Exit Tickets: A Novel

Teacher-student relationship boundaries are important, and exploring what happens when these lines are blurred due to systemic breakdowns is the main conflict. Chanko, a journalist and teacher, incorporates alternating voices from principals, teaching staff, and students at New York City’s PS 961 over the 2007–2008 school year. Mr. J (Martin Jordanowski) is a freshly minted teacher, grieving the recent death of his sister from opioids. His star student, Kandra McKissick, is the only one who listens in his writing enrichment class; it’s her interest, and need for an understanding adult, that sparks a connection.

Select individuals weave in with their own chapters and stories. Shirley Holmes, the veteran teacher, worries about the inappropriateness of this relationship, especially since Kandra is her cousin. Principal Cody avoids becoming involved after a career-ending nightmare the year before, allowing assistant principal Annalisa Benitez to force exit tickets instead of listening to real needs. Each character analyzes and deduces what is happening between Mr. J and Kandra, mistaking it for something it is not. Perspective is everything, and educational systems today are still subject to misunderstandings due to communication fissures and disconnection.

Evocative descriptions establish PS 961, with the “buzzing overhead fluorescent lights” in Mr. J’s windowless room. The clarity of voice and authentic dialogue for every character create space for them to be beautifully flawed. Students at PS 961 have emotionally charged lives, and their worlds are complicated.

A fast-paced and compelling read, the only perspectives left out are those of parents and guardians, which is unfortunate. Beyond Mr. J’s connection to Kandra, motifs regarding the plight of young people of color, trauma-informed care, racism within schools, barriers within education systems, and familial relationships are deftly explored.