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Miracle Children: Race, Education, and a True Story of False Promises
Not yet published
Expected 13 Jan 26A riveting investigation into a school, a scam, and a notorious college admissions scandal that exposes the inequalities and racial segregation of American education, from two award-winning New York Times journalists
T.M. Landry College Prep, a small private school in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, boasted a 100-percent college acceptance rate, placing students at nearly every Ivy League college in the country. The spectacle of Landry students opening their acceptance letters to Harvard and Stanford was broadcast on CBS This Morning, the Ellen DeGeneres Show, and Today, and even celebrated by Michelle Obama. It was a ritual to watch the miraculous success of these youngsters—miraculous because Breaux Bridge is one of the poorest counties in the country, ranked close to the bottom for test scores and high school graduation. T.M. Landry was said to be “minting prodigies,” and the prodigies were often Black.
How did the school do it? They didn’t—it was a scam, pulled off with fake records and fake letters of recommendation, and above all, personal essays telling fake stories of triumph over adversity. Worse: Landry’s success concealed a nightmare of abuse and coercion. In a years-long investigation, Katie Benner and Erica L. Green explored the students, the school, the town, and Ivy League admissions to understand why Black students were pressured to trade a racial stereotype of hardship for opportunity.
Gripping and illuminating, Miracle Children argues that the lesson of T.M. Landry is not that the school gamed the system, but that it played by the rules, enabled by segregated schools, inequitable education and belief that elite colleges are the nation’s last path to life-changing economic opportunity.
T.M. Landry College Prep, a small private school in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, boasted a 100-percent college acceptance rate, placing students at nearly every Ivy League college in the country. The spectacle of Landry students opening their acceptance letters to Harvard and Stanford was broadcast on CBS This Morning, the Ellen DeGeneres Show, and Today, and even celebrated by Michelle Obama. It was a ritual to watch the miraculous success of these youngsters—miraculous because Breaux Bridge is one of the poorest counties in the country, ranked close to the bottom for test scores and high school graduation. T.M. Landry was said to be “minting prodigies,” and the prodigies were often Black.
How did the school do it? They didn’t—it was a scam, pulled off with fake records and fake letters of recommendation, and above all, personal essays telling fake stories of triumph over adversity. Worse: Landry’s success concealed a nightmare of abuse and coercion. In a years-long investigation, Katie Benner and Erica L. Green explored the students, the school, the town, and Ivy League admissions to understand why Black students were pressured to trade a racial stereotype of hardship for opportunity.
Gripping and illuminating, Miracle Children argues that the lesson of T.M. Landry is not that the school gamed the system, but that it played by the rules, enabled by segregated schools, inequitable education and belief that elite colleges are the nation’s last path to life-changing economic opportunity.
272 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication January 13, 2026
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2026
September 4, 2025📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Metropolitan Books
November 23, 2025
Thanks to Goodreads for the free copy of this from one of their giveaways. This book expends some jaw-dropping reporting from the two authors, NYT reporters, about a college prep school (TM Landry) in Louisiana that seemed to get amazing results (including Ivy League college acceptances) for their pupils. Their early successes earn them laudatory national media and connections with trustees and Deans at the US's most elite institutions. But the promises were a house of cards. The married couple who founded the school (neither of whom had degrees in education or prior teaching experience) ran the school as essentially an ACT prep machine, and relied on heavily falsified letters, personal essays, and extra-curricular to gain selective admissions. The school itself had disturbing, cultish aspects; the principal would humiliate students to keep them submissive, and even briefly choked or strangled a couple students who were resistant to his methods.
Because this school is in Louisiana, and because the couple (Mike and Tracey Landry) and most of the students are black, this subject is particularly freighted. Where Mike Landry is most compelling in this book is where he accurately points out the ways in which K-12 and higher education routinely fail black students. Poorly funded public schools provide insufficient resources, black students (particularly black men) are disciplined and suspended in school more frequently and more harshly than their white counterparts, and highly selective colleges and universities are clubby and insular. The authors insert a few chapters into this book paying attention to this context and history. The school drew families and students for compelling reasons; many parents and students describe the culture of the school, and the emphasis on pride and ambition, as exciting and enervating. Some of their early success is a matter of good recruiting; the Landrys succeed in attracting several superb late teenagers who were already on track to get admitted to highly selective schools.
All of this makes the bait and switch more painful, almost unbearable, to read. Students who were mostly educated at TM Landry gained attendance to highly selective schools and then struggled, because their education was so limited to cramming for the ACT. Parents became suspicious, had their kids tested, and discovered they were multiple grade levels behind. The articles in the Times, published in late 2018, led to the school's unraveling (but stunningly, no federal charges despite what seems like obvious evidence of fraud).
The authors center the students' voices, interests, and experiences in an unjust system. Many of the graduates of Landry find their own paths to flourishing, and their reflections on their time at Landry are thoughtful and varied. As compelling a read as this way, I wanted just a bit more in this book about what it reveals about the deep cynicism at the heart of the path to highly selective universities. The book opens with DuBois' famous line about double consciousness, and one of Mike Landry's most astute arguments throughout this book is that admissions officers are looking for stories and trauma; they are interested in heartwarming stories of grit and endurance, and he will package that for these students' success (even at the cost of inventing drug-addicted parents and the like). But given that this charade was uncovered shortly before the Varsity Blues scandal, which mostly benefited already highly privileged white kids, and given that neither scandal seems to have done anything to challenge the ecosystem and incentive structure for elite universities, this is a dispiriting book to finish. It seems likely that the next iteration of this scandal is probably underway.
Because this school is in Louisiana, and because the couple (Mike and Tracey Landry) and most of the students are black, this subject is particularly freighted. Where Mike Landry is most compelling in this book is where he accurately points out the ways in which K-12 and higher education routinely fail black students. Poorly funded public schools provide insufficient resources, black students (particularly black men) are disciplined and suspended in school more frequently and more harshly than their white counterparts, and highly selective colleges and universities are clubby and insular. The authors insert a few chapters into this book paying attention to this context and history. The school drew families and students for compelling reasons; many parents and students describe the culture of the school, and the emphasis on pride and ambition, as exciting and enervating. Some of their early success is a matter of good recruiting; the Landrys succeed in attracting several superb late teenagers who were already on track to get admitted to highly selective schools.
All of this makes the bait and switch more painful, almost unbearable, to read. Students who were mostly educated at TM Landry gained attendance to highly selective schools and then struggled, because their education was so limited to cramming for the ACT. Parents became suspicious, had their kids tested, and discovered they were multiple grade levels behind. The articles in the Times, published in late 2018, led to the school's unraveling (but stunningly, no federal charges despite what seems like obvious evidence of fraud).
The authors center the students' voices, interests, and experiences in an unjust system. Many of the graduates of Landry find their own paths to flourishing, and their reflections on their time at Landry are thoughtful and varied. As compelling a read as this way, I wanted just a bit more in this book about what it reveals about the deep cynicism at the heart of the path to highly selective universities. The book opens with DuBois' famous line about double consciousness, and one of Mike Landry's most astute arguments throughout this book is that admissions officers are looking for stories and trauma; they are interested in heartwarming stories of grit and endurance, and he will package that for these students' success (even at the cost of inventing drug-addicted parents and the like). But given that this charade was uncovered shortly before the Varsity Blues scandal, which mostly benefited already highly privileged white kids, and given that neither scandal seems to have done anything to challenge the ecosystem and incentive structure for elite universities, this is a dispiriting book to finish. It seems likely that the next iteration of this scandal is probably underway.
December 20, 2025
This was so good! This piece of investigative journalism tells the story of The T.M. Landry College Prep School in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. Founded by Mike and Tracey Landry, this school benefitted from its success as a pipeline for Black kids to get into Ivy League universities. However, everything they did was a fraud, and some of the stories will shock you. This was so well-researched and reported, not only on the school itself but about racial inequality in education—both the facts and the myths—as well as affirmative action and admissions practices in higher education. The first part of the book is more technical with the overview of racism, but as we get more into the story of the school and the kids, I was hooked. I’m also so excited to see that this was written by women of color, both reporters with the New York Times.
Many thanks to @metropolitan books and @netgalley for this ARC. My thoughts are my own.
Many thanks to @metropolitan books and @netgalley for this ARC. My thoughts are my own.
September 18, 2025
Thank you, Henry Holt & Company, for providing the copy of Miracle Children by Katie Benner; Erica L. Green. I couldn’t believe I didn’t already know about the T.M. Landry school story and the kids who attended it. The way the ‘school’ was run was unbelievable, and I’m sorry Mike didn’t face more consequences. I liked the mixture of educational history, history about some of the students, and details of what happened at the school. I loved the bibliography at the end instead of trying to navigate tons of footnotes! This book opened my eyes to how con artists operate, and how we should all be vigilant about checking out people and institutions before trusting them! 4 stars
December 2, 2025
Now here's a story about American education that'll knock your socks off! The dedication of the writers is just amazing...how they dug this story out...
Katie Benner and Erica L. Green has tackled a project that's long overdue...and in the process exposes so much about this particular area of educational mishap!
If you want to get a good grasp of how things are not so well with certain aspects of our education system, this is the book for you...you'll certainly gain an eye-opening experience!
Highly Recommended!
October 19, 2025
This was an ARC book. I don't want to give anything away. I found it interesting, but am not sure I totally agree with everything in the book. The Landry's took advantage of their community, and in my mind that is probably the worst thing some one can do. The parents shocked me, with the amount of trust they gave people they didn't know well, that had so much access to their children.
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
Did not enjoy reading about this scam, but thanks anyway to Goodreads Giveaways for the free advance copy.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews