Brownsville, Brooklyn is not a place where you would expect to see committed, engaged young scholars. On the streets near Mott Hall Bridges Academy, the middle schoolers live in a world where they see people get shot. Some scholars cannot enter the local public library because it is in rival gang territory. They must take care of themselves and their younger siblings due to absentee parents in the household. Outside of school, they struggle to survive. Inside school, they are dubbed rude, disrespectful and defiant by teachers.

Nadia Lopez wanted to help these kids see a different reality. She decided to start a school from scratch, and she was lucky when the NYC Department of Education granted her such an opportunity. Mott Hall Bridges Academy was born. After endlessly handing out fliers, she was ready to start with a new crop of sixth-graders.

She treated the kids as though they were her own. She took them on ventures outside of the narrow microcosm that they were used to, starting with a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. The most behaviorally problematic kids clung to her in fear. She assured them that the structure would not collapse. On the Manhattan side of the bridge, they were rapt as they stared at the water of East River. Later, she was able to accompany the scholars on trips to Harvard University, after an amazing youngster named Vidal propelled the school and Nadia Lopez into stardom by telling his story to Brandon from The Humans of New York blog. These pivotal experiences, in combination with hard talks with the staff about their behavior, motivations and perceptions of themselves shaped the destiny of these young lives. 

Purple and black are the designed colors of the school. Purple for royalty. Bridges for a pathway to other things. "Connected to succeed" is Mott Hall's motto. Focused to bring back the positive connotation of the world which was used to describe the failing status of the school. Turning despair into hope seems to be Nadia Lopez' specialty. 

The Bridge To Brilliance: How One Principal In a Tough Community Is Inspiring the World by Nadia Lopez, 2016

This was an eye-opening look into the world of public schools in New York City, especially the economically disadvantaged ones.

Black Girls Rock, Nadia Lopez speaks

Books about disadvantaged kids