paradigm for America’s beleaguered educational system.

Like many educators, Heiber began his career as an idealist. While attending the historically Black Lincoln University, he was drawn to the Afrocentric approach of Prof. Molefi Kete Asante, which “posits that every facet of African and African American life should be comprehended from their own unique vantage point” that rejects the “Eurocentric lens that distorts rather than illuminates.” After graduating, Heiber studied under Asante at Temple University before becoming a teacher in the Baltimore City Public School System. Like many idealists, the passionate Heiber met the harsh reality of what he describes as a flawed educational system that “was designed to maintain the status quo at all costs—even if the cost was the students it claimed to serve.” After leaving the classroom, Heiber eventually co-founded Concentric Educational Solutions, an advocacy group that provides consulting and professional development services to teachers, administrators, and school systems across the country. This book—written by Heiber and two of his Concentric team members, Gary and Toldson—provides a comprehensive overview of Concentric’s theoretical approach to a “radical reorientation” to education alongside anecdotes of how this methodology has produced successful results. Central to the volume’s argument is the transformative power of home visits, as conversations with not just students, but also with their families, often reveal how systemic inequalities (from social isolation to a lack of child care for younger siblings) affect student performance in the classroom. Thus, the work calls for teachers to not only begin the academic year by prepping lesson plans, but also to “venture into the community” and meet with students and their families in their own homes. This act alone, the authors argue with convincing case studies, has led to a “foundational shift” whereby educators moved from prioritization of “classroom-only instruction to one that saw teachers as crucial partners in the overall well-being of the child.”

Backed by solid research, as seen in the work’s impressive array of scholarly references, this book makes an impassioned case for holistic education. And while rooted in an Afrocentric mode of thinking that, for instance, rejects Western hyper-individuality in favor of community-centered approaches to learning, the volume is applicable to public school systems across the country—from rural Appalachia to urban Chicago. Designed to generate meaningful conversations among educators, the work concludes each chapter with questions for individual reflection or group discussion that challenge many of the reflexive responses among teachers and educators. Many educators, for instance, default to an “us vs. them” mentality, Heiber’s research found, whereby parents are blamed for the failure of students. This “pervasive…culture of blame,” the authors note, “prevents meaningful collaboration and undermines student well-being.” Written in an accessible style that blends scholarly research with jargon-free prose, the book demonstrates the passion the authors have for student success on each page. The volume’s emphasis on engaging readers with the real-world triumph of the authors’ methodology is paralleled by the inclusion of colorful diagrams and thoughtfully curated artificial intelligence-generated illustrations that are featured throughout each chapter. With a foreword by Asante, this book is an impressively authoritative work on the potential of holistic education.

A convincing, well-researched case for a new approach to American education.

Pub Date: June 19, 2025

ISBN: 9789004736061

Page Count: 260

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: July 16, 2025

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

EDUCATION | SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | GENERAL NONFICTION